No-ball drama, early fireworks and controversy in T20 Blast final

The T20 Blast final between Hampshire and Lancashire at Edgbaston on Saturday turned out to be one of the most dramatic title clashes in recent times.

Hampshire held their nerve to win the T20 title after defeating Lancashire by just one run after a breathless final minutes.

Lancashire needed four runs from the last ball to equal Hampshire's score of 152 - they had lost one less wicket and a tie would have been enough for the win - when Australia pacer Nathan Ellis bowled Richard Gleeson.

As Hampshire began their celebrations, fireworks went off in Birmingham. However, the jubilation was premature as the umpire signalled a no-ball.

That left Lancashire needing three to win off a free hit. Once the emotions and smoke settled down, Ellis bowled again, with Gleeson missing the ball and running a bye as Lancashire finished on 151-8 and one run short.

Even as Gleeson missed the free hit, he and Tom Hartley scampered through for a single and then appeared to complete a second run that would have been enough to level the scores and give victory to Lancashire as their powerplay score was superior, with the sides also tied in losing eight wickets.

While Hampshire were hoovering around stumps during the second set of celebrations, the umpires deemed a dead ball had been called before the second run was completed.

After the match, Dane Vilas questioned why Lancashire were denied the chance to run another bye from the last legitimate delivery of the final.

A no ball. A no ball.The utter, utter drama of #Blast22. What a match.#FinalsDay pic.twitter.com/cRYkesYjYr

"We thought the ball was still live," Vilas said. "There was a little bit of confusion out there but the umpires called the ball dead as soon as they took the stumps off at