Surrey, Somerset, Birmingham Bears and Lancashire all secured home ties
Surrey will host Yorkshire on Wednesday in the first of the T20 Blast quarter-finals after Leicestershire's points-deduction offered Ottis Gibson's side a route into the knockout stages.
Yorkshire's clash with Leicestershire on Sunday had originally been billed as a winner-takes-all contest, but Paul Nixon's team had their last eight hopes ended abruptly with the news of two fixed penalties incurred during the recent home victory over Northamptonshire Steelbacks.
Naveen-ul-Haq bowled two beamers in the 19th over and Arron Lilley's confrontation with Jimmy Neesham, following the New Zealander's runout, provoked the docking of two points, with a suspended punishment hanging over the county from last summer. It meant that only Nottinghamshire could overhaul Yorkshire – and only then with a drastic, unrealistic shift in net run rates.
Yorkshire will face Surrey, who began the tournament in rollicking fashion to take a stranglehold on the top of the South Group, before losing three of their last four matches.
Birmingham Bears took three fewer points than Surrey but topped the North Group regardless, and their reward is a home tie with Hampshire, who were semi-finalists in 2021 and have overcome a slow start to the campaign to reach the knockout rounds.
They will meet at Edgbaston, the venue for Finals Day, where Hampshire suffered a galling defeat from the jaws of victory in last year's semi-final against Somerset. Hampshire locals might be split on Thursday night, however, with the Ageas Bowl hosting a T20I between England and India.
Surrey started the compeition in imperious fashion (Ben Hoskins/Getty Images)
Somerset, last year's losing finalists, secured a valuable victory over Surrey on Sunday evening, paving the way for a home quarter-final against Derbyshire, who are into the knockout rounds for the second time in four years, having only reached Finals Day for the first time in 2019. They have been a team reborn under Mickey Arthur but are set to be without overseas talisman Shan Masood, who has been recalled to Pakistan's Test squad.
Had Lancashire not beaten Birmingham, Derbyshire would have had a home quarter-final, though whether they would have been able to accommodate the fixture was uncertain, with a Michael Buble concert booked for the ground. As it happened, that was ultimately a moot point, with Lancashire's victory ensuring a home tie with Essex.
Historically, quarter-finals have taken place well after the conclusion of the group stage, but that has changed this year following the decision to play the competition in a single block, with Finals Day scheduled for July 16.
July 6: Surrey v Yorkshire
July 7: Birmingham Bears v Hampshire
July 8: Lancashire v Essex
July 9: Somerset v Derbyshire
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