Thursday's Vitality T20 Blast quarter-finals were the first professional cricket matches to be played in England in the month of October since 1864. The cricketers who played in that season 156 years ago would barely recognise the modern game, of course. They might have been surprised at the mildness of the weather, too. Despite the autumnal feel of proceedings, remarkably, none of the four matches was curtailed by rain.

By the end of the day, Surrey, Gloucestershire, Lancashire and Nottinghamshire had confirmed their places for Finals Day at Edgbaston on Saturday (October 3). In contrast to the dramatic, down-to-the-wire matches that have been seen at the IPL, three of the four quarter-finals were horribly one-sided affairs. Sussex were bowled out for 95 by Lancashire at Hove and Northants were bundled out for 113 against Gloucestershire while Kent never looked in the hunt in their attempt to chase Surrey's 162-2 at The Oval.

The only close game was at Trent Bridge - the final fixture of the day - and what a game it was. Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire tied