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13 September 2025, 18:21 BST
Vitality Blast semi-final, Edgbaston
Northamptonshire Steelbacks 158-7 (18 overs): Broad 61*; Currie 2-34
Hampshire Hawks 155-4 (15.3 overs): Lynn 108*; Zaib 3-18
Hampshire won by six wickets (DLS Method)
Hampshire Hawks set up a meeting with Somerset in the T20 Blast final after Chris Lynn’s stunning century helped them beat Northamptonshire Steelbacks in the second semi-final.
Opener Lynn’s 108 not out off 51 balls was the first ever hundred at T20 Finals Day and one of the cleanest displays of hitting ever seen in the competition.
The 35-year-old Australian smashed spinner Lloyd Pope for five sixes in a row in going to his century and was then given out lbw attempting a sixth – a decision that was overturned.
Lynn struck 11 maximums in total, the majority on the leg-side and into a raucous Eric Hollies Stand at Edgbaston.
In a game reduced to 18 overs a side after rain interrupted Northants’ innings of 158-7, Hampshire raced to their revised target of 155 to win by six wickets.
Northants had struggled to 86-6 in the 11th over when a short shower took the players off before Justin Broad (61 not out) and Luke Procter’s excellent stand of 70 took the two-time winners to what should have been a competitive score.
But Lynn’s brilliance saw Hampshire home with 15 balls to spare in an incredible scorecard where the second-highest scorer was James Vince with 12.
It means a mouthwatering final will now take place at 19:00 BST between two sides who have each reached Finals Day a record 11 times.
Lynn, who played for Northants in the competition in 2022 and 2023, is regarded as one of the most destructive batters in T20 cricket.
And the right-hander demonstrated why as he went to a sixth hundred in the format off 49 deliveries.
In the midst of flaying Pope’s first five balls of the 15th over for six, Lynn went past Luke Wright’s previous record Finals Day score of 92, made for Sussex against Somerset in 2018.
It seemed almost a certainty that he would also become the first batter to hit 36 off an over at Finals Day but was struck on the pad attempting to sweep Pope’s sixth delivery and given out lbw.
On review the ball was shown to have hit him outside off stump and he went on to see Hampshire past the winning line.
No other Hawks batter could get going, with Toby Albert, Vince, Ben Mayes and Ali Orr all falling cheaply, but they did not need to with Lynn so dominant at the other end.
Hampshire will now attempt to win the tournament for a record fourth time to go with their wins in 2010, 2012 and 2022.
