Notts Outlaws head to Edgbaston this weekend to take part in Vitality Blast Finals Day.
It is the fifth time the Outlaws have reached this stage of the competition.
They will be looking to regain the trophy they won for the only time in 2017.
Saturday’s showpiece occasion will open with the Outlaws facing defending champions Worcestershire Rapids in the first semi-final.
Essex will play Derbyshire Falcons in the second semi-final.
Record of Each Finalist
Notts Outlaws
This will be the 17th T20 Blast Finals Day and the fifth time that Notts Outlaws will have been involved.
Their route this year came via a second-placed finish in the North Group, followed by a ten-wicket victory over Middlesex in the quarters.
Notts Outlaws’ record at Finals Day:
2006 (held at Trent Bridge) – beaten finalists. After defeating Surrey by 37 runs, Notts lost to Leicestershire Foxes in the final by four runs.
2010 (held at Rose Bowl, Southampton) – beaten semi-finalists. Notts lost to Somerset by 3 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis Method.
2016 (held at Edgbaston) – beaten semi-finalists. Notts lost to Northants Steelbacks by 8 runs.
2017 (held at Edgbaston) – Winners. After defeating Hampshire by 23 runs, Notts won their first T20 crown with a 22-run victory over Birmingham Bears in the final.
Worcestershire Rapids
Worcestershire Rapids are the defending champions. Last year they reached Finals Day for the first time and went on to lift the trophy. After recording a semi-final win over Lancashire, the Rapids defeated Sussex by 5 wickets to lift the title.
Essex Eagles
Essex Eagles are the sole representative of the South Group at this year’s Finals Day. They scraped into fourth spot at the end of the qualifying programme and then defeated Lancashire Lightning in their quarter-final.
Essex have played at four previous Finals Days, losing at the semi-final stage each time.
Derbyshire Falcons
Derbyshire Falcons have reached their first Finals Day, the last of the 18 first-class counties to take part in this short-format finale.
They qualified after finishing third in the North Group and then defeated Sussex at Hove in the quarter-finals.
Head-to-Head
Notts Outlaws’ record in T20 cricket against the other three sides playing at Finals Day is as follows:
Worcestershire – Played 16, Won 9, Lost 5, Abandoned 2
Derbyshire – Played 32, Won 21, Lost 7, Abandoned 4
Essex – Played 2, Won 1, Lost 1
Stats
If Notts Outlaws were to win their second domestic T20 title, they would join Leicestershire (3), Hampshire (2) and Northants (2) as the only multiple winners.
Former Leicestershire wicket-keeper Paul Nixon is the only player to appear in three domestic T20-winning sides. Dan Christian, who won with Hampshire in 2010 and Notts in 2017, could equal his achievement, as could Ben Duckett.
Duckett was a member of the winning Northants Steelbacks sides in 2013 and 2016. He also played in the losing final of 2015.
Darren Stevens could also win his third winners medal and become the first player to do so for three different counties.
The 43-year old has previously won the trophy with Leicestershire and Kent and is a member of the Derbyshire squad for this year’s event.
Luke Wood – a squad member with Notts in 2017 and a member of the winning Worcestershire side last year – is bidding for a third winners medal in three years.
Alex Wakeley of Northants Steelbacks is the only captain to lift the trophy more than once.
Dan Christian will be hoping to match his feat having led the Outlaws to glory in 2017. Worcestershire’s Moeen Ali could also win for the second time.
Samit Patel will be playing at Finals Day for the fifth time. The record is seven appearances, held by Hampshire’s James Vince.
Samit Patel will also be bidding to become the first player to win a second man-of-the-match award in the final, after picking up the accolade for his unbeaten 64 and running out the dangerous Ed Pollock with a direct hit in the 2017 decider.
Harry Gurney has taken 20 wickets in this season’s competition, two behind the overall leader, Ravi Rampaul of Derbyshire. Worcestershire’s Pat Brown took 31 last year, although there were fewer matches called off due to rain in 2018.
Babar Azam is the leading run-scorer in this year’s competition with 578. The Pakistan international, who represented Somerset, is unlikely to be caught by any of the performers this weekend. Leading run-scorers for the finalists are:
444 Billy Godleman (Derbyshire)
396 Riki Wessels (Worcestershire)
366 Alex Hales (Notts Outlaws)
360 Dan Lawrence (Essex)
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