Watch Nottinghamshire vs Leicestershire live on Sky Sports Cricket from 5.45pm on Thursday
Thursday 1 October 2020 15:24, UK
Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Sussex, Lancashire, Gloucestershire, Northamptonshire, Surrey and Kent are just one win away from Vitality Blast Finals Day.
But which of those eight teams will make it through Thursday's quarter-finals and into Saturday's T20 showpiece at Edgbaston?
Niall O'Brien quizzed Steven Finn on just that during the Bob Willis Trophy Final, with the latter giving his tips from a freezing cold Lord's.
Read on or watch the video at the top of the page to see who Finn is tipping to progress. As a Middlesex man, could he really back Surrey?
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE OUTLAWS vs LEICESTERSHIRE FOXES
(5.45pm, Thursday, Sky Sports Cricket)
FINNY SAYS: Looking at the way Notts have played this year, they have been impressive. Ben Duckett and Joe Clarke have been outstanding, single-handedly winning games at certain stages. Their big players have put their hands up and they are powerful but Twenty20 is a funny game. Leicestershire can attack this with everything they've got. Arron Lilley and Gareth Delany have done well with the bat for them. It will be a hotly-fought contest but my tip is Nottinghamshire to edge that one.
SUSSEX SHARKS vs LANCASHIRE LIGHTNING
(1pm, Thursday)
FINNY SAYS: Luke Wright is doing well - we [Middlesex] found that out in a couple of games! Sussex are a very strong team and have done consistently well in the tournament, coming back from dodgy positions in games to win them and steamrolled teams occasionally as well. Chris Jordan [who is playing in the IPL] is a big loss - he is an experienced T20 player but people around him have put their hands up.
Ollie Robinson and George Garton have bowled very well in tandem and they have Danny Briggs' spin - he has been an outstanding bowler in T20 for a number of years. Liam Livingstone has done it in big games for Lancashire with ball and bat. He is a dangerous player and hits the ball a long way. But I am backing Sussex - only because I have experienced what they have done this year. They were outstanding against us.
GLOUCESTERSHIRE vs NORTHAMPTONSHIRE STEELBACKS
(2pm, Thursday)
FINNY SAYS: Ian Cockbain has been outstanding - he was so destructive against Warwickshire on Sky, hitting it all over the ground. Their bowlers - David Payne, Tom Smith, Ryan Higgins - have taken wickets, done very good jobs. It is going to be an exciting game. We know how dangerous Northants can be, Paul Stirling especially. I played with him at Middlesex and know exactly what he can do. Momentum is a massive thing so the fact they lost four games in a row before winning their final group game may count against them but T20 is a funny game. I am backing Gloucestershire.
SURREY vs KENT
(1pm, Thursday)
FINNY SAYS: Laurie Evans is performing well back at Surrey. Will Jacks has been very good with ball and bat, and they have Hashim Amla's experience, Rikki Clarke in the middle order and Reece Topley has come back from the England bubble to do a very good job. They look a strong team - they ran away with the South Group.
Kent's Zak Crawley has had a golden summer, he is riding off the back of the momentum he got from that Test series against Pakistan. He is dangerous but they also have Daniel Bell-Drummond, while Alex Blake and Sam Billings are big power hitters in that middle order. This is probably the closest tie of the quarter-finals but I think Surrey's momentum through the group stage might that give them the edge.
Watch Nottinghamshire vs Leicestershire live on Sky Sports Cricket from 5.45pm on Thursday. Then watch Finals Day in full live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10.30am on Saturday.
