England's premier T20 competition, the Vitality T20 Blast kicked off on May 30 and the last few weeks have been filled with some high-quality cricketing action. Here are a few bits from the tournament you may have missed.

Nathan Sowter catches Donovan Ferreria short

Durham and Yorkshire faced off on June 21 at Chester-le-Street with both sides looking to break away from mid-table in the North Group. Durham chose to bat first and put up a challenging 170-6, led by Graham Clark (49) and Ollie Robinson (33).

In the second innings, with Yorkshire needing 20 to win from 16 deliveries, Donovan Ferreira mistimed a slog into the leg side. The batter completed the first run and sprinted back for the second, only to watch Nathan Sowter catch him short of his ground with a spectacular direct hit from well outside the 30-yard circle. Sowter also took two wickets in the match as Durham managed to secure a three-run win.

Northamptonshire and Leicestershire play out a humdinger

Friday evening saw a clash between two solid outfits as Northamptonshire hosted Leicestershire. Choosing to bat first, the home side were given a brisk start by Ricardo Vasconcelos and Matthe Breetzke, and kept the momentum going through the innings to score 208-5. Captain David Willey top-scored with 71 and Sikandar Raza finished with 36 off 14 balls.

In reply, Leicestershire opener Rishi Patel slammed a ton before departing in the 13th over, and Northamptonshire pulled the game back with 12 to defend off the last over. Raphael Weatherall dismissed Peter Handscomb early before getting Ben Cox out when 5 runs were needed off 2 balls. But No.9 Lewis Goldsworthy managed to edge the final ball to the third man boundary and tie the game.

Bears' Bethell blasts off

Northamptonshire were involved in another high-scoring match on Thursday, but this time were on the losing side, partly thanks to a fantastic knock from Birmingham Bears' Jacob Bethell. The left-hander walked to the crease with his side 146-4 in 16.2 overs.

He hit the first two balls he faced from Freddie Heldreich for four before tonking David Willey for consecutive sixes in the next over. Going into the final over of the innings, Bethell was on 31 off 11 balls before hitting a six and then taking a single. Back on strike for the last three balls, he hit all three for six to finish on 56 off 16, having reached the half-century mark in 15 deliveries, the third-fastest in Blast history.

Rishi Patel tons up at pace

In the tied game between Northamptonshire and Leicestershire, the architect of Leicester's chase was opener Rishi Patel, who smashed 104 off 45 balls before being dismissed in the 13th over. He started as he meant to go on, hitting David Willey for six off the second ball of the chase and going on to take 18 from the first over.

By the end of the fourth over, Patel was on 46 off 19 and reached his half-century in 22 balls. He continued to find the boundary with regularity, speeding to 75* (31) and 87* (36). He hit Ben Sanderson for a six and a four to bring up a century in 41 balls, the joint-second-fastest in T20 cricket by an Englishman, behind David Willey (40 balls) and level with Will Jacks.

Riley Meredith's unlikely first

On June 17, Somerset took on Glamrogan in Taunton. Put in to bat first, they lost wickets throughout the innings before Will Smeed (86) and Craig Overton (42) put on 49 for the eighth wicket. Australian fast bowler Riley Meredith walked in at No.10, in the final over and took strike for the last ball of the innings.

Left-arm pacer Jamie McIlroy attempted a wide yorker but missed his length by a shade, allowing Meredith to free his arms and slice it over cover for six. It was Meredith's first-ever six in T20 cricket, in his 18th innings and off the 32nd ball he faced. In addition, it was his first ball faced for Somerset.

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