Hampshire Hawks win Vitality Blast 2022 in extraordinary fashion

SEMI-FINALS

Lancashire Lightning 208/4 beat Yorkshire Vikings 204/7 by six wickets
Hampshire Hawks 190/6 beat Somerset 153 by 37 runs

FINAL

Hampshire Hawks 152/8 beat Lancashire Lightning 151/8 by one run

NO BALL DRAMA AT THE LAST!

Chaos. Utter, utter chaos at Edgbaston. Hampshire Hawks had won it: defending five from the last ball, Nathan Ellis bowled Richard Gleeson. Cue pandemonium. 

Cue, in fact, umpire Graham Lloyd sticking his right arm out to signal a front-foot no ball, a free hit, a reset of everyone in the stadium and three runs to win. 

There aren't really words to describe any of this - so we'll let the footage tell the rest.

MCDERMOTT KEY FOR HAWKS

Ben McDermott was the only Hampshire batter to get past 22, and his 62 from 36 was the sole reason for the Hawks getting a defendable total. A middle-order collapse put Hawks in the mire but McDermott saw to it that they got to what was, in the end, a score they could defend. Just.

PARKY SHINES

Matt Parkinson had a fantastic final with the ball, picking up four for 26. Released by England for this ahead of the third ODI against India at Emirates Old Trafford, Parkinson was fantastic in the middle overs, claiming the key wicket of McDermott and putting his side into a great position.

JENNINGS AND VILAS TO THE FORE

Ahead of 2022, the highest successful chase on Finals Day was Hampshire's 173 in 2010. Yet Lancashire Lightning took down their Roses rivals, Yorkshire Vikings, and their total of 204. That they did so was thanks to Keaton Jennings, who caressed 75 from 51, and skipper Dane Vilas (63* from 36). Phil Salt had played a very handy cameo - a 15-ball 36 - at the top of the order too. Rarely can a chase of over 200 looked so easy.

THOMPSON BLITZES FASTEST FINALS DAY 50

Yorkshire's defeat in the semi-final came in spite of a magnificent batting display by Jordan Thompson. After his heroics with the ball at the end of the quarter-final, he strode out to the middle at Edgbaston and put on a show. He took just 17 balls to reach a half-century, bashing six sixes and pulverising the Lancashire bowlers as the Vikings became only the third team to reach 200 on Finals Day.

SOMERSET PRESTFALLEN

After a run-fest of a first semi-final, expectations were high for the second. Tom Prest delivered on that expectation. He batted through the majority of the innings after James Vince was dismissed in the Powerplay. Prest's 64 from 46 anchored the innings and helped the Hawks up to 190 - the lowest total of the day to that point, but it proved more than enough.

ROSSOUW MADNESS NOT ENOUGH

It took Rilee Rossouw until just his 14th ball at Finals Day to put the ball onto the roof of the Hollies, pulling Brad Wheal for an utterly huge six. But he couldn't continue the hitting, falling to James Fuller. Despite the best efforts of Toms Abell and Lammonby, the Hawks' bowling proved too much and Somerset were all out 37 runs short.