Hants beat Durham to reach 11th T20 Blast Finals Day

Banks Homes Riverside, Chester-le-Street, Banks Homes Riverside, and Vitality Blast quarter-final

Hampshire 221-8 (20 overs): Albert 68, Cartwright 61, Lynn 51, Potts 2-35

Durham 195-6 (20 overs): Robinson 60*, Howell 2-28

By 26 runs, Hampshire won.

Toby Albert, the opening batsman, continued his excellent form in the T20 Blast to help the Hampshire Hawks defeat Durham by 26 runs to reach the finals.

Albert finished with 472 runs, which is the fifth-highest run-scorer in the group stage, and he returned with a 68-run, four-sixth-season effort.

Hampshire piled up 221-8, the highest score by an opposition at Chester-le-Street, with opening partner Chris Lynn, who had 51 in 27 deliveries, and Hilton Cartwright, who had 61 in 31 balls.

Durham were always struggling and could only respond with 195-6, with Ollie Robinson scoring a late 60 from 33 balls.

Durham will now face Durham Steelbacks in their first Finals Day appearance since 2016, while Hampshire will now face Northamptonshire Steelbacks in their first semi-final on Saturday, September 13 at Edgbaston.

Durham won the toss, chose to field, and the first over ended in just one run. This is their third T20 quarter-final appearance since 2018. Their night was as good as they could get.

After the Powerplay, Albert and Lynn unleashed a barrage of clean ball striking, bringing the total to 88 from the next five overs, increasing the lead to 89-0.

Before Australian Lynn pulled Jimmy Neesham over long-on and then deep-backward square for two sixes in the third over, Albert swung Callum Parkinson’s left-arm spin over long-off for the game’s first six.

After falling to Parkinson’s feet for an easy chance, Albert went on to fumble over Neesham for two more sixes in the sixth over, scoring on 24. Hampshire’s run-rate was just under 15 at the over with 89-0.

In just 58 balls, the opening stand came to an end, with 112 more balls added, and both of the openers had received less than nine deliveries.

However, Cartwright arrived to help add 60 from the final five overs by striking four sixes.

Graham Clark was a cheap replacement for the hosts, but David Bedingham’s two sixes gave Durham a lead of 50-1 after five overs.

In the sixth over, the South African batter holed out deep mid-wicket, and Hampshire took control with Benny Howell’s medium-pace variations.

Before Colin Ackermann was run out by Chris Wood’s direct hit from short-fine leg, Captain Alex Lees, Durham’s top run-scorer this season, made it to 26 before clipping Howell to deep square in the 10th over.

Neesham hit five fours in one Currie over, but Durham were without 93 from 34 balls when Wood swung Wood to deep midwicket in the following.