McCullum inspires Bears victory

04 July 2015 11:17

Brendon McCullum smashed the highest individual score in English domestic Twenty20 cricket as his stunning knock of 158 gave Birmingham Bears a third consecutive win in the NatWest T20 Blast on Friday.

The New Zealand star battered his way to the milestone, joining Chris Gayle in the history books as only the second man to pass 150 twice in the format in the meantime, with 11 sixes in his 64-ball knock as the Bears beat Derbyshire Falcons by 60 runs at Edgbaston.

Birmingham's final total of 242 for two equalled the third-highest score by any side in the English domestic game, and director of cricket Dougie Brown was full of praise for his overseas star.

He said: "Brendon McCullum's innings was brutal, it was measured and it was world class.

"It was everything we knew we were getting when we signed him for seven games. He is a world-class player.

"It was a brilliant innings but everything about him is impressive. The way he has straight away become part of the team and the club. He is a class act, on and off the field, you could see that the way he was signing all those autographs."

Ashwell Prince and Karl Brown each hit half-centuries, and the total proved to be 29 too many for the Vikings, despite some lusty hitting from Tim Bresnan at the end of the game.

Vikings skipper Andrew Gale admitted his side had underperformed with the ball, saying: "You have team meetings when you talk about how you're going to bowl to specific individuals but when you don't do that and the ball's flying to the fence, you do feel a bit powerless."

Tom Kohler-Cadmore was the key man for Worcestershire Rapids, striking a format-best 75 to claim victory over Notts Outlaws.

Kohler-Cadmore faced just 39 deliveries, but made the decisive contribution of the match as Notts failed to build upon Alex Hales' 47 as their innings fell away, falling 20 runs short of the Rapids, who remain second in the North Group.

Michael Klinger enjoyed another excellent day in the shortest version of the game, but he was overshadowed by Hamish Marshall in a comprehensive victory for Gloucestershire over Somerset at Taunton.

The hosts has posted a challenging 174 for six, with Luke Ronchi's quickfire 49 crucial, but Klinger and Marshall's opening stand of 156 made for a comfortable chase.

The New Zealand-born Marshall was the dominant partner, making a 53-ball 93 before he was dismissed by Jamie Overton, and Klinger extended his lead at the top of the run-scoring charts despite falling shortly before the eight-wicket win was sealed.

Glamorgan moved into the top four in the South Group thanks to an all-round performance from captain Jacques Rudolph, with his two wickets backing up an earlier half-century.

The South African hit 77 before taking two for eight as Hampshire fell 13 runs short of their target despite 70 from Michael Carberry.

Elsewhere in the group, Surrey overcame Middlesex by eight wickets and Kent Spitfires eased to a seven-wicket triumph over Sussex Sharks, while in the North Group, Mark Stoneman led Durham Jets to an important 38-run win over Leicestershire Foxes.

Source: PA