‘No complaints’ from Peter Moores as Hampshire Hawks ‘outplay’ Notts Outlaws in Vitality Blast semi-final

The Hawks reached their third final in five years after piling up 187 for three as Joe Weatherley struck his T20-best 88 not out (58 balls), supported by James Vince’s 59 (33).

The Outlaws’ reply was carried by Joe Clarke (64, 43) but after he perished in the 13th over, the innings fell away to 160 all out from 19.5 overs against the Hawks’ experienced and disciplined attack. James Fuller took four for 26 and Chris Wood and Scott Currie added two wickets apiece.

Put in, the Hawks lost Toby Albert to the second ball when he edged a fine delivery from Mohammad Amir to wicketkeeper Tom Moores. They emphatically shrugged off the early blow, however, as Vince and Weatherley added 126 in 84 balls. Weatherley reached his 12th T20 half-century from 34 balls and Vince followed to his 88th from 36 before lifting Benny Howell to long off.

Winchester-born Weatherley passed his previous T20-best of 71 with a towering straight six off Olly Stone, but the Outlaws dug in well to restrain the scoring as the innings lengthened. Just 11 runs came from the 15th and 16th overs from Howell and Amir. Tristan Stubbs reverse-swept Dillon Pennington to short third and, as the Outlaws’ attack fired in copious yorkers, there was no late charge. The Hawks’ total was strong but not as intimidating as appeared likely when Weatherley and Vince were in full flow.

The Outlaws’ reply took an early hit when George Munsey chipped Wood’s tenth ball to deep mid-wicket, but Clarke and Jack Haynes batted in composed fashion. They ensured their side still had nine wickets in hand to attack the chase for 110 from the last ten overs.

Clarke reached 50 from 35 balls and celebrated by hoisting Liam Dawson into the building site but later in the over, the pair having added 85 from 56 balls, Haynes (25, 21) holed out to mid on. When, four balls later, Clarke lifted Fuller to deep mid-wicket, two new batters were at the crease with a required rate of 12 per over.

The pressure told as those batters were forced to attack good balls. Moores pulled Fuller to long on, George Linde lifted Wood to long off and The Outlaws entered the last four overs needing 57 – and the last over requiring 34. Hampshire closed the game out solidly to advance to their second successive final, aiming to go one better than their runners-up spot last year.

“No complaints. Credit to Hampshire, they outplayed us on the day,” Outlaws head coach Peter Moores said. “Joe Weatherley played really well, it was a good partnership with James Vince. We actually did pretty well to hold on, because at one point I thought they were going to get 200.

“Par for the pitch is about 175 so they were a bit over, but we thought we had a good chance of chasing it. It was not far from where we wanted to be at the halfway stage, but then suddenly they got the rate up to where they wanted it to be.

“We needed someone to have a cameo in the back half, but it got a bit tricky, we picked a few out, but they bowled well.

“Joe Clarke played really well. He’s had a tough tournament actually, but he’s got better and better. Jack Haynes didn’t quite get going, but he’s done it - we are here because of what he did in the quarter finals. We then needed somebody to get 30 or 40 off 20. We would have been right in the hunt then.

“Hampshire did things pretty well. They fielded well, it was a good partnership for their platform. They have some good hitters, we did well to hold on to it because it could have got really messy. We got ourselves in the frame, but we didn’t quite get the cameo in the back half.”