Hall leads Northamptonshire into semi-final

Northamptonshire 134 (Hall 39*, Ervine 2-8) beat Hampshire 121 (Mascarenhas 36, Hall 3-25, Dagget 2-19) by 13 runs
Scorecard

A terrific all-round performance from Andrew Hall helped Northamptonshire knock out the Friends Provident champions, Hampshire, and secure the last semi-final spot in Twenty20 finals day. Defending 134 at Wantage Road, Hall took the last two wickets during a lower-order collapse to help the hosts bowl out Hampshire for 121 in the final over.

Hampshire's batsmen struggled from the start and they lost wickets frequently which deprived the chase of any sort of momentum. Hall struck the first blow, bowling Jimmy Adams for a duck during an impressive wicket-maiden, and Northamptonshire seized the advantage after Michael Lumb (26) and Sean Ervine (28), who was well held by Lee Daggett, departed mid-innings.

Dimitri Mascarenhas held up one end and threatened to pull off the chase single-handedly by steering the innings to 121 for 6, only 13 runs away from a place in the final four. However, his dismissal for 36 - bowled by Johan van der Wath - triggered a rapid demise and Hampshire lost their last three wickets without further addition to the score. Hall took the last two wickets and finished with 3 for 25.

Hall was his team's batting hero as well. Northamptonshire had slipped to 16 for 3 and 40 for 4 after bring sent in, with Mascarenhas taking two top-order wickets, before Hall counter-attacked with 39 off 24 balls, his team's top score. He added an unbeaten 52-run stand with van der Wath which lifted the total to 134 and although not a daunting total it proved enough.