A form of the game designed pretty much exclusively to showcase the hitting ability of batsmen, Twenty20 does not really work on a pitch that is not reliably flat and true. Give the bowler the advantage, in the form of a little turn, or lack of pace and carry, and the clean hits become desperate slogs across the line.
Such was very much the case in the semi-finals of this competition, particularly the second, when Lancashire bowled out Hampshire for only 115.
Hampshire, who won the toss, were going well enough until Michael Carberry mistimed an attempted lofted drive off George Edwards, giving Ashwell Prince a comfortable catch at mid-off. Edwards then got lucky, spearing the next delivery down the leg side at Adam Wheater, only for the batsman to get a faint edge as he attempted to help it on its way.
James Vince, averaging just over 58 in T20 this season, worked hard to hold the innings together, but the left-arm spin of Stephen Parry accounted for Owais Shah, bowled, and Sean Irvine, leg before, in both cases swinging across the line.
A similarly desperate hoik accounted for Liam Dawson, and with Vince watching on despairingly, Wood swung and missed at Aaron Lilley before Yasir Arafat tried to cut his first ball from the off-spinner and lost his off-stump. Vince’s 69 from 60 balls apart, no Hampshire batsmen made more than Carberry’s 13.
Lancashire lost Ashwell Prince, who under-edged a Fidel Edwards’ delivery on to his off-stump, but were 47 for one from the first six over power-play. The introduction of the spinners, unaccountably delayed by Vince, made it look a different game, but Karl Brown’s run-a-ball 45 meant Lancashire were always in control.
They went through to the final to play Northamptonshire, who beat Warwickshire by five wickets with 12 balls to spare.
