Lancashire's sixth trip to Finals Day features a repeat of last year's semi-final, as they take on Hampshire in the second semi at Edgbaston in the Natwest T20 Blast.
If the Red Rose are successful in this fixture and reigning champions Birmingham Bears are able to overcome Northamptonshire Steelbacks, then Lancashire could also face a repeat of the 2014 final, a match which they lost by the agonising margin of just four runs. With the other three sides enjoying some form of success in previous seasons, Lancashire will feel that they have a point to prove after falling at the final or penultimate hurdle in previous seasons.
Perhaps, after a great deal of fortune, this year is Lancashire's year to lift the trophy. The Lightning scraped through to the knockout stages of the tournament with a marginally better net run rate than Nottinghamshire Outlaws and they secured their spot at Edgbaston with a bizarre and tense win against Kent at Canterbury.
Lancashire tied the Spitfires' total of 142, only winning the match on the basis that they had lost fewer wickets than the side who topped the South Group. Such luck has often gone against Lancashire in this tournament; a series of narrow defeats threatened to cull them from the Blast at an early stage, but a crucial win against Birmingham and a washout in the final round of matches ensured a quarter-final against Kent.
Lancashire have a great deal of talent at their disposal, but as they proved against Kent, the knockout stages create a clean slate; anything can happen regardless of form or pedigree. James Faulkner has extended his contract at Lancashire in order to appear at Edgbaston and his dangerous form in this campaign is surely something that the Lightning will be looking to exploit. Ashes winner Jos Buttler has also been made available and after his destructive innings of 53 against Kent, his presence will bring a timely boost to Lancashire's batting options.
It has been a somewhat tumultuous time at Old Trafford in recent weeks; the news of Faulkner's driving ban and impending departure of opening batsman Paul Horton after 12 years at the club have been hard to take. But a spot at Finals Day and inevitable promotion back to the first division of the County Championship will be the main focus of Ashley Giles and club captain Tom Smith.
How the other teams have faired:
Northamptonshire Steelbacks:
The 2013 winners continue to demonstrate their pedigree for the shortest format of the game and have been indebted to the incredible talent of all-rounder David Willey. However, the Steelbacks were hit by the somewhat expected news that he is to leave the club in favour of a move to Yorkshire, a loss which will leave David Ripley's side scratching their heads, particularly after his century against Sussex fired Northants to Finals Day. The Steelbacks will be labelled as underdogs, but this is very much a tag that they will enjoy. It was the same attitude people looked at them with two years ago and they stunned everybody with victories against Essex and Surrey to lift the trophy. Northants came third in the North Group with seven wins but the loss of Willey at the end of the current campaign will hit them hard. The left-arm seamer is likely to be their key player after scoring 252 runs at an average of 31.50 and he has also taken ten wickets for the Steelbacks in Twenty20 cricket.
Birmingham Bears:
Having won the tournament last year, the Bears will be under immense pressure to defend their title on home soil. The presence of Brendon McCullum gave the reigning champions an x-factor in the group stages, allowing Dougie Brown's side to finish top of the North Group with ten victories. Birmingham then advanced to Finals Day for the second time in as many years with a 29-run win over Essex Eagles. Laurie Evans' half-century in this fixture proved vital and his contribution in the 2014 final against Lancashire went a long way towards securing a tense victory for the Bears. The one-to-watch for the home side on Finals Day will be their economical all-rounder, Rikki Clarke, who continues to baffle oppositions with his variation of pace. His economy rate of only 5.37 and return of 12 wickets represents a tremendous effort from the experienced all-rounder, who has also added 222 runs in 15 matches for his side.
Hampshire:
Being the only team to have made it this far from the South Group, Hampshire will be aiming to proudly represent the southern counties on August 29. Hampshire have won the Twenty20 title on two occasions; first in 2010 on home soil and most recently in Cardiff in 2012, but their exit last year against Lancashire proved that they can be beaten despite the many talented players in their ranks. Hampshire are, perhaps, very fortunate to be at Edgbaston this season after squeezing their way through against Worcestershire in controversial circumstances. The players left the field for bad light after seamer Chris Wood was injured trying to take a catch and when the umpires realised that conditions could not be helped by the absence of any floodlights, Hampshire went through to the semi-finals on Duckworth-Lewis. Michael Carberry has proven time and time again that he is one of the best one-day batsman in the country and Danny Briggs ranks highly in his respective field as a tidy left-arm spinner. However, the one player that has stood above all others this campaign is Hampshire's limited overs captain, James Vince. His return of 641 runs includes four fifties and one century, which just so happened to come against Worcester in the quarter-final. Only Gloucestershire's Michael Klinger has managed more runs this summer in T20 cricket.
Steven Croft has had an interesting 24 months to say the least. There was once a time when he was, in truth, struggling to make the four-day squad, but he has become a dependable cricketer in all formats of the game, standing in as captain in the long-term absence of Tom Smith and he has made a strong case to be selected at international level in Twenty20 cricket. His pedigree for this format in particular was exhibited against Birmingham this season when he hit one of five fifties to help Lancashire achieve a pivotal win, before claiming two wickets with his tidy off-spinners including the prized scalp of Kiwi McCullum in the Warwickshire innings. Croft is Lancashire's leading run-scorer in the format this season with 460 runs at an average of 51.11 and only five batsmen in the country can claim to have scored more runs this season. His T20 record of 3,159 runs ranks highly in the English game and croft has appeared in over 100 consecutive matches for Lancashire in this format, with only Suresh Raina competing in more T20 fixtures for his side without absence.
Team News:
To be confirmed.
Match Information:
First Semi-Final - Northamptonshire Steelbacks vs Birmingham Bears - 11.00
Second Semi-Final - Hampshire vs Lancashire Lightning- 14.30
Final - TBC vs TBC - 18.45
Weather:
The weather is due to be dry for both semi-finals and the majority of the final. The threat of rain looms towards the end of the day.
For the latest BBC forecast click here.
Umpires:
To be confirmed.
Odds (Sky Bet):
Semi-Final Match Odds:
Northamptonshire Steelbacks 5/4 vs Birmingham Bears 8/1
Hampshire 4/5 vs Lancashire Lightning 1/1Outright Odds:
Northamptonshire Steelbacks - 7/2Birmingham Bears - 2/1Hampshire - 5/2Lancashire Lightning - 3/1
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