T20 Blast: Lancashire chase down imposing total to extend Yorkshire's wait for Blast success

Yorkshire’s quest to win the T20 Blast continues after they suffered Roses heartache on Finals Day at Edgbaston.

Yorkshire looked to have the semi-final in the bag when they scored 204-7 after winning the toss, Jordan Thompson striking a 17-ball half-century and Tom Kohler-Cadmore his third fifty against Lancashire in this year’s tournament.

But Lancashire are formidable opponents and they proved it in the West Midlands sunshine, winning by six wickets with eight balls to spare in front of a sell-out crowd of 25,000.

Defeat was hard luck on Thompson, in particular, who smashed five sixes in the space of seven balls - and six in total - in a brutal demonstration of ball-striking power.

Thompson was the man whose successful defence of the five runs needed by Surrey in the last over of the quarter-final earned Yorkshire a place at Finals Day for just the third time.

But not even the self-styled “Big Show”, the man who makes things happen, could make this one happen for his team as Lancashire refused to wilt under scoreboard pressure.

Remarkably, it was Lancashire’s highest successful chase in T20 cricket and the highest achieved at Finals Day, Keaton Jennings following his triple century in the County Championship game against Somerset at Southport this week with the top score of 75 and captain Dane Vilas chipping in with an unbeaten 63.

On a balmy late morning, with the action starting at 11am, the teams took to the field to the sound and fury of a fireworks display, a rather incongruous sight in the near 30-degree heat.

Adam Lyth, also fresh from a big century in the Championship, 183 against Surrey in Scarborough, clipped the fourth ball of the game from Luke Wood over square-leg for six but sliced his next delivery to Tom Hartley at deep backward-point.

As beach balls bounced around in The Hollies Stand, where the fancy dress costumes beggared description, Kohler-Cadmore could have been out three times early in his innings.

Vilas missed the stumps from mid-on when Kohler-Cadmore got off the mark with a single off Richard Gleeson, then he was almost caught at mid-wicket and at extra-cover as the ball looped agonisingly out of fielders’ reach.

But Kohler-Cadmore found his rhythm with four successive boundaries in the fourth over, bowled by Gleeson, three times pulling the pace bowler and then off-driving him gloriously to the Birmingham End.

Dawid Malan showed his skill when deliberately guiding Wood to the boundary through the slip area - and then his power when cover-driving Lamb for six towards The Hollies Stand.

Malan and Kohler-Cadmore lifted Yorkshire to 66-1 by the end of the powerplay, but Malan departed four runs later, bowled by Matt Parkinson’s fourth delivery as he tried for another six over cover.

Yorkshire lost another wicket to spin when Luke Wells struck with his second ball, Harry Brook chopping on, the visitors reaching 87-3 at the halfway stage.

Kohler-Cadmore reached his fifty from 37 balls with his second six as Hartley was launched over mid-wicket; then he lofted the left-armer for another six over long-on as Yorkshire recovered from a mid-innings lull.

But Lancashire hit back once more when Kohler-Cadmore was bowled trying to hit Wells to the on-side, leaving Yorkshire 124-4 in the 15th.

Wells might have had a third wicket but was unable to cling on when Thompson, on one, crashed back a return chance, the ball squirting through the bowler’s hands for a single.

It proved to be costly as Thompson then lofted Wells for six over long-on and followed up with his five-in-seven burst as Danny Lamb was twice launched over mid-wicket and once over long-off, then Gleeson pummelled over long-leg and straight.

Thompson fell one ball after reaching his fifty, pulling Gleeson to deep square, and then Shadab Khan perished in similar manner to Lamb after playing his part with 34 from 24 balls, Lamb then bowling Matthew Waite for a golden duck.

Lancashire got off to a flyer in reply, reaching 48-1 from just three overs. The last of those, bowled by Matty Revis, disappeared for 29 but did include the wicket of Phil Salt, caught behind after scoring 36 from 15 balls with three sixes.

Lancashire lost a second wicket in a powerplay that brought 89 runs when Steven Croft smashed Dominic Drakes straight to mid-off, where Brook took an excellent reaction catch, but Jennings and Vilas showed their class in a stand of 112 from 69 balls.

Jennings went to his fifty from 30 deliveries and the game was done when he was third out with the total on 181 in the 17th, skying Drakes to Brook at mid-off.

Tim David holed out to backward-square off Revis with three runs needed, and Vilas sealed it with a six over cover off the same bowler as Lancashire made it look easy in the end.