Vitality Blast Final: Northamptonshire beat Hampshire to win third title after see-saw clash at Edgbaston
Northamptonshire secure third Vitality Blast title, after triumphs in 2013 and 2016; Hampshire denied record fourth title after second straight defeat in the final; James Sales (3-25) stars with the ball for Steelbacks, who rebound from remarkable collapse with the bat at Edgbaston
Saturday 18 July 2026 23:42, UK
Northamptonshire claimed their first Vitality Blast title in a decade and third overall with a thrilling 14-run win over Hampshire in Saturday's see-saw Edgbaston final.
Steelbacks seamer Luke Procter (2-25) took two wickets in the penultimate over before fellow veteran Ben Sanderson (2-26) struck from successive balls in the last, including having Hampshire top-scorer Joe Weatherley (75 off 53) caught in the deep by captain David Willey, as the Hawks were dismissed for 155 chasing 170 in Birmingham.
Northants had crumbled from 138-2 in the 16th over to 169 all out in 19.5 after a remarkable collapse of 8-31, during which they lost five wickets in eight balls and Hampshire's livewire England seamer Sonny Baker (5-21), who bagged three scalps in an over, became the first man to take a five-for on Finals Day.
- Scorecard: Northants vs Hampshire, Men's Vitality Blast Final
- Northants beat Hampshire in Blast thriller - as it happened
- The Blaze demolish Durham to win Women's Vitality Blast
- Stream cricket and more top sport contract-free with NOW
However, Willey's side, for whom Ricardo Vasconcelos smoked 88 off 59 deliveries, roared back with the ball as James Sales - the son of Northants legend David Sales - snared 3-25, including the key scalp of Hawks skipper James Vince (17) at the end of the powerplay.
Leg-spinner Calvin Harrison also bowled Tristan Stubbs (2) with a beauty that pitched around leg stump before turning back to clip off as Hampshire fell short, despite the best efforts of Weatherley, who had amassed an unbeaten 88 from 58 balls in the semi-final win over Notts Outlaws earlier in the day.
Baker was the last out, bowled by Sanderson to spark wild Steelbacks celebrations and condemn Hampshire to a second straight runners-up up finish, following defeat to Somerset in last year's showpiece.
This triumph for Northants, which denied Hampshire a record fourth title, follows successes in 2013 and 2016, with Northants now having the joint-most trophies across the T20 competition's 24-year history, alongside Somerset, Leicestershire and Hampshire.
Northants rebound from batting meltdown at Edgbaston
Ultimately, Northants - who had superbly defended 143 all out versus defending champions Somerset in Saturday's first semi-final as Willey bagged 3-17 and played his part in a staggering relay catch - were not left to rue their astonishing collapse.
With Vasconcelos dazzling and Lewis McManus (22 off 17) going well, the Steelbacks possibly had thoughts of a total of 190 or 200, only for McManus hauling Scott Currie (2-38) to deep square leg to trigger a superb Hampshire comeback.
- Listen to episodes of the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast
- England, Hundred and more: What cricket is live on Sky?
- Choose the Sky Sports push notifications you want
Baker, who earlier bounced out the dangerous Chris Lynn (4), cleaned up Vasconcelos at the end of the 17th over as he exposed his stumps before bowling Sales (0) and Louis Kimber (0) in the 19th around pinning Harrison (1) lbw.
Hampshire's catching was electric, with Vince claiming back-pedalling efforts at cover and mid-off and Weatherley taking a fine low chance at deep backward square.
The Hawks' run chase got off to the worst possible start when Toby Albert (0) was nicked off by Willey first ball, while they were 90-5 in the 12th over once Sales castled Hilton Cartwright (11) with a yorker.
A 48-run stand between Weatherley and England all-rounder Liam Dawson (35 off 18) revived Hampshire, only for the latter's run by Procter out in the 17th over with 32 runs needed to restore Northants' belief.
Procter proceeded to bowl James Fuller (3) and Currie in the space of three balls in the 19th over, before Sanderson had the final say, banishing Weatherley - who recorded the most runs by a batter across a single Finals Day - and then vaporising Baker.
Watch every match from The Hundred live on Sky Sports between Tuesday July 21 and Sunday August 16, with every day seeing a double-header of a women's fixture followed by a men's match at the same venue. Stream cricket and more sport with NOW.
