Vitality Blast Final: Northamptonshire beat Hampshire to win third title after see-saw clash at Edgbaston | Cricket News
Northamptonshire claimed their first Vitality Blast title in a decade and third overall with a thrilling 14-run win over Hampshire in Saturday’s see-saw Edgbaston final.
Steelbacks seamer Luke Procter took two wickets in the penultimate over before fellow veteran Ben Sanderson struck from successive balls in the last, including having Hampshire top-scorer Joe Weatherley (75 off 53) caught in the deep by captain David Willey as the Hawks were dismissed for 155 chasing 170.
Northants had crumbled from 138-2 in the 16th over to 169 all out in 19.5 after a remarkable collapse of 8-31, during which they lost five wickets in eight balls and Hampshire’s England seamer Sonny Baker (5-21) became the first man to take a five-for on Finals Day.
However, Willey’s side, for whom Ricardo Vasconcelos smoked 88 off 59 deliveries, roared back with the ball as James Sales – the son of Northants legend David Sales – bagged 3-25, including the key scalp of Hawks skipper James Vince (17) at the back end of the powerplay.
Leg-spinner Calvin Harrison also bowled Tristan Stubbs (2) with a beauty that pitched around leg stump before turning back to clip off as Hampshire fell short, despite the best efforts of Weatherley, who had amassed an unbeaten 88 from 58 balls in the semi-final win over Notts Outlaws earlier in the day.
This triumph for Northants, which denied Hampshire a record fourth title, follows previous successes in 2013 and 2016, with Northants now having the joint-most Blast titles across the T20 competition’s 24-year history, alongside Somerset, Leicestershire and Hampshire.
More to follow.
