The Cricketer provides all the information you need ahead of the blue riband event on the English domestic calendar at Edgbaston...
Arguably the biggest day on the English cricketing calendar, with the 2023 T20 Blast champion due to be crowned.
It features two semi-finals and a final to determine the winner. Hampshire Hawks won it in dramatic circumstances last year by beating Lancashire Lightning by one run.
Finals Day will be held on Saturday, July 15. A reserve day, if required, is pencilled in for Sunday, July 16)
The showcase event returns to Edgbaston, home of Warwickshire, Birmingham Bears and Central Sparks, where it has been played exclusively since 2013.
It is an all-southern affair in the West Midlands with Essex Eagles, Hampshire Hawks, Somerset and Surrey competing to be crowned T20 Blast champions.
The first semi-final sees Essex Eagles face the defending champions Hampshire Hawks. The second sees Somerset, back at Finals Day for a third straight year, take on champions from 2003, Surrey.
Finals Day once again returns to Edgbaston (Harry Trump/Getty Images)
Semi-final 1: Essex Eagles vs Hampshire Hawks (11am GMT)
Semi-final 2: Somerset vs Surrey (14:30 GMT)
Final: Winner of semi-final 1 vs Winner of semi-final 2 (18:45 GMT)
Somerset finished top of the South Group with 12 wins out of 14, before overcoming Notts Outlaws in the quarter-finals. They arrive in Birmingham with the competition's leading wicket-taker, Ben Green while their top three of Tom Banton, Will Smeed and Tom Kohler-Cadmore have all recorded in excess of 400 runs.
Hampshire Hawks snatched second place during the final round of group matches, overcoming a mid-season wobble to reel off three consecutive wins before beating Worcestershire Rapids in the last eight. They have victories over all three of their Finals Day rivals and are bidding to complete two pieces of history: becoming the first county to win back-to-back titles, and to win the trophy on four separate occasions.
Surrey progress with arguably the most impressive quarter-final win, ending Lancashire's 21-match unbeaten run at Old Trafford. They lost their last three group matches including to Essex and Somerset at the Kia Oval but have droves of resources to call upon.
Essex looked to be tumbling out of the competition after slumping to four successive defeats, but a last-ball win over Surrey catapulted them into the last eight. They have good recent memories of Edgbaston, having beaten Birmingham Bears in the quarter-finals and will be eager to maintain that run.
Can Hampshire become the first county to retain the title? (Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
Uh oh. The weather across the weekend in Birmingham looks decidedly dodgy, meaning there could be a lot of waiting around for players, spectators and media alike.
On Saturday, the rain is expected to start falling mid-morning, with thunderstorms predicted around lunchtime. The inclement weather is expected to stick around for the rest of the day.
Conditions on Sunday, the designated reserve day, are better with the Met Office saying there is a 30 per cent chance of rain across the afternoon and evening.
In the event of inclement weather disrupting Finals Day, every effort will be made to ensure the three matches are decided on the field of play.
A technical committee will rule on the regulations around each of the matches "in the case of any match being delayed or interrupted". Their considerations will include:
- Ensuring that both semi-finals and the final are completed on the scheduled day (minimum overs to constitute a match is five per team).
- Delivering a 20-over per side floodlit final.
- Making sure wherever possible both semi-finals are of the same duration.
- Trying to guarantee that wherever possible, within each match, teams have the opportunity of batting for the same number of overs.
- Balancing the desire to achieve commercial objectives with the need to ensure matches of as long a duration as possible.
Play will be curtailed at 9.30pm on Saturday if it is deemed impossible to stage a final.
Another entertaining weekend beckons for county fans (Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
A reserve day (Sunday, July 16) can be triggered if any of the three matches cannot be played on Saturday.
If matches cannot, again, be staged on the outfield, umpires and the captains can agree on a bowl-out, likely to take place in the Edgbaston Cricket Centre, to achieve a result.
Five players from each county will bowl two consecutive deliveries each, with the side who strikes the stumps the most number of times being declared the winner. Sudden death will begin if the teams are level, when the order of the bowlers may change.
If a bowl-out is not possible in either semi-final then the result will be decided by a toss of a coin. The trophy is shared if the same occurs for the final.
Surrey start the day as the favourites with the bookmakers to scoop their second title at 9/4. They are closely followed by reigning champions Hampshire Hawks and 2005 winners Somerset who are locked at 11/4. Essex Eagles, the fourth-placed side in the South Group and victors in 2019 are the outsiders to come through the draw at 5/1.
Finals Day will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in its entirety. Both semi-finals and the final will be available on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event.
BBC Radio Five Live Sports Extra will provide ball-by-ball coverage via the BBC Sport website, BBC Sport app, or the BBC Sounds app.
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