Last Updated on 30 seconds ago by Charbel Coorey
This weekend will see the conclusion of England’s Vitality Blast and Major League Cricket in the United States, with a number of Australian overseas players still in contention across both T20 competitions.
There will be five Aussies involved in the iconic T20 Finals Day at Edgbaston on Saturday, whilst as many as seven could feature in the MLC final on Sunday.
Who made it through to T20 Blast Finals Day?
Hampshire Hawks, Northamptonshire Steelbacks, Notts Outlaws and defending champions Somerset progressed through the quarter-final stages on Wednesday, all hoping to secure the first silverware of the English domestic season.
Northants Steelbacks take on Somerset in the first semi-final with plenty of Aussie interest on show.
The Steelbacks, led by former Australia head coach Darren Lehmann, will be looking to go one step further than the semi-final defeat last year and their chances may heavily depend on Chris Lynn and Nathan McSweeney at the top of the order.
Opener Lynn, whose sublime hundred downed Northants at this stage last season, is their top scorer in the competition with 475 runs at 52.77 which included a fifth and sixth century across his T20 Blast career. However, there are some fitness concerns after being forced to retire out during the quarter-final win over Gloucestershire with a blow to the foot.
As for holders Somerset, who booked their place at Finals Day for a sixth consecutive year in remarkable fashion against Yorkshire, they have all-rounder Daniel Sams and speedster Riley Meredith in their ranks.
Sams is Somerset’s leading wicket-taker with 19 scalps and scored a brutal 16-ball 48 against their opponents in the group stages, whilst 2025 star bowler Meredith will finally get a crack at Finals Day at the third time of asking after the previous September date ruled him unavailable.
The second semi-final sees Hilton Cartwright feature for 2025 beaten finalists Hampshire Hawks against Notts Outlaws, following a strong campaign in the middle order for the experienced batter with 283 runs at an average of 47.16 and strike rate in excess of 175.
How did the rest of the Australian cohort fare?
There was mixed success for the remaining Australian overseas who competed across the T20 Blast.
Despite Warwickshire Bears failing to make it out of the group stages, Beau Webster enjoyed a stunning run of form with the bat, leading the way with 578 runs, including four half-centuries and a maiden T20 ton.
The 32-year-old remains 89 runs clear at the top of the charts, with only Lynn and Notts’ George Munsey in with a realistic chance of surpassing his tally on Finals Day.
Elsewhere, D’Arcy Short (446 runs – Gloucestershire), Daniel Hughes (438 runs – Sussex Sharks) and Ashton Turner (327 runs – Leicestershire Foxes) all had strong campaigns as the leading run-scorers for their respective sides.
Ben McDermott (256 runs) and Nathan McAndrew (15 wickets) offered glimpses for Lancashire Lightning and Glamorgan respectively.
Seamers Sean Abbott (Surrey) and Tom Rogers (Kent Spitfires) both struggled for wickets. Caleb Jewell found himself out of the Derbyshire Falcons side for the second half of the group stages, whilst all-rounder Liam Scott failed to have much of an impact for Gloucestershire with bat or ball after his delayed arrival from international duty.
Making a splash across the pond: Australians in the MLC Final
It is not just the T20 Blast where Australians have been busy in recent weeks, with a sizeable contingent of more high-profile names featuring in the fourth edition of Major League Cricket which will see LA Knight Riders face Washington Freedom in the final at the high-scoring Oakland Coliseum.
Ricky Ponting’s Washington Freedom made headlines on their way to reaching the final with a T20 record chase, possessing a strong Australian core that includes Steve Smith – who scored his fastest-ever century off just 40 balls in that Eliminator victory – Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Owen, Ben Dwarshuis, Nikhil Chaudhary and Jack Edwards.
Leg-spinner Lloyd Pope is the West Indies-heavy LA Knight Riders squad, though has only played one game in the tournament.
Matthew Short will not be involved in the final as his remarkable efforts across the play-offs ultimately came in vain.
The San Francisco Unicorns captain scored an unbeaten 94 off 62 balls in the Qualifier as his side fell seven runs shy of LA Knight Riders’ victory target, the same margin in which they then came up short in the second Eliminator against Washington Freedom, despite Short’s T20 career-best 121 not out from 56 balls.
Those two innings propelled the 30-year-old to the top of the run-scoring charts with 513, along with his hugely productive spin bowling which has claimed 17 wickets – only two players have taken more.
