Richard Mann delivers his verdict on T20 Blast Finals Day, which takes place at Edgbaston throughout Saturday.
Cricket betting tips: T20 Blast Finals Day
2pts Matty Hurst over 22.5 player performance points vs Somerset at 17/20 (BetVictor)
2pts Toby Albert top Hampshire batsman vs Northamptonshire at 4/1 (General)
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The T20 Blast has lost much of its shine in recent years, overshadowed more recently by the arrival of The Hundred and this year once again being hurt by an international schedule which means a number of big names will be absent from Saturday’s Finals Day at Edgbaston.
Nevertheless, there is no doubting that Finals Days remains one of the highlights of the English cricket summer. As Joe Root remarked on Betfair’s Stick To Cricket podcast this week, Finals Day is 'the closest thing to international cricket you will experience as a player'.
More recently, Finals Day, and the competition in general, has been dominated by the south, and in fact, you have to go back to 2020 when Nottinghamshire were crowned champions for the last winner to come from the North Group.
Red Rose hurt by international call-ups
Lancashire, along with Northamptonshire, fly the flag for the north this year, but with Jos Buttler, Phil Salt and Luke Wood all on international duty this weekend, the Red Rose appear to have an awfully tough task on their hands.
A masterful display from Liam Livingstone as Lancashire Lightning march on to the semi-finals 🚨👏
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket)
Liam Livingstone, who struck an unbeaten 85 from only 45 balls in their quarter-final win over Kent, will be key to their chances, and he was also outstanding with bat and ball in The Hundred recently.
Lancashire are up first on Saturday, their semi-final against 2023 champions and last season’s runners-up Somerset due to begin at 11am.
Somerset pulled off a miracle run chase to down Birmingham Bears in the last eight, Sean Dickson the hero on the night, and they remain a strong side in all departments, though it’s worth noting they will be without Tom Banton who is also in England duty, and paceman Riley Meredith.
What are the best bets?
They are favourites (8/11) to beat Lancashire, but things could be set up nicely for MATTY HURST to have a big game, and he looks worth backing in the PLAYER PERFORMANCE market at OVER 22.5 POINTS with Bet Victor.
With Salt absent, expect Hurst to take over wicket-keeping duties for Lancashire, something he did earlier in the season, which means catches and stumpings are in the game for him. In nine Blast appearances this season, Hurst has six catches (10 points) and a stumping (25 points).
If James Anderson, so impressive in this tournament thus far, can get that new ball swinging for Lancashire, Hurst could be busy behind the sticks, and with the bat (one point per run), he has enjoyed a solid tournament, scoring 205 runs at an average of 25.37 in those nine appearances.
Crucially, Hurst was batting at number three earlier in the season when Salt and Buttler were missing, so that could well happen again on Saturday. If not, I still think the current line represents decent value.
At the time of writing, BetVictor is the only firm quoting Hurst in that particular market, but that should change closer to Saturday, and anything below the 25 line looks a bet to me.
Can Willey stop Hampshire?
The second semi-final is due to start at 2.30pm with Hampshire taking on Northamptonshire.
If pushed, I’d lean towards Hampshire, champions in 2010 and 2022, to win the title from here, but I’m not sure 5/2 screams value given they have a tough semi-final against a Northamptonshire side that beat Surrey in the last eight.
Veteran Ravi Bopara was the star of the show in that match, striking a magnificent century, but the bowling attack in particular is very good and in David Willey, they have a three-dimensional cricketer who has been outstanding all summer. In 15 Blast matches, Willey already has 452 runs, along with 20 wickets.
Albert a star in the making
He could be the main obstacle to Hampshire reaching the final, and it will be interesting to see how the likes of Chris Lynn, James Vince and TOBY ALBERT counter his new ball spell.
Vince endured a poor run of form in The Hundred and I do think ALBERT looks a spot of value to be TOP HAMPSHIRE BATSMAN at 4/1.
The 23-year-old looks a fine player in the making and peeled off a silky 68 in the quarter-final win over Durham when top-scoring, making that three wins for him in this market in Hampshire's last four Blast fixtures.
Hampshire Hawks have hit 89 from the Powerplay 😱
— Vitality Blast (@VitalityBlast)
This is incredible hitting by Toby Albert and Chris Lynn
Albert is clearly a very talented young man and given he is Hampshire’s leading runscorer in the tournament this year, with 540 runs at 49.09, I think it’s fair to argue that 4/1 still underestimates his credentials.
Finally, it’s worth pointing out that while Edgbaston generally produces one of the best batting surfaces in the country, it wasn’t all plain sailing for batsmen on Finals Day last year. 154 was comfortably chased in the first semi-final, but 106 all out was the first innings score in the second match, and 124 in the final, for all both were successfully chased.
At the end of a long, generally dry summer, don’t be surprised if spin plays a big part as the day wears on. The weather, as ever, is another thing punters will need to consider come Saturday.
Preview published at 1350 BST on 11/09/25
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