Tuesday 5 September 2017 17:55, UK
Seamer Harry Gurney bagged 4-17 as Nottinghamshire Outlaws completed a domestic one-day double with a 22-run victory over Birmingham Bears in the NatWest T20 Blast final, at Edgbaston.
Outlaws posted 190-4 after rallying from 30-3 thanks to a fourth-wicket stand of 132 between Samit Patel (64no) and Brendan Taylor (65) after Chris Woakes (3-29) knocked over the top-order.
Skipper Dan Christian (24 off eight balls) provided a decisive, late flourish, hitting all but one of the 23 runs scored off Ollie Stone's last over that took Outlaws out of reach.
Birmingham were in the hunt until the final overs thanks largely to Sam Hain (72 off 44 balls) before the hosts' challenge ended on 168-8 - Nottinghamshire adding their first T20 title to the Royal London One-Day Cup triumph of July.
Patel and Taylor launched a savage counter-attack after Woakes bowled England team-mate Alex Hales with one that nipped back, before dismissing Tom Moores and Riki Wessels (19) in quick succession.
Wessels, who struck the ball sweetly on his way to 48 in the semi-final win over Hampshire, flicked behind attempting to ramp as Woakes improved his figures to 3-9 but Taylor kick-started the innings with three fours off Aaron Thomason in the last over of the powerplay.
Notts were 73-3 at the halfway stage after Patel launched Grant Elliott for a straight six and added a further 113 in the remainder of the innings as the fourth-wicket stand accelerated into three figures.
Taylor it was who brought up the 100 stand off 68 balls with a straight four down the ground after swatting Dominic Sibley into the stands for six - the only one of his innings.
Patel helped himself to four maximums - surging on after posting a 36-ball half-century - the best of them a stunning six over extra cover off Woakes.
Bears only broke the punishing stand in the penultimate over when Sibley kept his cool to pouch Taylor off Colin de Grandhomme within inches of the rope.
Christian finished the innings in rousing fashion, striking 20 off the final four balls from Stone as he targeted deep cover.
Chasing the highest target of the day, Birmingham needed a quick start and Ed Pollock, who blasted a 23-ball fifty in the semi-final win over Glamorgan, was quickly into his work again, sweeping the second ball of the innings from Patel for four.
The all-rounder soon had his revenge, though, running the opener out for 14 with a direct hit from short third man after Harry Gurney had bowled Sibley with a slower ball for two.
Birmingham soon found their top-order plight almost equal to Nottinghamshire's when Jake Ball knocked back Adam Hose's off-stump to make it 36-3.
Hain's response was to strike Patel for successive sixes down the ground and the teams continued to trade blows - Christian winning an lbw decision against Grant Elliott (nine).
A straight six off Steven Mullaney took Hain to his fifty off 27 balls only for De Grandhomme to better it with an immense strike into the third tier of the grandstand.
Hain looked exhausted by the time he holed out off a Gurney full toss in the penultimate over - Bears needing 34 off 12 balls at the time - and Gurney and Ball wrapped up matters with another wicket apiece before Bears' chase hit the buffers.
