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 in their final over, the Bears were short odds to be back in Birmingham themselves - 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 earlier in a repeat of last year's semi.

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 Jack 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.