Cricket News: Vitality T20 Final thriller as Hampshire wins by one run
Five runs were required from the last ball, and Nathan Ellis bowled Richard Gleeson; stumps were off the ground in the player's hand, the dugout was jumping, and the ground started the fireworks
Nathan Ellis (left) celebrates after his side win the Vitality Blast T20 final match at Edgbaston Stadium, Birminghambut a dramatic ending was waiting silently for Hampshire. That ball was a no-ball, and the Australian bowler now had to defend 3 in one ball. Nathan Ellis held his nerve with his working slower ball and continued the celebration after winning the match by one run.
"That second-last ball, we were nearly in the Hollies and had to come back... a couple of sets of fireworks were nice. To get 150 on the board was a good total in the end." Ben McDermott said, on winning Man of the match for his 62 runs innings.
Hampshire Hawks won the title of T20 Vitality Blast 2022. A campaign that started for them with four defeats on a trot, they made a comeback to win 11 out of 12 matches to reach the final and now stole the win by one run in an absolute thriller. The club has registered their third title in the Blast after a decade.
Carrying forward the faith in bowlers to defend any total from the semifinal, Hampshire Hawks' skipper opted to bat first. The decision didn't look to favour the Hawks as they lost their first two wickets in 3 overs. Opener Ben McDermott stood firm, looking to anchor the unit, but Lancashire bowlers were clinical in building pressure and scalping wickets at regular intervals. Ben McDermott's 36-ball 62, Ross Whiteley's 22 and Chris Wood's unbeaten 20 runs helped the team reach a respectable total of 152/8 in 20 overs. Matt Parkinson took a four-wicket haul as he dismissed all the batters who could have troubled the momentum.
The target posted by Hampshire Hawks somewhere looked easy to chase on the pitch that saw a 200-plus score being chased and a score of 150-plus runs being scored in the previous five innings of the day. In response to the target, Lancashire Lightning got a good start as they were in a commanding position of 72/1 in the eighth over. But soon after this, things started going wrong for Dane Vilas' side. The team in no time got reduced to 124/6 as Liam Dawson, Mason Crane, and James Fuller kept striking wickets with a low economy rate. With just ten runs needed in the final, Nathan Ellis showed immense composure to steal the win for Hampshire Hawks by one run despite the no-ball drama taking over at the last ball.