T20 Blast: Northamptonshire Steelbacks reach Finals Day

The Northamptonshire Steelbacks became the first side to secure their place at the T20 Blast Finals Day at Edgbaston next week thanks to victory against Surrey on Wednesday.

The much-anticipated T20 Blast Finals Day is just around the corner, with the enthralling action set to take place at the historic Edgbaston Cricket Ground on Saturday, 13th September 2025. The most recent finals day, back in 2024, saw Gloucestershire triumph over Somerset by an 8 wicket margin in the end.

Finals Day features two semi-finals, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, determining the two teams competing for the title that evening. Excitement is already building for this renowned event.

On Wednesday, it was confirmed that the first side qualify for Finals Day at Edgbaston next week is the Northampton Steelbacks. The Northants put in an incredible performance that saw them get the better of opponents Surrey by a margin of just 7 runs in the end, in what was an intense and enthralling contest between the two teams.

Not only that, the Northamptonshire Steelbacks are set to take part in Finals Day for the first time since 2016, where they emerged victorious against Durham on that occasion. They will be hoping to replicate this feat at Edgbaston this year.

The Northants’ Captain was David Willey, and he had the following to say following his side’s progression to the Vitality T20 Blast Finals Day. He said (via BBC Sport & Sky Sports):

“I think for a small club like us to get to Finals Day is massive, we talked about it before the comp how we wanted to go one better after last year.

“We are delighted to be there after a fantastic match. The schedule is difficult for us with a pretty small squad. Credit to all our boys for getting us over the line. Hopefully we can get (Matthew) Breetzke back for Finals Day and hopefully we can have everyone fit.”

The star of the show for Northamptonshire was most certainly Ravi Bopara, who rolled back the years by putting in what was a simply sensational performance that saw him score an incredible 105 runs from 46 balls.

Bopara’s side set an impressive target of 155 in the end, and despite the best efforts of Sam Curran to lead his side to victory, Surrey were still beaten, even with Curran ending the day unbeaten on 69 runs overall.

Following this win, Ravi Bopara had this to say ahead of his side’s latest appearance at a T20 Blast Finals Day (via BBC Sport & Sky Sports):

“It’s an amazing win. We knew the pitch might nibble at the start but our philosophy was just keep going and we did.

“If someone has a day out you end up posting a score like that and you’re away. It was a good day out.

“I don’t know if I’m getting better (with age). I didn’t really have that fire in my belly today and that’s how I prefer it, I don’t know how to describe it.

“The chat was to hold length, we faltered from our plan a little in the middle which brought them into the game a bit, but we got back to it. The fans are so loud, it’s brilliant to see, we’re looking forward to Finals Day.”

The Northamptonshire Steelbacks are no strangers to success at Vitality Blast Finals Day, with the Northants having won the Final at Edgbaston on two occasions since the first Finals Day all the way back in 2003. Their first win in 2013 saw them get the better of Surrey, whilst three years later in 2016, their most recent triumph saw them beat Durham.

Now, as they make their long-awaited return to Finals Day in 2025, the Northants will be looking to secure a third title win.

They are currently sitting joint second for most wins alongside the likes of Somerset and Nottinghamshire on Vitality Blast Finals Day, with 2 each. Only Leicestershire and Hampshire have more, with 3 each.

The Quarter Finals are, of course, set to continue, with the final few semi final spots still needing to be filled for Finals Day at Edgbaston.

Durham and the Hampshire Hawks will be going head to head on the evening of Friday, 5th September.

This will be followed by more action on Saturday. The first Quarter Final of the day will see the Lancashire Lightning take on the Kent Spitfires at Old Trafford in the early afternoon, before Somerset and the Bears face each other in the final Quarter Final contest at the Cooper Associates County Ground on Saturday evening.

Excitement and anticipation are building ahead of the 2025 Vitality Blast Finals Day, which is set to take place at the iconic and historic Edgbaston Cricket Ground on Saturday, 13th September 2025. All eyes will be on who comes out on top in the final, which begins at 18:45 on that Saturday evening.