HAMPSHIRE booked their place at Vitality Blast finals day with an extraordinary two-run victory against defending champions Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge.

The visitors had won quarter-finals at Trent Bridge in 2012 and 2014, but the chances of a repeat looked remote after they could post only a meagre 125 for nine after being asked to bat first.

The Outlaws looked to be cruising towards a fifth finals day appearance in six years at 66 for one in the eighth over, but collapsed to 123 all out.

Left-arm spinner Liam Dawson took three for 24 while there were two wickets each for seamers Scott Currie and Brad Wheal, who had last man Dane Paterson caught behind with two balls of the 20 overs remaining.

Only 18-year-old Tom Prest (44) and James Fuller (30) made any impression with the bat for Hampshire, whose total was their smallest of the campaign.

Yet it proved enough as Nottinghamshire, for whom Joe Clarke top-scored with 42, lost seven wickets for 30 runs to plunge from 66 for one to 96 for eight. Matt Carter’s 23 off 13 balls at the death proved in vain.

Hampshire will go to Edgbaston on September 18 looking to win their third T20 title, having scraped into the last eight on net run rate after finishing fourth in the South Group.

It looked a remote prospect as they lost D’Arcy Short and James Vince for single-figure scored in the first five overs. Short pulled straight to midwicket, Vince top-edged to third man before Joe Weatherley miscued to fine leg to leave them 34 for three.

Two in two balls from Calvin Harrison against his former county left Hampshire on the ropes at 40 for five.

Prest survived the hat-trick ball and he and Fuller added 49 in 39 deliveries but, after hitting sixes off Harrison and Steven Mullaney, Fuller attempted to do the same to Carter and was caught on the midwicket boundary.

Prest smashed Paterson for six over long-off and was dropped at long-on in the same over before finding the fielder at deep backward square.

Alex Hales lofted Liam Dawson disdainfully for six over extra cover as the hosts began their chase but though the left-arm spinner gained revenge as the home side’s most prolific run-getter holed out to long-off for 19, it was the Hawks’ sole success in a powerplay that cost 53 runs.

Yet the Outlaws from that point suffered one calamity after another as Ben Duckett was run-out by Fuller’s direct hit, Tom Moores fell lbw to leg-spinner Mason Crane, Clarke lofted straight to extra cover, Samit Patel was stumped off a leg-side wide and Ben Slater slashed to backward point.

Harrison and Mullaney holed out to deep square leg in consecutive balls off Currie and though Carter raised home hopes again by clubbing two sixes in three balls off Chris Wood to leave the Outlaws needing three of the last six balls, Paterson could not give him the strike and after three dots he was caught behind.