Northamptonshire 169 (Vasconcelos 88, Baker 5-21) beat Hampshire 155 (Weatherley 75, Sales 3-25) by 14 runs

Even after 24 editions of T20 Finals Day, the county calendar's showpiece event continues to throw up new things for us to marvel at. Never before had a bowler taken a five-wicket haul, in either the semi or final, as Sonny Baker did. No man had scored fifties in both games, a feat achieved by Joe Weatherley. And yet, incredibly, neither of those achievements came in a winning cause, as Northamptonshire's collective steel held off Hampshire to claim the Blast title in a dramatic last-over finish.

In a game of twisting fortunes, it was David Willey's Central/West Group winners who triumphed under the Edgbaston lights. Asked to bat, as they had been in the first semi-final, Northamptonshire were bolstered by Ricardo Vasconcelos making a career-best 88 off 59 balls, only for the pendulum to swing violently the other way during a collapse that saw them lose their last eight wickets for the addition of 31, Baker taking four of them as he targeted the stumps at the death.

For the second time in the day, however, Northants refused to believe they were beaten. For the second time in the day, Willey struck first ball of the innings. And while Weatherley picked his way through the traps and pitfalls with a perfectly paced innings to keep Hampshire in the running, Northants continued to chip out wickets at crucial junctures as the required run rate rose north of 10 an over.

Liam Dawson dragged the momentum Hampshire's way with 35 off 18 balls during a stand of 48 with Weatherley - but Luke Procter held his nerve to run out Dawson, sent back by his partner, when fielding the ball in his follow-through, and the pressure cranked up again. Procter then took two wickets while conceding seven runs in the 19th, leaving it all on Weatherley with 15 required off the last six balls. He sent the first one skywards, Willey clung on falling backwards at long-on and Northants knew they were home, a third T20 title secured 10 years after their last.

Willey up for the scrap (again)

Willey had referenced the confident body language of Somerset's players after Northants only managed to post 143 in the first semi-final, saying it had "revved" him up for an inspirational display. Hampshire would doubtless have been wary of riling him again, doubly so after he produced another perfect start. Toby Albert was so discombobulated by a first ball that swerved and seamed across him that he didn't seem to think he had hit it but also didn't opt to review (fortuitously, as UltraEdge quickly backed up James Middlebrook's on-field call).
Northants thought they had reduced Hampshire to 6 for 2 at the start of the second over, when James Vince was given out lbw first ball. He wasted no time in reviewing, though, with the delivery from Ben Sanderson shown to be clearing the stumps. Vince got going with a drive for four through mid-off off Willey, before Weatherley picked off Sanderson for three boundaries in the next over, and Vince upped the ante by lofting Procter over midwicket. But Northants hit back, Vince top-edging James Sales to mid-off to leave Hampshire 40 for 2 at the end of the powerplay.

Weatherley carries the fight in vain

Having steered Hampshire to a winning score with 88 not out in the semi-final, Weatherley picked up where he left off to surpass Luke Wright's mark for the most runs in a single Finals Day (125). He bookended Saif Zaib's only over with fours, and cut Sales for another boundary, but lost another partner when Ben Mayes holed out in the tenth as Hampshire reached halfway on 70 for 3, needing another 100 to win.
Weatherley responded immediately to the rising rate by launching Harrison high over deep midwicket for his first six of the innings. But Harrison struck back with a ripping legbreak to hit Tristan Stubbs' off stump in the same over and Sales picked up his third wicket when he yorked Hilton Cartwright. In between, Weatherly had ticked over to a 35-ball fifty, but at 90 for 5 after 12 Hampshire were starting to feel the heat - and although Dawson's cameo kept the target in sight, his run-out left too much for the lower order to do, as the last four wickets went down for the addition of two runs. Hampshire, for the second year in a row, had fallen at the final hurdle.

Lynn's Hampshire reunion

Last year, Chris Lynn became the first man to score a century on T20 Finals Day, his 51-ball 108 not out for Hampshire almost single-handedly knocking out Northants (the next-highest score was 12). He has done his best to make amends back at Wantage Road this summer, scoring more than 500 runs including two centuries - five of his eight T20 hundreds have come for Northants - but did not have much of an impact against his former team-mates, miscuing a pull off Baker in the second over.
That was the only wicket Northants lost in the powerplay, though, as Vasconcelos, driving and pulling Wood then taking for three fours from Scott Currie's first over, and Nathan McSweeney, who ramped Baker's pace for six over fine leg, steadily lifted the scoring to leave them well-placed on 61 for 1 after the first six.

Vasconcelos makes mark

McSweeney did not get much further, pinned lbw on review playing back in the crease for the second time in the day, having made 30 off 16 balls. Northants promoted Lewis McManus up to No. 4, possibly to maintain a left-hand, right-hand combination, and he slipstreamed effectively as Vasconcelos took the lead with his first half-century of the campaign. Dawson was twice swept behind square for back-to-back boundaries, before a pair of crunching pulls off James Fuller took him to fifty from 33 balls.
Northamptonshire were 90 for 2 at halfway, and continued to up the rate: McManus clumped an enormous pull off Wood into the Eric Hollies Stand, before Vasconcelos notched his first six from his 39th delivery when lofting Fuller straight back down the ground. Two boundary-less overs followed from Dawson and Currie, but Vasconcelos got the crowd jumping again when smoking Dawson's spin over long-off. McManus hit Currie's next ball for six before picking out deep square leg, bringing their 69-run stand to an end.

Baker's finish

With four overs of the innings to come and wickets in hand, Northants were eyeing up a total in the region of 180-190. Baker emphatically upended that notion. A tired Vasconcelos was finally sent back by an 88mph yorker, as Baker conceded just two runs off the 17th over; Willey then went six and out off Fuller, before Zaib made a golden duck, well held down low at deep backward square leg by Weatherley.
Baker, bowling full and fast and straight, then applied the coup de grace in the 19th. Harrison should have opted to review after being given out lbw attempting a reverse-ramp - ball-tracking showed he was outside the line - but there was nothing lucky about the dismissals of Louis Kimber and Sales as Baker twice detonated the stumps to claim five wickets and another Finals Day first. Northants had gone from 148 for 3 to 160 for 9, although in the final analysis they already had enough.