T20 Blast: Clinical Hampshire set final date with Lancashire
Tom Prest hit a breezy 64 and Nathan Ellis claimed three wickets as Hampshire pipped Somerset in the rematch of last year's T20 Blast semifinal to progress to the summit clash against Lancashire. Having opted to bat first despite the opening game going in favour of the chasing team, Hampshire amassed 190 in 20 overs before burying Somerset under the constant burden of scoreboard pressure to emerge victorious by 37 runs.
Hampshire raced off the blocks in the second semifinal thanks to Ben McDermott and James Vince, who added 47 in 4.2 overs before the latter fell in a knock of 20 that featured four boundaries. McDermott too fell inside the PowerPlay but not before he'd slammed three sixes in a 17-ball knock for 31. With 69 on the board in the PowerPlay, Prest took charge through the middle overs even as Somerset's spinners generally bowled tight. He stitched useful stands with Joe Weatherley (24) and Ross Whiteley (27) to take the total to 190.
Unlike Lancashire, who chased down 204 earlier in the evening, Somerset struggled for tempo at the start of their innings with both Tom Banton and Will Smeed falling cheaply. The middle-order troika of Rilee Rossouw, Tom Abell and Tom Lammonby all got starts but none could kick on in the face of a mounting run-rate. The regular loss of wickets meant Somerset's chase petered out to a tame finish.
Brief scores: Hampshire 190/6 (Tom Prest 64, Ben McDermott 31; Roelof van der Merve 2-29) beat Somerset 153 in 19.3 overs (Tom Lammonby 34; Nathan Ellis 3-30) by 37 runs
Lancashire stormed into the final of the 2022 T20 Blast after breezing through a chase of 204 in the 'Roses derby' semi final against Yorkshire. Central to their chase of a big score on a fine batting surface at Edgbaston were Keaton Jennings and captain Dane Vilas who put on a 112-run stand for the third wicket off just 68 balls. While Jennings made 75 off 51, Vilas saw the chase through to the end and was unbeaten on 63 when the finishing touch was applied with eight balls to spare.
Lancashire's chase of a mammoth total, albeit on a true batting surface, got off to the best of starts when Phil Salt plundered three sixes and four fours in a 15-ball knock of 36. His whirlwind effort meant Lancashire had 44 on the board in just 2.5 overs. Steven Croft made a brisk 14 but Salt's quickfire start allowed Jennings and Vilas to simply ride the momentum and cruise to the finish. Between them, the pair hit 15 fours and three sixes.
Earlier in the game, Yorkshire set a formidable 200+ total after electing to bat with Tom Cohler-Cadmore top scoring with a brisk 66. Yorkshire were still setup to get a total around the 180-190 range but were powered to a more par score by a rapid half-century from Jordan Thompson, who hit half a dozen sixes in his 18-ball 50. Even his efforts were, unfortunately, not enough on the day.
Brief scores: Yorkshire 204/7 in 20 overs (Tom Cohler-Cadmore 66, Jordan Thompson 50; Luke Wells 2-32) lost to Lancashire 208/4 in 18.4 overs (Keaton Jennings 75, Dane Vilas 63*; Dominic Drakes 2-39) by six wickets
| Share | Tweet |
