Vitality Blast T20 Finals day — an entertaining edition of our #EighteenCounties story
Fireworks, sixes, (non-)catches — Edgbaston had it all!
With the cancellation of the fifth England vs India Test match (still gutted…), we booked last-minute tickets to the end-of-season finals day. Although the teams we support weren’t playing, we figured it would be fun. We decided to give our backing to Somerset, as they’d beaten Lancashire in the quarter final — but really, all we wanted was some entertaining cricket, and we weren’t disappointed.
Stadium review
It’s not the first time we’ve been to Edgbaston, and frankly, despite its history as a great county and international venue, it isn’t our favourite! Many of the stands feel old and the seats aren’t very comfortable, and our restricted view didn’t help — we couldn’t see the boundary nearest to us. The gents loos were super nasty, but the ladies were cleaner and had less of a queue. We found decent food and drink too.
One thing Edgbaston is known for, especially on T20 Finals Day, is the atmosphere. There was plenty of noise at the start, but the singing and chanting got louder as the day went on, culminating in a stirring chorus of Sweet Caroline ahead of the final. It really was a cracking atmosphere, not least when bowlers Roelof van der Merwe (Somerset) and Tymal Mills (Sussex) were on hat-trick ball.
The stadium shop was full of good merchandise, including plenty from The Hundred. As we were paying, the shutters came down as someone had accidentally pressed an alarm — we had to be let out of an emergency exit, and discovered the shutters on all the bars and food outlets had also closed!
With three matches on the day, here are our highlights…
Match five: Edgbaston, Birmingham. 18th September 2021
Fixture: Somerset vs Hampshire, Vitality Blast semi-final 1
- Early wickets for Somerset put them on top, but a patient 71 from Joe Weatherley gave Hampshire a chance to defend 150
- At 34/5 we were sure that Hampshire would be in the final, but somehow Abell, Green and Davey dragged Somerset over the line with two wickets and two balls to spare! Dramatic match that swung towards either team more than once
Match six: Edgbaston, Birmingham. 18th September 2021
Fixture: Kent vs Sussex, Vitality Blast semi-final 2
- We wanted to see Ravi Bopara star with bat and ball, instead it was Daniel Bell-Drummond who shone with a magnificent 82 runs. He was joined by the veteran 45-year-old Darren Stevens, who ended the Kent innings with a blast, taking them to 168/8
- Bopara and Garton managed to keep the game alive, but Klaasen took four wickets to see Kent home comfortably, and into the final!
Match seven: Edgbaston, Birmingham. 18th September 2021
Fixture: Kent vs Somerset, Vitality Blast final
- Jordan Cox, just twenty years old, was the star of the show. His 28-ball innings of 58 runs included three huge sixes and took Kent to an imposing 167/7. He out-shone more experienced players, and set up a fantastic final
- Then in the field, he took what looked like a great catch right in front of us, but replays showed he was touching Bell-Drummond’s leg, who in turn was touching the boundary. As I suspected at the time, it was given as six runs
- Moments later, Cox pulled off arguably the greatest team catch in domestic cricket — Cox hung improbably in the air over the midwicket boundary, held onto a catch, then palmed it back to Milnes, to dismiss Gregory. The game had turned, and Kent were Vitality Blast champions!