Look Back: Hampshire At T20 Finals Day

When the Hampshire and Lancashire sides arrive at Finals Day on Saturday, both clubs will be doing so for a shared record ninth time, although it took us eight seasons to get there for the first time whereas Lancashire were there in just the second year, 2004, courtesy of a nine-wicket hammering of Shane Warne’s Hampshire at the then Rose Bowl.

Of the four sides at Edgbaston of Saturday, Hampshire also have the best record, having won the title twice although I wonder whether you could name the one county that has three titles (answer at the foot)? Despite their eight appearances, Lancashire have only won once, in 2015; Somerset who have been seven times won only back in 2005, while Yorkshire have reached Finals Day just once – of which more later.

Our first opponents on Saturday are Somerset yet again, and what encounters we have had with them on the big day. The first came on our own ground, when we hosted Finals Day for the second time in 2010 and after beating Essex met Somerset in the Final.  We chased a stiff early years target of 174 and a partnership of 79 between McKenzie and Ervine took us close but it came down to the crazy last ball where a scrambled single brought scores level and we won on fewer wickets lost – but only after our injured batter Christian and his runner took off. Somerset fielded the ball but not realising a run-out was possible allowed the umpires to call time!

James Vince and Chris Wood from that side will be there again on Saturday – indeed Vince has been present at every Hampshire Finals Day and our opening bat that day, Jimmy Adams will be with the coaches. James Hildreth might be the only survivor for Somerset.

Somerset had their revenge in the following year’s semi-final, our first at Edgbaston, but again it was the closest of finishes. Bad weather left Somerset with a winning (D/L) target of 95 from ten overs but after the scores were tied they won on the first-ever ‘Super Over’. The following year Finals Day moved again, this time to Cardiff, and for the third consecutive year we met Somerset and beat them easily by six wickets with an over to spare. In the Final we met Yorkshire and won by 10 runs with Chris Wood taking 3-26.

That gave us a record of two titles in three Finals Day – there have been five more since then and perhaps the best we might say is that we have never yet lost a Final – semi-finals however are a different matter. In 2013 we were back at Edgbaston, losing to Surrey, in 2014 it was Lancashire on another rainy Finals Day in a match affected by Duckworth/Lewis and it was the Red Rose again in 2015, when despite a fine 69 from Vince we lost easily to the eventual Champions.

A strange thing happened in 2016 – after six consecutive seasons we sat out Finals Day - but we were back in 2017 when another fifty from Vince was not enough to take us past Nottinghamshire. That was it for a few years until last season when, rather later in the year, we were back at Edgbaston, meeting Somerset yet again. Weatherley contributed 71 as we posted 150 all out from the final ball and we reduced them to 103-7, needing 48 from 20 balls. Unfortunately for Hampshire Green, Overton and Davey took them home, although in a year when all four finalists were from the South Group, Kent took the trophy, equalling Hampshire, Northants and Notts on two trophies each. But the team with three trophies and the only side we have never met in the first 20 years of the T20 competition is Leicestershire.