Lancashire Lightning - 159-5 / 165-4 - Essex Eagles
Ravi Bopara sent four of his last six balls over the ropes to complete a win for Essex Eagles against heavy-favourites Lancashire Lightning.
Cameron Delport had earlier made a quickfire 44, but wickets in consecutive balls saw Essex's reply stutter.
Bopara and Ryan ten Doeschate made an unbeaten 39 and 45 respectively to score 60 in five overs for a six wicket win with four balls remaining.
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| Photo from ESPNcricinfo |
Poor captaincy from Vilas saw leg-spinner Liam Livingstone bowl the penultimate innings, it proved crucial in the result as it went for 22 - including three sixes - and made Essex firm favourites.
34-year-old Bopara has now made 156 runs in the Blast since his last dismissal, and his hitting power saw his side through to Finals Day at Edgbaston on 21 September.
Lancashire topped the North Group and only lost two matches, but faltered early on after being put in to bat in the evening sunshine after earlier rain.
The match was taking place at Chester-le-Street due to Lancashire's home Old Trafford playing host to the fourth Ashes Test which got underway today.
The Red Roses were 47-3 after the six-over powerplay, with Australian Glenn Maxwell trapped lbw by Bopara after hitting three boundaries in an over.
Only the former England Under-19 batsman Davies kept the scoreboard ticking along, playing a mature innings.
He dispatched Aaron Beard for back-to-back boundaries with ramp shots over the wicketkeeper's head.
Essex could only get to 14-1 in their innings before rain stopped play after 3.1 overs, but Delport - the South African left-hander who hit 129 off 49 balls against Surrey in July, the highest score in this year's Blast - hit James Faulkner for three boundaries in an over to see the Eagles ahead of the required run rate.
Delport then holed out to long in and Adam Wheater was run out off the next ball from the boundary rope.
Faulkner took a great low catch at long on to dismiss Dan Lawrence in the 15th over with Essex still needing 55 to win.
But Ten Doeschate - world leader in ODI batting averages - and Bopara got Essex to needing 23 off 12 balls, with Steven Croft only able to parry the Englishman's drive over the rope for six.
After successive sixes off Livingstone, Bopara - who was awarded man of the match for his batting and bowling figures of 2-28 - hit the winning runs off Matt Parkinson to book their place in the last four.
SCORECARD
Essex Eagles won the toss and decided to field
Essex Eagles won by six wickets
Lancashire Lightning Innings
Batsman: How Out - Bowler / Runs / Balls / SR (4s, 6s)
Davies: not out / 80 / 55 / 145.45 (9, 0)
Livingstone: b Beard / 4 / 3 / 133.33 (1, 0)
Croft: c Lawrence - b Bopara / 8 / 10 / 80.00 (1, 0)
Maxwell: lbw - b Bopara / 14 / 11 / 127.27 (3, 0)
Vilas: c Walter - b Porter / 41 / 36 / 113.89 (1, 1)
Faulkner: b Beard / 3 / 3 / 100.00 (0, 0)
Jennings: not out / 4 / 2 / 200.00 (0, 0)
Extras 0nb 4w 0b 1lb 5
Total (20.0 overs) 159-5
Bowler: Overs / Maidens / Runs / Wickets / Econ
Beard: 3.0 / 0 / 31 / 2 / 10.33
Porter: 4.0 / 0 / 32 / 1 / 8.00
Zampa: 4.0 / 0 / 34 / 0 / 8.50
Bopara: 4.0 / 0 / 28 / 2 / 7.00
Harmer: 3.0 / 0 / 13 / 0 / 4.33
Delport: 2.0 / 0 / 20 / 0 / 10.00
Fall of Wicket - Batsman
5-1 (0.5 ovs) - Livingstone
25-2 (4.1 ovs) - Croft
47-3 (6.4 ovs) - Maxwell
136-4 (17.5 ovs) - Vilas
148-5 (18.6 ovs) - Faulkner
Essex Eagles Innings
Batsman: How Out - Bowler / Runs / Balls / SR (4s, 6s)
Westley: c & b - Mahmood / 8 / 7 / 114.29 (2, 0)
Delport: c Croft - b Maxwell / 44 / 30 / 146.67 (7, 0)
Wheater: run out - (Bohannon) / 13 / 13 / 100.00 (1, 0)
Lawrence: c Faulkner - b Livingstone / 15 / 17 / 88.24 (0, 0)
ten Doeschate: not out / 45 / 31 / 145.16 (2, 1)
Bopara: not out / 39 / 18 / 216.67 (1, 4)
Extras 0nb 0w 0b 1lb 1
Total (19.2 overs) 165-4
Bowler: Overs / Maidens / Runs / Wickets / Econ
Croft: 1.0 / 0 / 8 / 0 / 8.00
Mahmood: 2.0 / 0 / 10 / 1 / 5.00
Gleeson: 2.0 / 0 / 16 / 0 / 8.00
Faulkner: 3.0 / 0 / 31 / 0 / 10.33
Maxwell: 4.0 / 0 / 26 / 1 / 6.50
Parkinson: 3.2 / 0 / 26 / 0 / 7.81
Livingstone: 4.0 / 0 / 47 / 1 / 11.75
Fall of Wicket - Batsman
9-1 (1.3 ovs) - Westley
65-2 (8.1 ovs) - Delport
66-3 (8.2 ovs) - Wheater
105-4 (14.2 ovs) - Lawrence
Draw
Gloucestershire v Derbyshire Falcons,
Notts Outlaws v Middlesex,
Sussex Sharks v Worcestershire Rapids,
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Essex Eagles v
v
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v
Final Group Stage Standings
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