Lancashire beat Northants to win their first T20 Blast final

LANCASHIRE Lightning won their first T20 title with a 13-run win over Northants in the final at Edgbaston. Chasing 167 to regain the trophy they won in 2013, the Steelbacks needed 21 to win off the final over.
It proved beyond them as the Red Rose County lifted the trophy in their third final appearance, having finished runners-up last year.
Alex Davies top-scored with 47 off 26 balls in Lancashire’s 166-7, with Northants mustering 153-6 in reply.
Scores: Lancashire 166-7 (20 ovs): Davies 47, Prince 43; Afridi 3-14, Willey 2-21.
Northants 153-6 (20 overs): Cobb 44 not out, Afridi 26; Faulkner 2-25)
Not even a late display of power-hitting from Northants’ overseas player Shahid Afridi (26 off 18 balls), who dislocated the finger of James Faulkner with one shot drilled back at the Australian, could see the Steelbacks to their target.
Lancashire, led by former Warwickshire and England one-day coach Ashley Giles, had earlier conquered tricky batting conditions to add 31 runs from their final three overs and post an imposing total.
In reply, Josh Cobb finished unbeaten on 44 from 37 balls for Northants, but he was left stranded at the wrong end as they came up short.
A TRIAL BY SPIN
It was an unusual Final Day at Edgbaston, where two low-scoring semi-finals had preceded the evening’s showpiece.
Lancashire found strength in their spin department as they coasted to a six-wicket win against Hampshire, with Stephen Parry and Arron Lilley producing combined figures of 5-32 and their value shone through again in the final.
Captain Steven Croft chipped in with his slow variations alongside Parry and Lilley and the trio contributed 2-67 from their 10 overs as Northants struggled to keep the required rate below 10-an-over.
Pakistan all-rounder Afridi only arrived a few hours before the start of Final Day after his flight to the UK was delayed.
His spin bowling proved highly effective as he produced superb figures of 3-14 in the final.
But, just as he looked set to mount one of his trademark destructive T20 innings to pull off an unlikely victory, rookie Lancashire seam bowler Gareth Griffiths dismissed him for 26 with the help of a catch at deep point by Liam Livingstone.
It was 21-year-old’s second T20 appearance for Lancashire, having made his debut in the semi-final earlier in the day.
Once Afridi was back in the dugout at 133-5 in the 18th over, the task was beyond Northants. (BBC Sport)