T20 Blast: Five of the best Lord's encounters

Although Twenty20 cricket made its debut in 2003, Middlesex's home matches in that initial season were held at the outgrounds of Richmond and Uxbridge. However the huge enthusiasm for the format meant it was only a matter of time before HQ got involved. Sure enough, Lord's came to the party on July 15, 2004, as Middlesex hosted their London rivals Surrey in their final group-stage fixture. The match itself was a fairly comfortable win for the visitors - with Adam Hollioake cracking an unbeaten 65 from 41 balls. But the story of the day was the crowd: a packed house of 26,500 made it the best-attended county fixture (other than a one-day final) since 1953, and confirmed that T20s weren't just here to stay, they were here to thrive.

This was one of the more riotous contests that Lord's has ever hosted. A total of 395 runs in 240 balls, and just five runs between the teams in the final analysis, as Ryan ten Doeschate's stunning 102 from 54 balls took Essex agonisingly close to the winning line. Middlesex's daunting total of 200 for 6 was a team effort - everyone who faced a ball reached double figures, including an eye-catching pair of Aussie openers: Adam Gilchrist, at the tail-end of his glittering career, and David Warner, who was only just starting out. They looked likely to be trumped by Tendo, however, whose five fours and seven sixes had taken the requirement down to 23 off nine when he holed out to cover off Pedro Collins, leaving the tail just too much to do.

Tom Helm was Middlesex's hero in a finish for the ages, as Sussex somehow tripped up in pursuit of a target of 148, despite going into the final over needing a meagre five to win. While Chris Nash had been at the helm, steering his side with 69 from 52 balls, victory had seemed a formality. But Nathan Sowter pinned him lbw with 13 still needed from 16 balls, at which point the game turned on its head. Helm hit his mark with consecutive dot-balls to Jofra Archer, who then thrashed wildly to backward point, and though David Wiese took two from the fifth ball to give Sussex a fighting chance, his final swipe was an air-shot as Helm closed the game out. Earlier, Middlesex had been indebted to Stephen Eskinazi (57 not out from 44 balls), in only his third game in the format, and Paul Stirling (40 from 31). No one else made more than 10.

Dan Lawrence is waiting in the wings for another England chance, primarily in the Test format, but this stunning innings - at the age of 21 - was emphatic evidence of his short-form prowess too. An uncompromising 86 from 46 balls, with seven fours and four sixes, made mincemeat of Middlesex's apparently daunting 210 for 3. Varun Chopra set up the chase with 51 from 34 balls, before Ravi Bopara (31 from 15) and Ashar Zaidi (20 from 8) completed it in style, with four balls left unused. It was tough luck for Middlesex's main man, Eoin Morgan, however. It's not often that you smack eight sixes in a 38-ball 77 not out and finish on the losing side. Paul Stirling at the top of the order - 78 from 52 - wasn't exactly sluggish either.

Middlesex must have thought they had this one sewn up at the halfway mark of the contest. Their formidable total of 209 for 4 came courtesy of an Eskinazi onslaught: had Jordan Cox's direct hit not run him out for 84 from 52 balls in the penultimate over of the innings, he might well have racked up his first T20 hundred. And yet, in the tense final moments, his side were indebted to that man Helm once again, who produced another ice-cool death over to salvage a tie with five runs to defend. In truth, it was a remarkable missed opportunity for Kent, whose captain Daniel Bell-Drummond had shredded the chase with a blazing 72 from 32, including an opening stand of 89 in seven overs with Zak Crawley. Helm had felt the heat at that early stage, conceding 40 runs in his first three overs. But his work was only just getting started.