Steelbacks beat Hampshire Hawks in thriller to become 2026 Vitality Blast champions
18.07.26, 23:31 Updated 27.07.26, 17:08
Jeremy Blackmore
Northamptonshire Steelbacks are 2026 Vitality Blast champions after beating Hampshire Hawks by 14 runs in a nail-biting final at Edgbaston.
Chasing 170 to win, the Hawks were five wickets down, needing 41 runs from the final four overs with Joe Weatherley well set with a commanding 75 amid a partnership of 48 with Liam Dawson (35).
But Luke Procter ran out Dawson with a direct hit and then struck twice in the penultimate over before Ben Sanderson finished things off.
Sanderson took two wickets in two balls at the start of the final over, with David Willey brilliantly catching Weatherley off a skier on the long-off boundary.
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Jeremy Blackmore is the founder and editor of The Steeler. Jeremy is a freelance cricket writer and Wantage Road regular. He has written extensively for a host of publications including The Cricketer, The Cricket Paper, Wisden Cricket Monthly and ESPNcricinfo. He also covers Northamptonshire for the ECB Reporters Network.