Explosive T20 Final, Edgbaston

Northamptonshire Steelbacks 169 (19.5 overs): Vasconcelos 88; baker 5-21

Hampshire Hawks 155 (19.2 overs): Weatherley 75; Sales 3-25

Northants won by 14 runs

Scorekeeper

The Northamptonshire Steelbacks claimed their third T20 Blast title after a titanic fight with the Hampshire Hawks in a thrilling Edgbaston final.

After being asked to bat first, the Steelbacks survived a monumental collapse, losing their last eight wickets for 31 to make 169, with opener Ricardo Vasconcelos providing the backbone with 88.

But they pulled off a superb comeback with the ball to prevent Hampshire from becoming the first team to win four T20 Blast titles in a heartbreaking climax that reached the final.

The Hawks needed 31 to win off the last 20 balls with five wickets in hand, but that turned into 15 to win off the last six balls with just two wickets remaining.

Joe Weatherley was on strike for 75, having reached an unbeaten 88 in his semi-final earlier in the day, however he eluded Ben Sanderson to Northants captain David Willey inside the rope at long-off and then Sanderson bowled Sonny Baker off the next ball to secure the 14-run win.

The England pacer had earlier become the first bowler to claim five wickets on finals day in the Hampshire semi-final over Notts Outlaws.

After putting in an excellent display with bat and ball to beat Notts, James Vince opted to bowl first after winning the final toss, despite knowing that the Steelbacks had beaten Somerset by batting first in the first semi-final.

Despite claiming the early scalp from dangerman and former Hawk Chris Lynn, the Australian veteran who clipped Baker’s short delivery to Chris Wood at short fine leg, the Steelbacks bounced back with Vasconcelos and Nathan McSweeney (30) adding a swashbuckling 60 in six overs.

Another 69 between Vasconcelos and Lewis McManus followed from the next 7.2 overs with Northants 138-2 with 4.5 overs remaining before McManus holed out to Scott Currie for 22.

It sparked a tremendous collapse when left-handed opener Vasconcelos departed with a career-best 88 off 59 balls with 11 fours and two sixes, falling to a slower ball from Baker, the first of six wickets that fell in 12 deliveries.

Three of them came in Baker’s final over, leaving him with career-best figures of 5-21, just three days after his 5-24 in the quarter-finals, to become the first player to record a five-fer on Finals Day.

James Fuller finished with figures of 7-62 in eight overs that day as the Steelbacks were bowled out in the final over.

The Steelbacks got off to a perfect start to the reply when Willey’s first ball was sent to the keeper by Toby Albert, but Vince and Weatherley, who had combined for a stand of 126 in the semi-final, steadied the ship with 40 before Vince parried one from James Sales to Vasconcelos to leave for 17.

Weatherley remained to surpass Luke Wright’s 2018 record of 125 for most runs in a single Finals day, but lost Ben Mayes (9) before the dangerous Tristan Stubbs (2) was bowled by a Calvin Harrison peach five balls later and, despite Hilton Cartwright making 11 off four balls, Sales rocked him to leave the Hawks behind with eight overs remaining.

The wickets recorded figures of 3-25 to leave him 4-41 in eight overs on the day and 25 wickets in the competition.

Weatherley scored his second half-century of the day and was supported by Liam Dawson, but 74 from the last seven overs and 58 from the last five were needed.

On the pitch where he scored a career-best 68 for England against India on Tuesday, Dawson helped himself to score 17 off Willey’s last over to move to 26 and leave the Hawks needing 41 off the final 24 balls.

Dawson turned to paddle a six off Luke Procter’s fine leg to reach 35 off 18 balls, but was calamitously run out at the non-striker’s end two balls after leaving for a walk-off single that Weatherley rejected.

Fuller arrived with 32 needed off 20 balls, but Weatherley stepped up to become the tournament’s top scorer and left his team needing 22 off the final two overs.

Two balls later it was reduced to 17 before Procter cleared Fuller’s off stump as he attempted to carry the ball over mid-wicket and Currie followed two balls later when he failed at a ramp attempt.

Weatherley then holed out after a 53-ball stay that produced nine fours and two sixes and Baker followed immediately after to start the Steelbacks’ celebrations.