Essex won the toss and elected to bat first (Source: Essex/Twitter)
Vitality T20 Blast 2019 2nd Semi-Final Highlights: Essex skipper Simon Harmer starred in the second semi-final registering his best-ever bowling figures in T20 cricket, 4 for 19 in 4 overs. Derbyshire struggled to chase down 161 as they kept losing wickets. They were bundled out for 126 in the 19th over. Earlier Harmer won the toss and elected to bat first. Opener Cameron Delport starred with the bat with his 25th T20 half-century.
In the first semi-final, defending champions Worcestershire are already through to the final with a win over Daniel Christian-led Nottinghamshire by just one run. Moeen Ali was named ‘Man of the match’ for his nine-ball 21 in the top order and a terrific display with the ball giving just 13 runs in his quota of four overs and taking the wicket of Nottinghamshire opener Alex Hales who scored a half-century in the semi-final.
Derbyshire bundled out for 126. Ravi Rampaul was the last batsman to get out. Cameron Delport takes his wicket. Essex register an easy win in the semi-final by 34 runs. They reach the final of T20 Blast to take on defending champions Worcestershire.
Derbyshire skipper comes back into the attack and gets the wicket of D Smit. Essex just one wicket away from win. Ravi Rampaul comes in to bat and hits Harmer for a six. Harmer registers his best bowling figures in T20 Blast, 4 for 19. Essex need 37 runs from 12 balls. DER - 125/9 in 18 overs
This is a collapse of epic proportions. The Derbyshire batting lineup is being torn to shreds. Daniel Lawrence gets his first wicket. Fynn Hudson-Prentice out for just one run. DER - 91/8 in 13.3 overs
Aron Nijjar takes his third. Alex Hughes dumbfounded by Nijjar's beauty of a delivery. Derbyshire are in deep trouble in this run chase. They need 73 runs from 42 balls with three wickets in hand. DER - 88/7 in 13 overs
Fifth Derbyshire batsman to get bowled today. Left-arm spinner Aron Nijjar gets through Matthew Critchley. DER - 81/6 in 10.4 overs
Derbyshire skipper Simon Harmer gets two in two. Harmer hits the woodwork for the third time in the semi-final. He is on a hat-trick. Leus de Plooy out for 9, Anuj Dal out for a golden duck. Two runs and two wickets in the over. Derbyshire are in deep trouble as they need 94 more runs from 72 games with half the side back in the pavillion. DER - 67/5 in 8 overs
Aron Nijjar gets his revenge. Wayne Madsen hit him for two fours and one six in that over. Nijjar departs for 17 from 12 deliveries. DER - 48/3 in 4.5 overs
Derbyshire skipper Billy Godleman gets knocked over by Essex skipper Simon Harmer. Godleman departs for 9. DER - 30/2 in 3.1 overs
Luis Reece's little cameo comes to an end. Aaron Beard puts an end to it. Beard came round the wicket to Reece and he edged it to the wicketkeeper. DER - 19/1 in 1.3 overs
Luis Reece gets Derbyshire off to a flier hitting two fours and one six off James Porter's first over. Perfect start for Derbyshire chasing a target of 161. ESS - 15/0 in 1 over
Brilliant comeback from Derbyshire bowlers. At one point Essex were headed towards a big score but good death bowling and wickets at regular intervals helped Derbyshire pull things back. ESS - 160/5 in 20 overs
Ravi Bopara departs after scoring a useful 23-ball 27. Ravi Rampaul gets his first wicket of the semi-final as Bopara tries an unorthodox shot. ESS - 140/4 in 17.4 overs
Reece strikes again, opener Tom Westley departs trying to hit a biggie. Westley scored 39 runs from 34 balls. Ravi Bopara and Adam Wheater in the middle. ESS - 107/4 in 13.2 overs
Essex's experienced campaigner Ryan ten Doeschate departs after scoring just one run. Luis Reece strikes on the second delivery of his first over. Essex are making their way back into the game. ESS - 96/3 in 11.2 overs
Alex Hughes strikes again, the knuckleball does the trick. Daniel Lawrence departs after scoring just three runs. ESS - 93/2 in 10.3 overs
Despite the wicket of Cameron Delport, Essex are in a good position at the halfway mark. Tom Westley is batting on 33 from 26 deliveries and Daniel Lawrence has scored 2 runs from 3 balls. ESS - 91/1 in 10 overs
Alex Hughes gets the breakthrough in his second over. Cameron Delport falls shortly after hitting his half-century. ESS - 78/1 in 8 overs
Cameron Delport gets to his 25th T20 fifty from 28 deliveries. Delport has done well to get Essex off to a solid start in the semi-final. ESS - 78/0 in 8 overs
This is an excellent strike for Essex. Cameron Delport has done the bulk of scoring whereas Tom Westley has hung in there. The Proteas left-handed batsman is batting on 41. ESS - 56/0 in 6 overs
Ravi Rampaul starts off the proceedings for Derbyshire. Just five runs from his first over.
