Northants Beat Hampshire To Win Vitality Blast Title

Northants secured their third T20 title with a thrilling fourteen-run victory over Hampshire today.

Northants secures thrilling Championship win

In the eagerly awaited showpiece encounter, Northamptonshire delivered a stunning performance to see off plucky Hampshire by fourteen runs in the final T20 at Edgbaston.

Theirs was a classic case of teams showing heart at the business end of the competition as the county clinched their third championship title and first in ten years.

Northamptonshire batsman Vasconcelos sets

Having decided to bat first on a challenging surface, the eventual winners made a sensational start to their innings, and a rampant opening stand between Vasconcelos and the captain, David Willey, laid a perfect platform.

The former posted a career-best eighty-eight from fifty-nine balls before falling to the second new ball. His attacking innings and the classy hitting to the new ball sent alarm signals to the Hampshire bowling attack at an early stage.

Young bowler Baker turns the game

Despite the seemingly unstoppable scoring rate at the top of the order, the momentum of the game suddenly changed dramatically. This was due to a stunning bowling display by young fast bowler Sonny Baker, who was to play a starring role later in the game.

Baker delivered yet another special performance as he steamed in at the end with the new ball and rattled the bottom order for a stunning five for twenty-one to turn the game on its head. He snatched five crucial wickets at the death to derail the chasing side’s hopes.

Willey sends the crowd crazy

Refusing to wilt under pressure, the inspirational skipper Willey sent the Edgbaston crowd wild with an electrifying opening over.

His excellent control as he sent down a beaming and swinging half-volleys saw the first man, Toby Albert, walking back to the pavilion. This outstanding start re-fired the home side and showed what determination and spirit can achieve at the business end of the season.

Weatherley stars with stunning fifty

The chasing side knew that a fifty would be key to a successful run chase and Joe Weatherley was to rise to the occasion yet again.

Weatherley had starred in a famous Finals Day semi-final win against Glamorgan, posting a sensational fifty, and continued his rich vein of form as he smashed out a brilliant seventy-five. His innings saw him beat the previous record for the highest individual score on a Finals Day, which will now be entered in the record books.

Liam Dawson launches explosive forty-five

With the required run rate easing in the final hour, Liam Dawson added another vital chapter to his fascinating story on Finals Day. Dawson came in to the middle at the most crucial of times and then launched into an explosive thirty-five from eighteen deliveries.

There were fears that the innings might be stolen from the chasing side after the explosive hitting from Dawson. The required run rate climbed to more than ten-a-over as he attacked the bowling attack at full stretch. However, it was to be the turn of the brilliant Luke Procter to claw back the initiative.

The game turned on its head

At the most crucial of times, it was the turn of Luke Procter to shine as he stole the strike in the nineteenth over to turn the game on its head. Procter had been dropped on a golden chance in the previous over but made full use of his second opportunity.

He delivered crucial two wickets while conceding only seven runs in the space of the nineteenth over. The final over had become even more difficult to face with the required rate climbing to over fifteen-a-over.

Catch of the Finals Day

With a tense final over to come, the first batsman on strike at the start knocked the ball up and over the ropes at long on. The skipper was on his backside as he pulled off a stunning catch before a delirious roar from the home fans greeted the sight of the batsman walking back to the pavilion.

This stunning Finals Day catch saw the home team safely home to the much-needed victory after the heart-wrenching wait for the first title in ten years.