Shahid Afridi demolished Derbyshire’s dream of reaching NatWest T20 Blast finals day for the first time with a brutal display of power hitting as Hampshire cruised to a 101-run victory in a one-sided quarter-final at Derby. The Pakistan all-rounder smashed 101, including seven sixes and 10 fours, from 42 balls to power Hampshire to 249 for eight - their highest T20 score. It proved expensive as Afridi dispatched Matt Critchley and Tahir for two more sixes on his way to a 42-ball hundred before he top-edged another big pull and was caught at long-leg. The wickets continued to tumble and with the result a foregone conclusion, it was just a question of whether the Falcons could prevent Hampshire beating the biggest victory margin of 172 in T20 cricket. Alex Hughes and Daryn Smit at least avoided that ignominy, before Cotton and Tahir shared a breezy last-wicket stand of 46, but it was scant consolation on a night of total Hampshire dominance.

Source: The Guardian August 22, 2017 21:39 UTC