Derbyshire: Luis Reece, Billy Godleman(c), Wayne Madsen, Leus du Plooy, Alex Hughes, Matthew Critchley, Fynn Hudson-Prentice, Anuj Dal, Daryn Smit(w), Logan van Beek, Ravi Rampaul
Essex: Tom Westley, Cameron Delport, Adam Wheater(w), Daniel Lawrence, Ryan ten Doeschate, Ravi Bopara, Paul Walter, Simon Harmer(c), Aron Nijjar, Aaron Beard, James Porter
Welcome to the coverage of the second-semi final of T20 Blast 2019. Essex skipper Simon Harmer wins the toss and elects to bat first.
Worcestershire skipper Moeen Ali gets the 'Man of the match' award for his 9-ball 21 cameo and excellent economical spell giving just 13 runs from his four overs and getting the crucial wicket of half-centurion Nottinghamshire opener Alex Hales.
One of the best T20 finishes you will ever see. Nottinghamshire needed just seven runs from six deliveries. Midway through the over, there was a message from the dugout that they need six runs to qualify for the final as in case of a tie, the team with fewer wickets lost will win. This caused confusion and Ben Duckett refused the second run on the fourth delivery of the over. Wayne Parnell bowled two dot deliveries and won the game for the defending champions. Duckett remains unbeaten for 49 but he is absolutely distraught with himself. Worcestershire reach the final by the slightest of the margins, just one run!
Mullaney sacrifices his wicket in the end. Single taken, but a wicket lost. Third wicket from this over and still one ball to go. Ben Duckett is still in the middle. Samit Patel comes to bat. Nottinghamshire need 8 runs from 7 balls. NOT - 140/5 in 18.5 overs
Pat Brown takes another wicket in his final over. New batsman Moores goes for the big shot and departs for a single-digit score. Nottinghamshire need 9 runs from 8 balls. NOTT - 139/4 in 18.4 overs
Anti-climax on cards? Skipper Daniel Christian departs. Nottinghamshire still need 11 runs from 11 deliveries. NOT - 137/3 in 18.1 overs
Moeen Ali will wish he had not given Wayne Parnell the 18th over. 15 runs from the over including a maximum from Christian's bat and a boundary from Duckett's. 11 runs needed from 12 balls. Nottinghamshire on the verge of knocking out the defending champions. NOT - 137/2 in 18 overs
The game is still delicately poised between the two teams. Ben Duckett is anchoring the run chase. Dan Christian has hung in there. Moeen Ali is making a few changes. Nottinghamshire need 26 runs from 18 balls to reach the final. Hang on folks! We are in for a nail-biter. NOT - 122/2 in 17 overs
With the wicket of Alex Hales, Worcestershire have made their way back in the game. Ben Duckett has gone quiet. Wayne Parnell back into the attack. Just four runs from the over. They need 42 more runs from 30 balls. NOT - 107/2 in 15 overs
Alex Hales is a goner. Moeen Ali gets the breakthrough in his final over. Hales departs for 52. Nottinghamshire still need 48 runs from 40 deliveries. Skipper Daniel Christian comes to bat. NOT - 100/2 in 13.2 overs
Alex Hales reaches his 39th T20 fifty from 39 deliveries. Hales has been calm and composed in the middle. First taking a stunner at covers, then with the bat leading the run chase. NOT - 99/1 in 13 overs
Ben Duckett and Alex Hales look comfortable in the middle. No hasty shots. Just attacking the bad balls. The required run rate is under control, smart batting from the two. NOT - 83/1 in 10 overs
