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Chris Lynn took centre stage at Edgbaston, becoming the first batter to register a Finals Day hundred in 22 editions of the competition. His unbeaten 108 from 51 balls powered Hampshire Hawks to a five-wicket win over Northamptonshire and a place in the Vitality Blast final.
The basics first. Rain trimmed the second semi-final to 17 overs a side and left Hampshire chasing a revised 155. With 38 still needed from 24 balls, the match felt perfectly poised. Then Lloyd Pope’s fourth over disappeared: six, six, six, six – hundred up in 49 balls – and another six. Lynn briefly thought he was lbw to the final delivery before DRS intervened. The pressure vanished; James Fuller finished things with 14 balls unused.
Asked about the landmark, Lynn grinned. “Not bad, I probably wanted six sixes more. I wasn’t worried about the lbw, it was about trying to join Yuvraj and Polly.” Earlier, giving a nod to the conditions, he added: “It’s easy to sit here and say it’s a flat wicket now. [It was a case of] one ball at a time, we knew it had a bit in it up front, they’ve got some quality seam bowlers.”
For context, Luke Wright’s 92 in 2018 had been the previous Finals Day best. Lynn bettered that in what was effectively a solo act: 108 of 155, the next-highest score James Vince’s 12. The Australian’s freelance status meant he was available when several compatriots had already headed home for state duty, something Hampshire’s hierarchy may remember when planning 2026.
Northamptonshire will wonder how it slipped away. Twice interrupted by showers, they stumbled to 86 for 6 before Justin Broad and Luke Procter pieced together 70 from 40 balls, giving their bowlers a surface that was holding a touch. Ravi Bopara thought the total competitive. “I thought we put a good total on the board,” Bopara said. “That was a decent total on that wicket, which was slowing up a bit. We though we had the game in the balance t”
The problem, of course, was Lynn. Eleven sixes flew into various corners; the biggest, a 96-metre swipe into the Raglan Stand, prompted a spontaneous round of applause from neutral spectators. Pope’s figures read 3-0-44-0, a harsh lesson in life against an in-form overseas hitter.
Former England spinner Alex Hartley, on BBC commentary, praised Lynn’s method. “He stands still, picks his spot and trusts those long levers. It’s brutal but it’s clinical.” Hampshire coach Adi Birrell was more understated. “We asked for someone to own the chase. Chris did that, simple as.”
Hampshire still have the small matter of a final to play later in the evening. Lynn, smiling, summed it up neatly: “That’s the first domino down. Really happy, but still got one more job to do. Personally, it would top my day off if we can go again. I really like this shirt, I hope they’ll have me back next year.”
Whether or not the Hawks lift the trophy, Finals Day now owns a century – and it arrived in some style.
