T20 Blast final Northants 155-6 beat Durham 153-8 by 6 wickets

1st Quarter-Final - Nottinghamshire 162/7 beat Essex 123 by 39 runs
2nd Quarter-Final - Northants 135/3 beat Middlesex 132/7 by seven wickets
3rd Quarter-Final - Durham 180/5 beat Gloucestershire 161 by 19 runs
4th Quarter-Final - Yorkshire 180/8 beat Glamorgan 90 by 90 runs

Northamptonshire 161-8 (20 overs): Duckett 84, Wakely 53; Russell 3-20
Nottinghamshire 153-9 (20 overs): Russell 39, Read 30; Crook 3-28
Northamptonshire won by eight runs

Ben Duckett's 84 off 47 balls helped Northamptonshire beat Nottinghamshire by eight runs to reach their third T20 Blast final in four years.

Batting first, they slumped to 15-3, but 21-year-old Duckett and skipper Alex Wakely (53) put on 123 as the 2013 winners recovered well to reach 161-8.

England opener Alex Hales went for a second-ball duck as Notts fell short on 153-9 despite Andre Russell's rapid 39.

Northants will play the winner of Durham and Yorkshire in the final.

Despite heavy rain overnight and during the morning in Birmingham and a poor forecast, the groundsmen, helped by Edgbaston's excellent drainage, ensured play got under way just 30 minutes late at 11:30 BST.

After the three early wickets, one a disastrous run-out of opener Adam Rossington four balls in, Duckett played a Twenty20 innings of high quality.

The England Lions batsmen mixed reverse sweeps, including a maximum over point off Samit Patel, scoops over the wicketkeeper's head and shots down the ground to bring up his half-century off 28 balls.

By the time he was bowled by Jake Ball in the 16th over, Duckett had struck 12 fours and two sixes, and made sure the Steelbacks would have a decent score to defend.


Nottinghamshire's innings began in a similar fashion, also falling to 15-3, including flat footwork from Hales as he was bowled by a Rory Kleinveldt inswinger.



Durham 156-6 beat Yorkshire 149-9 by 7 runs

Durham set up a T20 Blast final against Northamptonshire after defending 156 to beat Yorkshire by seven runs in a thrilling second semi-final.

Mark Wood (4-25) turned the game for Durham with four wickets, including England team-mates Jonny Bairstow and Gary Ballance in the same over.

Adam Lyth's 64 was in vain as Yorkshire finished on 149-9 with Durham seamer Chris Rushworth also claiming 3-19.

Ben Stokes earlier struck 56 off 36 balls for Durham to help them to 156-6.

Yorkshire looked well placed in the chase at 86-3 after Rushworth had removed Joe Root and David Willey cheaply.

But Wood, who clocked above 90mph regularly, was rewarded for a superb spell when he yorked Bairstow and then had Ballance superbly caught second ball by Paul Collingwood at leg-slip.

Opener Lyth took the target down to 37 required off 22 balls, but cut the impressive Rushworth to Mark Stoneman at point.

His departure left the Vikings' lower order with too much to do, Wood returning to dismiss Liam Plunkett and Tim Bresnan in the 19th over.

Durham, whose innings was interrupted by rain three times, looked to have posted a below-par total despite some lusty blows from England all-rounder Stokes as Plunkett bowled tightly to finish with 2-22.


But Wood outshone everyone on the pitch to finish with his best Twenty20 figures and send Durham to their first ever final.



Northants 155-6 beat Durham 153-8 by 6 wickets

Northants won the T20 Blast trophy for the second time as brilliant batting by Josh Cobb steered them to a four-wicket victory over Durham at Edgbaston.

After Ben Stokes went early for 18, Keaton Jennings hit 88 off 54 balls before Cobb pulled off a stunning catch to remove him as Durham made 153-8.

Northants were 9-3 in reply, but Cobb hit three sixes in a 26-ball fifty.

He put on 120 with Alex Wakely (43) and departed for 80 just before Northants reached 155-6 with five balls to spare.

It was an audacious exhibition by Cobb, who turned 26 three days ago, and had earlier taken a stunning one-handed catch at cover to dismiss Jennings, whose score was the highest in Finals Day history.


He deserved to be there at the end, but top-edged Chris Rushworth to the keeper as he tried to win it with a six in a show of bravado.

Needing three of the final over, Northants only needed one delivery as Rory Kleinveldt struck Usman Arshad to spark scenes of celebration as they repeated their 2013 Finals Day triumph.

It was a major disappointment for Durham, whose chief executive had to reassure the players that the club was not going bust earlier this month, after overcoming Yorkshire by seven runs earlier in the day.

England stars Stokes and Mark Wood played the lead roles in that victory, but were unable to repeat it against Northants in the final, although two wickets went down in Wood's opening over, the second a superb run-out of Richard Levi by Scott Borthwick.


He again looked the most threatening bowler on display during the day, but Cobb and Wakely punished Durham's support bowlers in the partnership which ultimately decided the outcome.