Hampshire's Vince and Weatherley praise 'deserving winners' Northants

The south coast side went down by 14 runs to Northants at Edgbaston on Saturday night, less than a year on from losing to Somerset by six wickets at the same stage last September.

After the Steelbacks secured a first T20 Blast win for 10 years, a magnanimous Vince admitted he felt it was the fielding that proved the difference between two evenly-matched teams, with Hawks being bowled out for 155 in the final over chasing Northants' 169 all out.

That total was a slightly disappointing one for the County as they had at one point been 138 for three, but David Willey's side were razor sharp as they defended their total.

They bowled superbly, claimed every catch on offer, and also secured what proved to be a crucial run-out as Luke Procter threw down the stumps from 10 yards away to get rid of a well-set Liam Dawson in the closing stages.

That was in contrast to a sloppy performance in the field from Hampshire, who made a clutch of errors, and ultimately Vince felt that proved crucial.

"First of all, I want to say congratulations to all the Northants boys," said the Hawks skipper.

"They have had a fantastic competition and thoroughly deserve to take the trophy.

"On the game, I think our fielding was a little bit sloppy and worth 15 or 20 runs compared to theirs.

"They probably bowled slightly better in the conditions with the new ball, but that said the way Sonny Baker, Scott Currie and the guys at the back end pulled it back, we felt comfortable chasing 170.

“We were never able to get that big partnership in the top two or three wickets to really put them on the back foot.

"But the way Liam Dawson came in, he got us into a position where we felt like the game was there to be won.

“His run out then flipped momentum a bit.

"That meant guys were coming in who hadn’t had a bat on the day and they weren’t able to strike it, which is a tough job to do.

"Northants out-fielded us, but otherwise I think it was a fairly even game."

It was to be a bitter-sweet day for Hawks batter Joe Weatherley, who scored an unbeaten 88 in their semi-final win over Notts Outlaws, and then 75 in the final.

It was the first time in the history of the tournament that a batter has scored two half-centuries on Finals Day.

The right-hander's total of 163 runs also set a new record for the most scored at a Finals Day - bettering Luke Wright's 125 in 2018 - and he also finished as the leading run-scorer in this year's Blast campaign.

Weatherley admitted it was tough to not end up on the winning side, but he too praised the Steelbacks, and felt they were 'deserved' victors.

"I'm in a bit of a daze right now to be honest," Weatherley told BBC Radio Solent.

"I honestly was just trying to do the best for the team and I'm gutted about the result. Exhaustion is the main feeling right now.

"Credit to Northants. They were probably underdogs coming into the day and they mix their bowlers really nicely.

"They're a resourceful team and they were here last year, they've been playing some good T20 cricket so I must say credit to them. They're a good side and they deserve to win."