Derbyshire Falcons banished their unwanted record as the only county never to reach the Vitality Blast Finals Day, overcoming Gloucestershire in their last-eight clash at Bristol.
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The Falcons had failed to make Finals Day since the domestic T20 tournament was launched in 2003 – but they booked their place in the showpiece climax at Edgbaston on Saturday, September 21 after beating the West Country side by seven wickets.
It means they will face Essex Eagles in the semi-final, while defending champions Worcestershire Rapids take on Nottinghamshire Outlaws, with the two winners clashing in the final – all live on Sky Sports Cricket.
Wayne Madsen anchored Derbyshire’s victory with 47 from 37 balls
Gloucestershire had been hoping to end their own lengthy absence from Finals Day since they were runners-up to Kent in 2007, but instead slid to a fourth successive quarter-final defeat.
The home side were asked to bat and appeared to be well positioned as they reached 44-0 in the sixth over, with Miles Hammond (31 from 25 balls) consistently picking out gaps in the field.
But he was outfoxed by a slower delivery from Fynn Hudson-Prentice (2-26), miscuing to mid-off – and Gloucestershire quickly lost their way against Matt Critchley’s leg breaks and the nagging medium pace of Alex Hughes (1-19).
Veteran Gloucestershire skipper Michael Klinger (15), playing his final game at Bristol after seven years, was sent back going for a single and failed to beat Ravi Rampaul’s throw from short third man.
Critchley finished with 2-21, including a superb diving catch off his own bowling, racing back to mid-on to remove Jack Taylor (4) – but a late flurry of hitting from Ian Cockbain (45 not out from 34) gave Gloucestershire some semblance of hope as they posted 135-7.
Derbyshire’s Matt Critchley produced a superb diving catch to dismiss Jack Taylor off his own bowling
That initially grew fainter when the Falcons’ first three overs yielded 39, but Gloucestershire hit back as Andrew Tye yorked Luis Reece (15) and the in-form Billy Godleman (25 from 18) sliced Chris Liddle into the hands of third man.
However, they lacked the scoreboard pressure to induce panic among the Derbyshire ranks and the experienced Wayne Madsen marshalled the run chase expertly, rotating the strike with Leus du Plooy (29no) as the pair added 72.
Ian Cockbain top scored for Gloucestershire with 45 not out
Madsen kept a cool head, scoring a boundary with an audacious paddle shot off Tye that sailed over the wicketkeeper, but he fell three short of his half-century when he clipped a half-volley straight to Klinger at square leg.
It made little difference to the outcome and Hughes drove a cover boundary to seal the Falcons’ victory with 17 balls to spare.
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