The Lightning secured their first one-day trophy since 1999 and it was a fitting tribute to the side who has won the most matches in the 13-year history of the tournament without ever lifting the trophy. It was Lancashire's sixth visit to Finals Day and their second appearance in the final in as many seasons following a convincing victory over Hampshire in the semi-final, which Ashley Giles' side won by six wickets with more than an over to spare.
Lancashire made a blistering start to their innings after being put into bat by the Steelbacks, with Alex Davies leading their powerplay efforts with his quickfire approach. The young wicketkeeper-batsman hit 47 from only 26 balls, an innings which included six fours and one six, as he and Ashwell Prince added 77 runs for the opening partnership.
Prince's knock of 43 off 45 deliveries was much more patient, but it was the perfect compliment to the devil-may-care stance taken by Davies. However, when Davies fell to Josh Cobb (1-16) Lancashire's dominant start took an unpleasant detour. The Lightning, who were playing in their second Twenty20 final in as many years, reached 52/0 at the end of the powerplay, only to be pegged back by the loss of Davies and then Karl Brown in quick succession.
Cobb struck the first important breakthrough when he bowled Davies for 47 and Brown failed to make good of his form on the day after scoring 45 not out in the semi-final against Hampshire, with the Lancashire batsman being stumped by Ben Duckett off Shahid Afridi without adding to the total. These important wickets restored a degree of balance to proceedings, but Lancashire's big-name players were yet to come.
Jos Buttler failed to make an outstanding contribution in the second semi-final, scoring just ten runs against Hampshire, but his innings of 27 from 15 balls revitalised the Lancashire innings after a minor setback. Veteran Prince continued to plod along at a run-a-ball, while Ashes winner Buttler took the more offensive approach, hitting the first of two maximums to take Lancashire to 100 in the 13th over.
He then added his second six to end the following over and was beginning to look in ominous touch, but he fell for 27 when he was caught well in the deep by Cobb, rewarding England and soon-to-be Yorkshire all-rounder Willey with the first of two wickets. Willey, who claimed three wickets in Northamptonshire's win against Birmingham, finished with figures of 2-21, the second breakthrough for the Steelbacks in quick succession with Lancashire progressing to 125/4.
It proved to be a testing spell for Lancashire, who lost four wickets for seven runs when the Northants bowling attack added the prized scalp of James Faulkner to their collection. The Australian all-rounder played a vital role in Lancashire's semi-final win over Hampshire, hitting two sixes in a row to take the Lightning into the final with more than an over to spare, but on this occasion he was unable to inspire Lancashire out of their mini collapse, as he fell for five when he was caught by Richard Levi off the bowling of Afridi (3-14).
The Pakistan all-rounder had already claimed the important wicket of Brown and he proceeded to rip through the many dangerous options at Lancashire's disposal, removing Liam Livingstone for a golden duck when he was bowled first ball, with Lancashire stumbling to 130/6 in the 16th over. Two wickets in as many deliveries meant that the match was now firmly in the balance and several setbacks forced captain Steven Croft to play with a calmer approach than he had, perhaps, intended at the death.
The Lancashire skipper departed for nine when he was ran out backing up too far at the non-strikers end and in the end it was off-spinner Arron Lilley who gave Lancashire the finish they were after. His knock of 22 not out from 17 balls included a six off the final ball of the innings, which gave Lancashire a promising total of 166/7 after Northants had regained a degree of control.
Lancashire, who were playing part in their sixth appearance at Finals Day, have been beaten twice in the final itself and Northants, who won the competition in 2013, made a similarly promising start to their chase of 167 through Levi and Willey (24). Northants progressed to 25/0 after the first three overs of their run chase and Willey's early six over mid-wicket suggested that he was out to spoil Lancashire's party, but when he attempted to replicate the pull stroke once more he could only find the safe hands of Lilley, the second of two wickets for Faulkner (2-25) who had also accounted for Levi when he was caught comfortably by Davies at mid-off for 16 at 32/1.
The departure of Willey at 45/2 signalled a massive breakthrough for Lancashire, who made the most of having runs on the board by strangling the opposition through their spinners in trademark fashion. Northants had made it to 48/2 by the end of the six-over powerplay, but once Parry (1-23) and Lilley came into the attack, the run rate started to climb at an unsettling pace. Ben Duckett started brightly before he was pinned in fornt of all three stumps by Parry for 20 and captain Croft claimed the wicket of former Lancashire all-rounder Steven Crook when he was caught in the deep, with Lilley once again on the scene to take the catch.
Northants had now stumbled to 81/4, although the game was far from over as a contest due to the fact that the Steelbacks still had Cobb, one of the best T20 batsman in the country, as well as Pakistan veteran Afridi at their disposal. The deadly duo added 52 for the fifth-wicket stand and threatened to take the game away from Lancashire, who would have been runners-up for the third time in this tournament had the Steelbacks been able to recover the innings.
Afridi's gigantic blow into the leg-side sank the hearts of the travelling faithful, but not as much as the sight of Faulkner having his finger popped back in after Afridi crunched the ball back at the Aussie all-rounder, who carried on playing after dislocating his finger.
Finals Day can often forge new heroes and Lancashire's young fast bowler Gavin Griffiths will certainly remember the events that took place on 29th August for the rest of his life. The semi-final against Hampshire was his T20 debut for Lancashire, but the pace bowler was unfazed by the occasion and he added the prized scalp of Afridi to his collection when he was caught by Livingstone on the boundary for 26, the score now reaching 133/5.
Cobb continued to soldier on, but his task was becoming harder with every perfectly-executed yorker or slower ball that missed the outside edge of his bat. Rory Kleinveldt attempted to relieve some of the pressure, but his attempt to launch Griffiths (2-23) into the stands resulted in a simple grab at long-off for skipper Croft, who showed his uncontainable emotion, sensing that a long-awaited victory was finally heading Lancashire's way.
Griffiths delivered the remaining deliveries, knowing that only a miracle would prevent him and his teammates from lifting the trophy. Northamptonshire's total of 153/6 handed Lancashire their first T20 success after six visits to Finals Day and their first outright one-day success since 1999. It could be an incredibly successful start to Ashley Giles' tenure as Director of Cricket, as Lancashire appear to be on course to return to Division One, with the possibility of the second division title very much in Lancashire's grasp.
Cobb continued to soldier on, but his task was becoming harder with every perfectly-executed yorker or slower ball that missed the outside edge of his bat. Rory Kleinveldt attempted to relieve some of the pressure, but his attempt to launch Griffiths (2-23) into the stands resulted in a simple grab at long-off for skipper Croft, who showed his uncontainable emotion, sensing that a long-awaited victory was finally heading Lancashire's way.
Griffiths delivered the remaining deliveries, knowing that only a miracle would prevent him and his teammates from lifting the trophy. Northamptonshire's total of 153/6 handed Lancashire their first T20 success after six visits to Finals Day and their first outright one-day success since 1999. It could be an incredibly successful start to Ashley Giles' tenure as Director of Cricket, as Lancashire appear to be on course to return to Division One, with the possibility of the second division title very much in Lancashire's grasp.
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