Gloucestershire stun Bears to reach T20 Finals Day

Vitality Blast, Edgbaston

Gloucestershire 138 (19.1 overs): Bancroft 43, Hammond 30: Foulkes 3-22

Birmingham Bears 124-9 (20 overs): Benjamin 33, Moeen 27; Payne 4-23, O Price 3-32

Gloucestershire won by 14 runs

Match scorecard

Gloucestershire reached T20 Blast Finals Day for only the fourth time as they stunned Birmingham Bears on their own ground to book their place back at Edgbaston on Saturday week.

After bowling out the visitors for just 138, the Bears were short odds to be back in Birmingham themselves eight days' hence - 10 years on from their only triumph in this competition.

But Gloucestershire were far from done as, after David Payne had seen off Moeen Ali, Ollie Price removed the hosts' middle order.

Payne then came back to add two more wickets, while Josh Shaw also claimed two scalps as Gloucestershire became the fourth South Group side to book their Finals Day place alongside Surrey, Sussex and holders Somerset - the third time in four years the finale will have been an all-South affair.

Gloucestershire will now face Sussex in the second semi-final on Saturday 14 September, while Surrey and Somerset meet in the first semi - a repeat of last year's second semi.

"We struggled to get going at the start of the season," winning skipper Jack Taylor told BBC Radio Gloucestershire. "But then guys started to put their hands up and make contributions.

"We had to win our last two games and have other results go our way but we ended the group stage with momentum, drew on the confidence that gave us, and now it's really exciting to have a chance to take it a step further."

After putting the visitors in, it looked like Moeen Ali's decison had backfired when openers Miles Hammond and Cameron Bancroft raced past 50 in just five overs.

But Dan Mousley made the breakthrough when he had Hammond caught for 30, before James Bracey and Ollie Price fell cheaply as spinner Briggs struck in successive overs - and Gloucestershire reached halfway on 74-3.

That became 79-4 when Glos skipper Taylor was caught behind off Zak Foulkes, the first of three wickets for the New Zealander.

Ben Charlesworth holed out off Moeen and then came the big wicket of Bancroft, run out by George Garton's direct hit.

Tom Price did resist with 19 off 14 balls, including the last of the three sixes in the innings, before being accounted for by Foulkes, who then got rid of Josh Shaw first ball.

But, when Garton managed a second direct hit to run out Matt Taylor and Payne skied to Briggs to bring Mousley a second wicket, that was it - and 138 did not look nearly enough.

The reply began badly for the Bears when skipper Alex Davies holed out to the midwicket boundary off Payne, who then struck again when he had Moeen caught behind.

After launching two huge sixes, Moeen got caught in no man's land as he feathered a catch to Bracey - and, from there, the Bears' hopes began to unfold.

In four successive overs, Price took three wickets, earning an lbw review against Mousley before also removing Bethell and Hain.

Garton offered late hope down the order, along with Chris Benjamin, who top-scored with 33. But, one big Benjamin six apart, the home fans sensed the way the evening was going long before the end - as they lost a home quarter-final for the second year running.

Getting 18 off the final over was far too tall an order as Gloucestershire made their first Finals Day since the Covid year of 2020 - and it will be the first time their noisy following will be allowed in to see it since losing the final to Kent at Edgbaston in 2007.

Moeen Ali, meanwhile, has signed to play for defending champions Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Caribbean Premier League.

The signing of the experienced former England international was announced just before the T20 game at Edgbaston.

He would have been available for Finals Day, had the Bears progressed but, instead, he will replace Warriors' Pakistan batter Saim Ayub, who is unavailable.

New Zealand's Tim Robinson has been selected as a temporary replacement until Moeen arrives.

Birmingham Bears captain Alex Davies told BBC CWR:

"It is tough to take. I stood here last year with the same result but you have to take what positives you can. We've just had two guys selected for England on the back of their Blast form and we've finished top of the group three years running, so we must be doing something right.

"At halfway, we were happy with that score. It wasn't quite the pitch we thought it was. It was quite slow, turgid and attritional at times but we said if one guy bats through and gets 50 off 40 balls we'll be fine but that didn't happen.

"It was the job of Moeen and myself to break the back of it. If we'd batted for 10 overs the rate would have dropped significantly, but that didn't pan out.

"They just kept taking wickets, and that's credit to them. And Jack Taylor captained brilliantly. He gambled by bowling David Payne for a third over and got Mo out, so he deserves credit for that."

Glos captain Jack Taylor told BBC Radio Gloucestershire:

"They bowled really well and, although Cam Bancroft played nicely, he didn't really kick on and we didn't have anyone play that significant innings.

"But we had to believe at half-time, though we were defending a low score, that in knock-out cricket anything is possible.

"It was a bit of a punt giving David Payne that third over in the powerplay when he got hit for six and four by Moeen Ali and just as I was thinking it might have been the wrong decision, he gets him out.

"Our bowlers have set the tone all year and they have executed on the big stage and got some wickets here."