The Northamptonshire Steelbacks have clinched their third T20 Blast trophy, overcoming the Hampshire Hawks in a tense final at Edgbaston. This victory follows their previous championship wins in 2013 and 2016.
Batting first, the Steelbacks recovered from a shaky start, thanks largely to Ricardo Vasconcelos, who anchored the innings with a career-best 88 runs. Despite a dramatic late-inning collapse that saw the team lose eight wickets for just 31 runs, they set a target of 169. Hampshire’s Sonny Baker was instrumental in dismantling the batting order, securing impressive figures of 5-21.
Hampshire’s chase remained competitive until the final moments. Joe Weatherley played a resilient innings of 75, becoming the highest run-scorer on a single Finals Day, but the Steelbacks’ bowling attack proved decisive. James Sales claimed 3-25, and late-game heroics from Ben Sanderson saw Weatherley caught by David Willey before Sanderson bowled Baker on the very next ball. The Steelbacks ultimately triumphed by 14 runs.
