Gloucestershire crowned T20 champions on dramatic finals day at Edgbaston

It was a bittersweet day for cricket fans on Saturday. While it was wonderful seeing Gloucestershire lift the T20 Blast trophy for the first time, their triumphant win over Somerset means one other thing – the summer cricket season is coming to an end.

It’s been a thrilling few months of the sport across all formats and, as ever, the T20 competition continued to live up to its thrilling reputation. Gloucestershire weren’t fancied to go all the way this year, particularly after only finishing fourth in the groups.

But a pair of stunning performances at Edgbaston silenced the doubters to etch their name on the trophy forever.

Gloucestershire claim maiden T20 Blast title

A thrilling finals day at Edgbaston saw Gloucestershire overcome Somerset by eight wickets to lift the trophy for the first time. Despite finishing fourth in the group standings and scraping through, they delivered a champion’s performance.

Gloucestershire were comfortable throughout and won the game with five overs left thanks to an unbeaten 58 from Miles Hammond, as well as a strong knock of 53 from Australian star Cameron Bancroft.

Meanwhile, Matthew Taylor stole the show with the ball in hand as he was crowned player of the match. The fast bowler took a remarkable three wickets for just 18 runs, picking up where he left off having secured 3/25 in the semi-final earlier in the day.

Gloucestershire were playing in their first T20 final since 2007. They lost to Kent Spitfires on that day 17 years ago but good things come to those who wait and they’ve finally come out on top following a brilliant campaign.

David Payne finished top of the pile in the wickets rankings, taking 33 throughout the competition. Meanwhile, Bancroft, who returned to Gloucestershire this season, scored 534 runs, the fourth-most in the standings.

Surrey peter out and Somerset fail to retain crown

Ahead of finals day, many were expecting Surrey to claim their first title since the inaugural T20 Blast season back in 2003. The side based at The Oval dominated in the group stages, finishing top of the pile after winning nine of their 14 matches.

And after seeing off Durham in their quarter-final clash, they were confident ahead of their final four match-up against Somerset. Surrey beat Durham by five wickets thanks to a powerful 67 from Dom Sibley, but they came unstuck in the semis.

Somerset’s Sean Dickson was the man in form with the bat, recording a knock of 78 as the west country side won by six wickets, securing the win with just eight balls left. They were the reigning champions and were looking to retain their crown having beaten Essex Eagles in the final a year ago.

But their momentum dwindled on Saturday evening and they could only finish as runners-up. Somerset weren’t the only side to feel the wrath of new champions Gloucestershire, as Sussex can attest to.

They completed an all southern line-up on finals day and would have been confident ahead of their semi-final clash. Like Surrey before them, they won nine of their group matches and finished second in the standings.

Sussex possess quality throughout their squad and boast the talent of Daniel Hughes in their side, who topped the run-scoring charts with a phenomenal 596 during the competition. But it wasn’t to be in the semi-final as they never really got going and ultimately lost by eight wickets with more than seven overs left in the bank.

England stars miss out due to scheduling clash

While the T20 Blast finals day went smoothly and was enjoyed by all, there were secretly (and not so secretly) plenty of grumblings about the scheduling of the showpiece event at Edgbaston.

With England scheduled to take on Australia in their T20 series on Friday and Sunday, either side of the Blast finals on Saturday, the counties involved were forced to go without their international stars, significantly weakening their playing squads.

Surrey, who struggled in their semi-final defeat to Somerset, were the worst affected. They were without Jamie Overton, Sam Curran, Will Jacks and Reece Topley. Luckily, they were able to play the returning Ollie Pope, Jamie Smith and Dan Lawrence, who have been playing for England’s Test side this summer.

Meanwhile, Sussex had no choice but to play without fast bowler Jofra Archer, who got two wickets for just 20 runs in their quarter-final win over Lancashire. And the lack of England talent available wasn’t the only issue with the scheduling.

As well as clashing with England’s games against Australia, the quarter-finals took place more than six weeks after the end of the group stage, which came to a close on 19th July. This meant that finals day was almost two months after the groups concluded.

The T20 Blast is among the most popular competitions in world cricket but leaving such a huge gap between matches will undoubtedly stall momentum, with fans likely to lose interest in proceedings. Capitalising when the tournament’s popularity is at its peak would surely make sense, placing the knockout stages in the weeks immediately following the conclusion of the group stage.

Similarly, while finals day was ultimately unaffected by the weather, there were fears that rain could ruin the day, as it did for England’s third and final T20 international against Australia on Sunday. Moving finals day to earlier in the summer would increase the chances of unaffected play, as long as it avoided clashing with international matches.

It remains to be seen whether those in charge will take action when scheduling next season’s competition. But considering the amount of uproar, it would make sense for them to at least consider preserving the quality of the world’s most popular T20 competition before it’s too late.

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