And then there were only four. After numerous sixes, a lot of fishing the ball out of the stands, and a few smashed stumps, the Finals Day line-up of T20 Blast is finally complete.
Imad Wasim’s Notts Outlaws will take on Lancashire Lightning while Surrey will clash off against Gloucestershire on Saturday.
Your #FinalsDay line-ups confirmed!
Who wins? 🤔 #Blast20 pic.twitter.com/bMtS4vNig9
— Vitality Blast (@VitalityBlast) October 1, 2020
Lancashire
Setting big-hitting Sussex Sharks 141 to win, Lancashire needed to be stingy with the runs they gave away. So up steps Matt Parkinson, the most miserly of all the bowlers, offering just 7 from his opening two overs, before picking up three wickets in his third and final over, to rip any hopes of progressing away from Sussex.
🧙 18 balls of wizardry…
Here's @mattyparky96 booking @lancscricket a place at #Blast20 finals day! pic.twitter.com/9QJZCfVa3Q
— Vitality Blast (@VitalityBlast) October 1, 2020
Surrey
Though he’d been used plenty as a bowler in this year’s T20 Blast, few would have expected Will Jacks to be the standout in Surrey’s quarter-final with Kent Spitfires. But the standout he was, taking career-best figures of 4/15 as his side tightened the screw. Jacks took the first four wickets to fall in the Spitfires innings to prevent the chase getting off the ground, with only Jack Leaning (34) to get past the teens.
4⃣ overs
4⃣ wickets
1⃣5⃣ runsComfortably the best ever T20 figures for @Wjacks9! 👏 pic.twitter.com/hYju2cOvtS
— Surrey Cricket (@surreycricket) October 1, 2020
Nottinghamshire
Harry Swindells’ 58 looked for a while to be enough for Leicestershire Foxes. But Samit Patel’s experience at the end of the Notts Outlaws chase guided them to victory. Patel came in with 41 needed from 27 balls but with batting tricky and wickets falling around him, and when Steven Mullaney fell in the final over it looked bleak for the Outlaws. But he struck 13 from his next five deliveries and Imad Wasim hit the runs to tie the game – Notts progressing to Finals Day by virtue of the highest Powerplay score, with wickets lost tied.
🚨 IT'S THE OUTLAWS!!!! 🚨@TrentBridge are going to Finals Day after a heartbreaking last-ball win over @leicsccc 😮😮😮#Blast20 pic.twitter.com/dj2qdp6qiI
— Vitality Blast (@VitalityBlast) October 1, 2020
Gloucestershire
After 13 years of trying, Gloucestershire are at long last heading back to Finals Day. Composed of all the right bits to flourish in T20 cricket, the side have reached the T20 Blast quarter-finals in three of the four previous seasons but failed to progress on each occasion. This time around, there was no doubt. They struck early and struck often. Benny Howell made the most of the opportunity after David Payne and Graeme van Buuren had dislodged the Steelbacks openers by picking up three wickets of his own, removing the middle order, and helping leave Gloucestershire’s in-form batsman a meager chase of 114.
💪 The perfect bowling display from @Gloscricket!
Watch their chase of 1️⃣1️⃣4️⃣ LIVE 👉 https://t.co/nAW8cn9mSi#Blast20 pic.twitter.com/Agw0wAyQSz
— Vitality Blast (@VitalityBlast) October 1, 2020
