Richard Mann looks ahead to T20 Blast Finals Day which takes place at Edgbaston on Saturday – find out who he is backing here.
Cricket tips: T20 Blast Finals Day
2pts Hampshire to beat Somerset at 11/10 (General)
1pt Hampshire to win the T20 Blast at 3/1 (General)
1pt Dane Vilas top Lancashire batsman against Yorkshire at 13/2 (bet365)
This season’s T20 Blast has been a remarkable one in many ways, with the four teams set to battle it out at Edgbaston on Saturday all sharing their fair share of flaws and having endured interesting journeys to Finals Day.
Lancashire are marginal favourites with more firms than not, having looked a classy outfit in qualifying for the quarter-finals and then overcoming the loss of England internationals Liam Livingstone and Matt Parkinson – along with Jos Buttler who has only played once for the Red Rose all season – to beat Birmingham Bears at a relative canter.
War of the Roses missing big guns
Much has been of the fact those star names won’t be allowed to return for Finals Day, but their semi-final opponents, old rivals Yorkshire, will be missing the likes of Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow and David Willey, too.
When I said that this season has been a remarkable one, much of that has centred around Yorkshire who only qualified for the quarter-finals after Leicestershire were docked points for disciplinary reasons, before coming through a dramatic match with Surrey when Jordan Thompson somehow defended five from the final over.
Earlier in the competition, Yorkshire and Lancashire played out a thrilling tie at Old Trafford, before Lancashire won the reverse fixture, and even with the absences on either side, there is enough quality in both camps to suggest a good-quality affair, and a well-contested one, should be on the cards.
Given Lancashire looked the stronger side in the regular season, and that they enjoyed a smoother passage through to the quarter-finals, punters might have been expecting to back Lancashire at shorter than 4/5, but Yorkshire have plenty of depth in their squad and a fabulous hundred for Adam Lyth in this week’s County Championship match at Scarborough is a timely boost for his side.
Lyth will need to deliver on Saturday, and it will be interesting to see if Harry Brook – unused by England’s in the first ODI against India on Tuesday – is given the green light to re-join his county. A further boost for Yorkshire is Dawid Malan's return, and he comes into Finals Day in good form having made a fine 77 against India on Sunday.
Vilas too big in Lancashire betting
Lancashire have coped well with England call-ups so far, and Steven Croft (76) broke the back of their run chase against Birmingham, though I still prefer the claims of captain DANE VILAS in the top Lancashire batsman market.
Vilas was a losing selection on Friday night, despite his rapid 51, but the South African has been a model of consistency all season – making 358 runs in the Blast and striking at 161.26 – and he is generally very reliable coming in at number four.
He does have competition, from Croft again and fast-finisher Tim David, but Vilas made 40 not out from only 20 balls against Yorkshire earlier in the season and 13/2 (bet365) about him to take star billing in their semi-final rematch looks well worth a spin.
In a repeat of last year’s semi-final, HAMPSHIRE will face Somerset in the second match on Saturday, the former having turned in a clinical performance to see off Birmingham in the last round while Somerset, and in particular Rilee Rossouw, blitzed Derbyshire by posting a mammoth 265/5 when batting first on Saturday night.
WOW 😳
— Vitality Blast (@VitalityBlast) July 9, 2022
Rilee Rossouw scoring 3️⃣4️⃣ runs from an over 💪#Blast22 pic.twitter.com/3TY0uGnj58
Somerset cruised through the regular season, eventually finishing second in the South Group behind Surrey, while Hampshire finished with a wet sail by winning their last four group matches before their last-eight cruise.
As ever, it’s Somerset who might feel they have more bases covered on paper, with Will Smeed, Tom Banton and Tom Abell joining Rossouw in a strong batting line-up, while Peter Siddle is a terrific bowler in this format, as is the experienced Lewis Gregory.
With a settled and seemingly well-balanced side to go to war with, Somerset will be confident of reaching back-to-back finals, but Hampshire are on a roll right now and have the extra motivation of trying to avenge last year’s defeat at the same stage of the Blast, Somerset scoring 46 from the final three overs to pull off an improbable victory.
Hampshire on a roll ahead of Finals Day
I do think Hampshire are a better side this time around, however, with Australian Ben McDermott – 401 runs and counting so far this season – proving a very good signing and a very able opening partner to James Vince.
Vince has been the best batsman in the competition this year, two silky centuries helping take him to 653 runs already this term, while Tom Prest and Joe Weatherley have provided fine support.
While Liam Dawson batted at number five in last year’s aforementioned semi-final between these two sides, the improved depth within the Hampshire squad means Dawson came in at number seven against Birmingham.
That’s not to downplay his importance, though. He and fellow spinner Mason Crane have combined to really good effect this year and will have big roles to play if Hampshire are to make it through to what will be the third match on the same pitch on Saturday.
Elsewhere, there are good options amongst the seamers and the experience Chris Wood brings at the death remains crucial.
As much as Somerset will always look strong on paper, there is plenty to like about this Hampshire side, too, and if you believe in momentum in sport, they certainly have it. Furthermore, Somerset have lost in four Blast finals, with their title success in 2005 trumped by Hampshire’s victories in 2010 and 2012.
Somerset have earned the unfortunate reputation of being the bridesmaid over the years, and while that be might a trifle unfair given Somerset beat Hampshire in the 2019 final of the Royal London One-Day Cup, one does get the sense that Hampshire have found that priceless winning knack in recent weeks.
Today's @HendyGroup Moment of the Match...
— Hampshire Cricket (@hantscricket) July 7, 2022
He took four wickets, but this was arguably the best of the lot 🙌
James Fuller picked up the wicket of Adam Hose with a simply 𝙜𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙤𝙪𝙨 yorker 🤤 pic.twitter.com/Ks0FjNPClP
This match might well be won in the powerplay, with Somerset’s attack facing an uphill battle if they are unable to remove Vince and McDermott early. Somerset could be particularly vulnerable if Vince is unscathed and set in the middle overs.
On the other hand, Hampshire look better equipped with the ball for that period and while I don’t like the match-up of Rossouw against two spinners who will spin the ball into him, I do think the experience Dawson and Crane bring could come to the fore against Somerset’s strong contingent of right-handers – just as was the case last year.
At odds-against, I must favour Hampshire and with depleted opposition from the North Group awaiting in the final, topping up on them to go all the way at 3/1 makes perfect sense.
With England commitments hurting Lancashire and Yorkshire so badly, this weekend really does represent a fine opportunity for the two sides from the south, and it is Hampshire who appear to be peaking just at the right time.
Posted at 1715 BST on 12/07/22
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