After a dramatic conclusion to their quarter-final against Leicestershire Foxes, Notts Outlaws have made Finals Day for the fourth time in five years.

The Green and Golds will face Lancashire Lightning in the second semi-final, with the victors going on to play Surrey or Gloucestershire.

Read on for all you need to know about the last four tie, including:

 

 

How to follow the action 

Vitality Blast Finals Day will be televised live on Sky Sports.

Our match companion, Trent Bridge Live, will allow you to follow the action as it happens, with live commentary from BBC Radio Nottingham and a matchday blog.

You can also find regular live updates on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

 

Squad news

Notts have named an unchanged 14-man squad for Finals Day.

Read: Carter keen to play leading role

Watch: Moores on ‘special’ prospect of winning in a year like no other

 

Hours of Play

The all northern section encounter is scheduled to commence at 2.30 in the afternoon, after Surrey and Gloucestershire open the show at 11am.

An hour and a quarter is allocated for the first innings, before a 15-minute interval. 

The second innings is due to commence at 4pm, with the game set to conclude by 5.15pm.

An additional 60 minutes is permitted to make up for any time lost. 

The final is due to start at 6.45pm, with the first innings set to conclude at 8pm.

After a 15-minute interval, the chase is scheduled to begin at 8.15pm, with the game concluding by 9.30pm.

 

What happens if it rains?

The ECB will aim to complete all three Finals Day matches on the Sunday reserve day, with at least five overs per innings completed.

If the first semi-final cannot be completed, Finals Day will be re-scheduled for 7 October at Edgbaston for which there will be no reserve day.

However, if one semi-final is completed but further games are not, those matches will be determined by a bowl out or bowl outs.

If it proves impossible to complete Finals Day on field on 7 October, matches will be determined by a bowl out or bowl outs, following the below procedure:

  • Five players from each side will bowl two deliveries each at a wicket
  • The first bowler from Team A will bowl two deliveries, then the first bowler from Team B will bowl two deliveries
  • Then the second bowler from Team A will bowl two deliveries, and so on 
  • The side which bowls down the wicket most times shall be the winner
  • If the scores are equal, the same players will bowl one ball each alternately to achieve a result on a 'sudden death' basis
  • The order in which the bowlers bowl in the sudden death may differ from the first stage of the bowl out

 

Finals Day Stats

Notts v Lancs

  • Notts Outlaws have registered eight wins in their last nine attempts against Lancashire Lightning in T20s (L1), including a home six-wicket victory at Trent Bridge in their previous encounter this season.
  • Lancashire Lightning are set to feature in their eighth T20 Finals Day, the most appearances at the showpiece event of any side; this will be the sixth time that Notts Outlaws have reached Finals Day.
  • Joe Clarke (Notts Outlaws) smashed a 36-ball 77 against Lancashire Lightning when these sides met last month; he has the highest strike rate of any batsman to post 200+ runs this season in the T20 Blast (177).
  • Lancashire Lightning’s Matt Parkinson has picked up more Blast wickets than anyone else since the start of last season (34); he claimed figures of 3/9 in his side’s quarter-final win against Sussex Sharks.

Surrey v Gloucestershire

  • Gloucestershire have won back-to-back T20 matches versus Surrey; neither side has managed a three-game winning run over the other in this format, however.
  • Surrey are currently enjoying an eight-game winning streak in the T20 Blast whilst Gloucestershire have managed to record victories in eight of their last nine outings in the competition (L1).Gloucestershire have made T20 Finals Day for the first time since 2007; the longest wait of the four sides appearing in the 2020 edition of the competition.
  • No bowler has claimed more wickets in the 2020 T20 Blast than Ryan Higgins (16, Gloucestershire); he has bowled more Yorkers than anybody else this season (33)
  • Reece Topley (Surrey) has logged more dot balls than any other bowler in the 2020 T20 Blast (89) whilst teammate Will Jacks comes into this game having recorded the best figures by a Surrey bowler this season (4/15 v Kent Spitfires).

 

Last time out

Notts and Lancs could only be separated by net run-rate before the two sides met at Trent Bridge last month.

By the end of the evening’s entertainment, the Outlaws had consolidated their position atop the North Group.

After a lightning-fast start from Lancashire openers Alex Davies and Liam Livingstone, the Green and Golds attack began to suffocate the visitors’ big hitters. 

Imad Wasim and Samit Patel delivered miserly overs, with Patel seeing off Livingstone and Keaton Jennings.

Davies was removed by Dan Christian, while wickets from Jake Ball and Luke Fletcher further stalled Lancashire’s progress as they posted 167-5.

In reply, Joe Clarke’s 77 from 36 deliveries was crucial in getting the hosts off to a flier, with 74 runs on the board by the end of the Powerplay.

After his departure, it was left to Tom Moores (31* off 19) and Dan Christian (21* off 13) to dispatch the ball to all corners of the ground, with Notts securing the victory with three overs to spare.

 

Road to Finals Day

The Outlaws head into Finals Day having won eight of their nine completed fixtures so far.

Joe Clarke's imperious hundred saw the Green and Golds over the line at Durham, before the sheer impudence of Ben Duckett took centre-stage in a Bank Holiday Monday win over Yorkshire.

A world-class return to the Notts fold from Imad Wasim saw his side past Leicestershire Foxes at Trent Bridge, before Clarke stole the spotlight once more in seeing off second-placed Lancashire Lightning.

Two wins over Derbyshire then followed - one nailbiting, the other rather more comfortable, before the Green and Golds rounded off their group stage with a win over Durham. 

The only reverse in the format came at the Fischer County Ground against the Foxes – but Dan Christian’s side would enact revenge in the most dramatic of quarter-final ties.

 

Weather Forecast

View the latest weather forecast here. Should any inclement weather be in the offing, we will keep you up to date with the prospects of play on our social media channels.