Lancashire progressed to the semifinal of the T20 Blast after beating their opponents Essex in the quarterfinals in what was an easy victory for the side led by South African batter Dane Vilas. Ironically, Vilas play his only T20I match for the Proteas back in 2012 against India, but on Friday, hit 51 runs off just 23 balls to help his side chase down 161 runs with 4.2 overs to spare.
India will be playing their second T20I against England at the same venue as the quarters' match between Essex and Lancashire, and now Vilas' side will now face Yorkshire in the semis.
During the match, Essex, captained by Simon Harmer, came out to bat first but could only manage to score 161 runs for the loss of five wickets. Their highest scorer was Michael Pepper could score 36 runs for Essex, and was dismissed with a brilliant stumping by Phil Salt.
Lancashire, chasing 162 runs, also had a poor start to the match, scoring just six runs. Their opener Keaton Jennings went to the pavilion after being run out for zero without playing the ball. But Steven Croft played an unbeaten inning of 76 runs that laid the foundation for their victory in the match. Croft built a partnership of 73 runs for the third wicket with opener Salt, and then 78 runs with captain Vilas brought the team closer to victory.
Wicketkeeper-batter Vilas has played six Tests for South Africa since his international debut. He signed for Lancashire in 2017 and has been playing county cricket in England ever since. Interestingly, Vilas first gained attention as a fast bowler. He appeared in the 2008 film Hansie, about the life of the disgraced former South African cricket captain Hansie Cronje. He was cast as fast bowler Allan Donald by the producers, who wanted to add authenticity to on-field scenes by using real cricketers, if not in this case real fast bowlers.
Meanwhile, in what was a dramatic match, there were many moments of excitement!
Watch Salt stump Pepper!
It was not the end of the drama, however, and Pepper was involved in a brilliant effort to take the wicket of Salt in what turned out to be the best form of revenge.
Watch Pepper dismiss Salt!
