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The 2008 Twenty20 Cup was the sixth edition of what would later become the
T20 Blast
The T20 Blast, officially known as the Vitality Blast for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Twenty20 cricket league in England and Wales. The competition was established by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003. T20 Blast is t ...
tournament, and saw
Middlesex Crusaders winning the tournament after a thrilling climax to the final against the reigning champions, the
Kent Spitfires.
The tournament began on 11 June 2008 before culminating in Finals Day, held at
The Rose Bowl,
Southampton
Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
on 26 July. The number of games rose from 79 to 97, as all teams played each other twice in the group stage.
Group stage
Midlands/West/Wales Division
Results
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North Division
1 The match on 27 June between Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire had no points awarded after it was found that Yorkshire had fielded an ineligible player for the match; Yorkshire were also ejected from the competition.
Results
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Due to Yorkshire fielding an ineligible player, the match was awarded to Nottinghamshire on 10 July. The result was changed back to a Yorkshire win, but with no points awarded on 14 July.
South Division
Results
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Knockout stage
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''Note'': The draw for the semi-finals occurred after the quarter-finals.
Quarter-finals
The match at the
Riverside was postponed in bizarre circumstances. The ECB received allegations about Yorkshire fielding an ineligible player in their final group game, against the
Nottinghamshire Outlaws.
In an original meeting on 10 July, Yorkshire were summoned to
Old Trafford
Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...
and were told that they were to be ejected from the tournament, with Nottinghamshire to be reinstated in the draw.
Yorkshire thrown out of Twenty20
/ref> However, Yorkshire appealed and at a second meeting held on 14 July, their appeal was heard and rejected, but this time Glamorgan
Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...
were placed into the draw on a superior run rate, because Nottinghamshire were not awarded the points for the 27 June game.
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Having waited fifteen days to play their quarter-final, Durham progressed to Finals Day after a 44-run win at the Riverside. Having been put into bat, the visitors took three early wickets, removing dangermen Phil Mustard, Shivnarine Chanderpaul
Shivnarine "Shiv" Chanderpaul (Guyanese Hindustani, Guyanese-Hindustani: शिवनारायण चंद्रपॉल) Orders, decorations, and medals of Guyana#The Cacique's Crown of Honour, CCH (born 16 August 1974) is a Guyanese peopl ...
and Paul Collingwood
Paul David Collingwood (born 26 May 1976) is an English cricket coach and former player, who played in all three formats of the game internationally for England cricket team, England. He played for Durham County Cricket Club. Collingwood was a ...
, with the score only on 26. After Michael Di Venuto fell, Durham looked to be in some trouble. However, a fifth wicket partnership of 53 between Will Smith
Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, rapper, and film producer. Known for his work in both Will Smith filmography, the screen and Will Smith discography, music industries, List of awards and nominations re ...
and captain Dale Benkenstein pushed the score up. Smith made 51 as Durham set a target of 164, for Glamorgan to chase. It could have been somewhat lower had it not been for virtuoso innings by Gareth Breese, smashing 20 off just 9 balls, and Liam Plunkett who hit 12 * off 3. James Harris took 3 wickets, but accounted for around a quarter of the runs conceded.
The Glamorgan reply could not have gotten off to a worse start, losing opener Richard Grant very first ball. David Hemp soon followed, becoming Plunkett's second victim, with only seven runs on the board. Glamorgan were always struggling with the run-rate, with most of the top-order recording strike rates of below 100. Only four players made it to double figures, with Jamie Dalrymple
James William Murray Dalrymple (born 21 January 1981) is a Kenyan-born former English cricketer, who played ODIs and T20Is for England. He is a right-handed batsman and off-spin bowler.
He is perhaps best known for taking a spectacular diving ...
top scoring with 32, and had stern support from wicket-keeper Mark Wallace, who fired 26 off sixteen deliveries. However, Glamorgan fell a long way short with Plunkett, the pick of the Durham attack, taking 3-16 off three overs.
Finals Day
;Semi-finals
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;Final
Statistics
Runs
Wickets
See also
* 2008 Twenty20 Cup Finals Day
* 2008 English cricket season
References
External links
Cricinfo
BBC Sport
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{{2008 English cricket season
T20 Blast seasons
Twenty20 Cup
The T20 Blast, officially known as the Vitality Blast for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Twenty20 cricket league in England and Wales. The competition was established by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003. T20 Blast is ...