Lynn was struck on the left foot by a Duan Jansen yorker during Northants’ eight-wicket win over Gloucestershire in Wednesday’s quarter-final. He initially attempted to bat on but retired hurt two balls later, hobbling off the pitch, and was sent for scans. But he travelled to Birmingham with his team-mates on Friday and has since been named in Northants squad.
Lynn is Northants’ leading run-scorer this season, having knocked them out of last year’s Blast with a century for Hampshire in the semi-finals. “You wouldn’t miss it for anything,” Darren Lehmann, Northants’ head coach, said after the quarter-final. “If it’s not broken, he’ll play. It won’t be an issue.”
Northants, who topped the Central/West Group, will face Somerset in the first semi-final, having lost both fixtures between the sides this season. “We played two pretty average games against them in the group stages, which I think could work in our favour,” David Willey said. “They haven’t played us at our best. We’ll be looking to throw the first punch tomorrow.”
Banton’s availability is a positive for Somerset, though they are missing Tom Lammonby (elbow) and Lewis Goldsworthy (concussion). Jason Kerr, their head coach, said his squad were relishing the chance to defend their trophy. “To be the first team to retain the title would be huge,” he said.
T20 Blast Finals Day
Fixtures:
11am – Northamptonshire vs Somerset (1st semi-final)
2.30pm – Hampshire vs Nottinghamshire (2nd semi-final)
6.45pm – Final
All fixtures at Edgbaston, Birmingham
Squads:
Hampshire: Toby Albert (wk), Ben Mayes, Sonny Baker, Andrew Neal, Hilton Cartwright, Ali Orr, Scott Currie, Tristan Stubbs, Liam Dawson, James Vince (capt), Eddie Jack, Joe Weatherley, James Fuller, Chris Wood.
Northamptonshire: George Bartlett, Calvin Harrison, Louis Kimber, Chris Lynn, Lewis McManus (wk), Nathan McSweeney, Gus Miller, Luke Procter, James Sales, Ben Sanderson, George Scrimshaw, Ricardo Vasconcelos, Raphy Weatherall, David Willey (capt), Saif Zaib.
Nottinghamshire: Farhan Ahmed, Mohammad Amir, Joe Clarke (capt), James Hayes, Jack Haynes, Benny Howell, George Linde, Ben Martindale, Freddie McCann, Tom Moores (wk), George Munsey, Liam Patterson-White, Dillon Pennington, Joe Pocklington, Olly Stone.
Somerset: Tom Abell, Jake Ball, Tom Banton, Lewis Gregory (capt), Jack Leach, Riley Meredith, Craig Overton, James Rew, Thomas Rew (wk), Daniel Sams, Josh Shaw, Will Smeed, Josh Thomas, Archie Vaughan, Tom Kohler-Cadmore.