50 up for Nottinghamshire but Chris Nash departs after scoring 24 runs from 16 deliveries. Ed Barnard introduced into the attack and provides the breakthrough straight away. Alex Hales is still dominating the bowlers. End of powerplay overs. NOT - 52/1 in 6 overs, Target - 148
0,4,4,4,0,6! Chris Nash makes Wayne Parnell for bowling in his arc. A wonderful start for Nottinghamshire, 18 runs from the over. NOT - 21/0 in 2 overs
The off-spinner opens the bowling for Worcestershire. Just three runs grom Moeen Ali's over. No signs of aggression in the first over. Alex Hales and Chris Nash in the middle. NOT - 3/0 in 1 over
Excellent bowling performance from Nottinghamshire bowlers. Wickets kept falling at regular interval and Worcestershire batsmen could not string together a partnership in the middle overs. Worcestershire bowlers will be out to defend a modest total. Worcestershire - 147/9 in 20 overs
Ninth wicket goes down. Mitchell gets out after hitting a six off the fourth ball of the final over. Harry Gurney gets second wicket in the over. WOR - 146/9 in 19.5 overs
Ross Whiteley departs after a 24-ball 36. Harry Gurney's slower delivery does the trick. Luke Wood takes the catch. WOR - 140/8 in 19.3 overs
Ross Whiteley, the batsman who is among few batsmen who have hit six sixes in an over. Whiteley is batting on 33 with one four and three sixes in his innings already. 150-160 on cards with two overs to go. WOR - 132/7 in 18 overs
Ed Barnard departs. A terrible mix-up between him and Ross Whiteley. Another wicket goes down. WOR - 97/7 in 14.5 overs
Matthew Carter comes back into the attack and takes another wicket. The stumps are flying here at Birmingham. D'Oliveira departs for 7. WOR - 91/6 in 13.1 overs
Another off-spinner uproots the stump. Rikki Wessels succumbs to the pressure. He departs for 34. WOR - 89/4 in 12.3 overs
Another one bites the dust. Nottinghamshire skipper Daniel Christian introduces himself into the attack and gets the wicket of wicketkeeper-batsman Ben Cox. WOR - 79/4 in 11 overs
Wayne Parnell gets too ambitious after hitting a six down the ground off Steven Mullaney. Parnell departs for 15. Rikki Wessels is struggling to score boundaries. WOR - 76/3 in 10 overs
Good start from Worcestershire despite losing two wickets in the powerplay overs. Rikki Wessels is anchoring the innings well so far. Wayne Parnell has come in to bat after Moeen Ali's wicket. WOR - 54/2 in 6 overs
Off-spinner Matthew Carter gets the big wicket of Moeen Ali. Excellent recovery from Carter after getting tonked for two sixes in a row in the previous over. The skipper departs for 21 from nine deliveries. Three sixes in his innings. WOR - 40/2 in 4.1 overs
Moeen Ali comes in to bat. Ali hits two consecutive sixes. The skipper is off to a great start. WOR - 22/1 in 2 overs
An absolute stunner from Alex Hales at covers. Kiwis batsman Hamish Rutherford out for 5. Moeen Ali comes in to bat. WOR - 10/1 in 1.3 overs
Luke Wood starts off the proceedings for Nottinghamshire with the new ball. Nine runs off the first over. WOR - 9/0 in 1 over
Worcestershire: Riki Wessels, Hamish Rutherford, Moeen Ali(c), Wayne Parnell, Ben Cox(w), Ross Whiteley, Ed Barnard, Brett DOliveira, Daryl Mitchell, Charlie Morris, Patrick Brown
Nottinghamshire: Chris Nash, Alex Hales, Ben Duckett, Joe Clarke, Tom Moores(w), Daniel Christian(c), Samit Patel, Steven Mullaney, Luke Wood, Matthew Carter, Harry Gurney
Nottinghamshire skipper Dan Christian wins the toss and elects to bowl first.
Hello and welcome to the live blog of first semi-final of T20 Blast 2019 between Nottinghamshire and Worcestershire. Stay tuned for toss update.