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 nan 4th clip arsenic they stunned Birmingham Bears connected their ain crushed to book their spot backmost astatine Edgbaston connected Saturday week.

After bowling retired nan visitors for conscionable 138 successful their last over, nan Bears were short likelihood to beryllium backmost successful Birmingham themselves - 10 years connected from their only triumph successful this competition.

But Gloucestershire were acold from done as, aft David Payne had seen disconnected Moeen Ali, Ollie Price removed nan hosts' mediate order.

Payne past came backmost to adhd 2 much wickets, while Josh Shaw besides claimed 2 scalps arsenic Gloucestershire became nan 4th South Group broadside to book their Finals Day spot alongside Surrey, Sussex and holders Somerset - nan 3rd clip successful 4 years nan finale will person been an all-South affair.

Gloucestershire will now look Sussex successful nan 2nd semi-final connected Saturday 14 September, while Surrey and Somerset meet earlier successful a repetition of past year's semi.

After putting nan visitors in, it looked for illustration Moeen Ali's decison had backfired erstwhile openers Miles Hammond and Cameron Bancroft raced past 50 successful conscionable 5 overs.

But Dan Mousley made nan breakthrough erstwhile he had Hammond caught for 30, earlier James Bracey and Ollie Price fell cheaply arsenic spinner Briggs struck successful successive overs - and Gloucestershire reached halfway connected 74-3.

That became 79-4 erstwhile Glos skipper Jack Taylor was caught down disconnected Zak Foulkes, nan first of 3 wickets for nan New Zealander.

Ben Charlesworth holed retired disconnected Moeen and past came nan large wicket of Bancroft, tally retired by George Garton's nonstop hit.

Tom Price did defy pinch 19 disconnected 14 balls, including nan past of nan 3 sixes successful nan innings, earlier being accounted for by Foulkes, who past sewage free of Josh Shaw first ball.

But, erstwhile Garton managed a 2nd nonstop deed to tally retired Matt Taylor and Payne skied to Briggs to bring Mousley a 2nd wicket, that was it - and 138 did not look astir enough.

The reply began severely for nan Bears erstwhile skipper Alex Davies holed retired to nan midwicket bound disconnected Payne, who past struck again erstwhile he had Moeen caught behind.

After launching 2 immense sixes, Moeen sewage caught successful nary man's onshore arsenic he feathered a drawback to Bracey - and, from there, nan Bears' hopes began to unfold.

In 4 successive overs, Price took 3 wickets, earning an lbw reappraisal against Mousley earlier besides removing Bethell and Hain.

Garton offered precocious dream down nan order, on pinch Chris Benjamin, who top-scored pinch 33. But, 1 large Benjamin six apart, nan location fans sensed nan measurement nan evening was going agelong earlier nan extremity - arsenic they lost a location quarter-final for nan 2nd twelvemonth running.

Getting 18 disconnected nan last complete was acold excessively gangly an bid arsenic Gloucestershire made their first Finals Day since nan Covid twelvemonth of 2020 - and it will beryllium nan first clip their noisy pursuing will beryllium allowed successful to spot it since losing nan last to Kent astatine Edgbaston successful 2007.

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

The signing of nan knowledgeable erstwhile England world was announced conscionable earlier nan T20 crippled astatine Edgbaston.

He would person been disposable for Finals Day, had nan Bears progressed but, instead, he will switch Warriors' Pakistan batter Saim Ayub, who is unavailable.

New Zealand's Tim Robinson has been selected arsenic a impermanent replacement until Moeen arrives.