T20 Blast Finals Day: Yorkshire, Lancashire, Hampshire and Somerset bid for title

Harry Brook is back from England duty to play for Yorkshire

Four teams will battle it out to be crowned T20 Blast champions at Edgbaston on Saturday, in what promises to be the most exciting Finals Day in its history.

Yorkshire Vikings and Lancashire Lightning get things under way in a mouth-watering Roses game, before Hampshire Hawks and Somerset lock horns in a repeat of last year's semi-final.

With the showpiece event returning to the height of summer, BBC Sport takes a closer look at what to expect.

Semi-final one - Yorkshire Vikings v Lancashire Lightning (11:00 BST)

The Roses rivals meet at Finals Day for the first time.

Both matches in the group stage went down to the wire, with the first game tied at Old Trafford before Lancashire won by four runs in the reverse fixture.

Only four runs separated Lancashire and Yorkshire in the two group-stage matches

Lancashire batter Tim David said he was relishing the prospect of the two sides squaring off for a place in the final.

"My first two experiences of Roses games have both been close matches and I think that's awesome," he told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"There seems to be a feeling about those games. They're the sort of games you want in finals.

"Looking back on the tournament, that first game against Yorkshire in front of a packed house at Old Trafford was probably one of the highlights.

"It was an exciting start and it's been a good tournament. There's been different challenges along the way, but it's been good fun and I've enjoyed being part of it.

"We played some really good cricket at the start and we've had a good chance to reset and get a really good win in the quarter-final [against Essex]. It was a magnificent batting performance."

Yorkshire are one of the competition's perennial underachievers, making just their third appearance in the last four and they are yet to lift the trophy.

But head coach Ottis Gibson told BBC Radio Leeds they were not there to "make up the numbers and have a party".

"At the end of the group games against Lancashire we sat down, looked over them and saw where could we have saved a run here or there and where we got it wrong against certain batters," he said.

"Tim David punished us at Headingley because we got it wrong against him, but both games were very tight affairs. We're expecting another tight game but hopefully this time the result is in our favour.

"Playing in the final would be a fantastic achievement for the team because of the way we have had to chop and change the side. There was a period where I don't think we played the same team twice."

Both sides have England players back in their ranks for Finals Day, with batter Harry Brook released from the one-day international squad to play for Yorkshire, while Lancashire have opener Phil Salt and leg-spinner Matt Parkinson available.

However, Yorkshire trio Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow and David Willey, and Lancashire's Jos Buttler and Liam Livingstone have not been released, with England set to play India in the one-day series decider at Emirates Old Trafford on Sunday.

Semi-final two - Hampshire Hawks v Somerset (14:30)

Rilee Rossouw smashed 93 off 36 balls in Somerset's record-breaking 265-5 in the quarter-final

Somerset head into Finals Day on the back of their T20 Blast record score of 265-5 in the quarter-final win over Derbyshire.

In the 2021 semi-final, Somerset crept over the line to beat Hampshire by two wickets before losing to Kent Spitfires in the final.

Head coach Jason Kerr said they were "really looking forward" to a rematch.

"Last year we had a miraculous semi-final, Ben Green and Josh Davey got us over the line when the reality is we didn't deserve to win that game," he told BBC Radio Somerset.

"So it shows what we're capable of as a team. The quarter-final was a near-perfect performance, and if we can get anywhere near that we'll certainly be competitive."

Two-time winners Hampshire are making their ninth appearance at Finals Day but are looking to end a streak of five semi-final defeats in a row.

Somerset beat Hampshire with two balls to spare in last year's semi-final

Hawks and England all-rounder Liam Dawson said he was "buzzing" for the big day and felt their semi-final woes were "irrelevant".

"It's always a fantastic occasion, a sold out crowd with four very good teams - it's going to be an exciting day," he told BBC Radio Solent.

"It's something we have to deal with [semi-final defeats], us players who've been there before, we know that.

"But it's irrelevant as well - if you play good cricket on the day hopefully you come out on top.

"If you keep putting yourselves in positions getting to semi-finals and finals, that's all you can do. Whoever plays the best cricket will come out on top."

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