Event of the Day: Royal London One-Day Cup Final
Our event of the day is the final of the Royal London One-Day Cup at Lord’s. Somerset and Hampshire face off as they play to take home the prestigious limited-overs cricket title. Hampshire are the defending champions and once again eased their way through the tournament. Meanwhile Somerset, convincingly moved through both rounds of the knockout phase to appear in today’s match. This is a cricket event you won’t want to miss.
Hampshire will look to become the first team to win back-to-back limited-overs titles since Surrey did so in 2008 and 2009. They have looked strong through their title defence, winning the South Group round-robin with little difficulty. This secured them a place in the semifinals of the knockout phase. They welcomed Lancashire to the Rose Bowl and successfully chased the visitors’ modest total of 241, with 85 runs from Rilee Rossouw and 79 from captain James Vince. Additionally, Lancashire were stymied by an outstanding performance by Gareth Berg, who took five wickets in only 6.4 overs. However, the south coast club were dealt a significant blow earlier this week. With the Cricket World Cup squads announced, the ICC announced that James Vince and Liam Dawson would be ineligible for the Cup final. Vince has scored 509 runs, the third highest total in the tournament, and Dawson has not only taken 18 wickets but has also scored 274 runs. While a blow to Hampshire, they still have plenty of talent at their disposal, such as the young Aneurin Donald and the aforementioned Gareth Berg. Now it’s on them to win one last game. Meanwhile, Somerset have impressively battled their way to today’s final. They finished third in the South Group before holding Worcestershire to 190 in the play-off round after setting a target of 337. In the semifinals, they once again set a target of 337 before holding Nottinghamshire to 222. With Somerset performing well in, and currently leading, the Division One County Championship standings, taking home the trophy today would be a major boost to their season. While still early in the County Championship season, this could be the start of a double trophy season for either team, as Hampshire are second in the standings. The last team to win both the County Championship and limited-overs trophy in the same season was Warwickshire in 1994. While Somerset have not enjoyed the same easy route in the competition as Hampshire, they are still in the final and have the talent to beat their south coast rivals. Be sure you tune in for this exciting cup final.
Honourable mentions around the globe go to the NBA, where the Toronto Raptors host the Milwaukee Bucks at the Scotiabank Arena for game six of the Eastern Conference Finals. Toronto, leading 3-2 after five games, are on the verge of the biggest upset of the NBA season. While the Raptors are the second seed in the East, first seed Milwaukee were widely expected to take the series. However, Toronto rallied from a two-game deficit to tie the series before taking the lead on Thursday night. As the action between these two teams heats up, be sure you don’t miss it. Elsewhere, the Premiership rugby semifinals take place with Saracens hosting Gloucester at Allianz Park and Exeter hosting Northampton at Sandy Park. This season, Saracens and Exeter have been in a league of their own, as evidenced by Exeter finishing 30 points above their opponents today. They will be eager to move past these teams to face one another in the final next weekend. Be sure you don’t miss today’s matches. In the WNBA, defending champions, the Seattle Storm, begin their season against the Phoenix Mercury at the Angels of the Winds Arena in Everett. England and Australia play a warm-up match before the Cricket World Cup at the Rose Bowl. Barcelona and Valencia face off in the final of the Copa del Rey at the Benito Villamarin in Seville. The Glasgow Warriors and Leinster go head-to-head in the Pro14 final at Celtic Park in Glasgow. The London Rugby Sevens Series begins at Twickenham.
Whatever you’re watching, enjoy!
Photos by Somerset; Hampshire