T20 Blast Finals Day takes place at Edgbaston on Saturday 15th July with holders Hampshire facing Essex in the first semi-final before South Group big guns Somerset and Surrey clash in the second semi.

James Milton's T20 Blast Finals Day Tips

Somerset to win T20 Blast @ 11/4 

Essex to hit Most Match Sixes vs Hampshire @ 11/10 

Tom Banton to be Somerset Top Batter vs Surrey @ 7/2 

Odds displayed were correct at the time of writing and subject to fluctuation.

Setting the scene…..

T20 Blast Finals Day rarely disappoints and Hampshire, who won a thrilling final against Lancashire by one run last year, are 11/4 to retain their title at Edgbaston on Saturday.

Their semi-final opponents Essex, 7/2 shots, have already enjoyed success at the Finals Day venue this season, upsetting Birmingham Bears in the quarter-finals, while Somerset and Surrey look set for a cracking contest in the other semi.

Surrey, inaugural T20 champions in 2003, are 9/4 to end their long wait for a second title and 2005 winners Somerset, who topped the South Group in fine style, are 11/4 to lift the trophy.

Somerset to win T20 Blast @ 11/4 

All four of this year's Finals Day contenders come from the South Group and Somerset are worth backing to frank the group-stage form by claiming the title.

The Cidermen have been outstanding in T20 cricket this summer, winning 12 of their 14 South Group matches before a gritty five-wicket victory over Nottinghamshire in the quarter-finals.

Will Smeed, Tom Banton and Tom Kohler-Cadmore make up a formidable top three but Somerset showcased their batting depth against Notts as Lewis Gregory and Ben Green took them home with an unbroken sixth-wicket stand of 96.

New Zealand internationals Matt Henry and Ish Sodhi add real quality to the bowling unit and, after 13 wins in 15 Blast games this season, Somerset should be hard to stop. 

James Milton's Tip:

Somerset were Blast runners-up in 2021 and lost to Hampshire in last season's semi-finals but they are capable of getting over the line this season.

Henry, Sodhi, Craig Overton and Green, the leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 27 scalps, form a top-class bowling attack and Somerset finished six points clear at the top of the South Group.

Essex to hit Most Match Sixes vs Hampshire @ 11/10

Essex needed a final-ball six against Surrey to claim fourth place in the South Group and their number nine Shane Snater hit a maximum to seal a two-wicket victory over North Group winners Birmingham Bears in the quarter-finals. 

The 2019 Blast champions hit six sixes to the Bears' five and their powerful batters could repeat the feat against Hampshire, who cleared the ropes only once in a low-scoring last-eight against Worcestershire.

James Milton's Tip:

Essex's home ground Chelmsford is a great place for batsmen to find their six-hitting range and they can strike more maximums than Hampshire in the first semi-final at Edgbaston. 

Daniel Sams and Paul Walter have smashed 49 sixes between them in this season's Blast while Dan Lawrence, Michael Pepper and Adam Rossington also average better than one per innings and they can unsettle a classy Hampshire bowling attack.

Tom Banton to be Somerset Top Batter vs Surrey @ 7/2

The resurgence of opener Tom Banton has been a big factor in Somerset's T20 success this summer and he is a tempting price to top-score in the semi-final against Surrey. 

Banton made his England T20 debut in November 2019, a week before his 21st birthday, and, after a couple of quiet years, he has returned to form in 2023. 

He particularly enjoyed his group-stage clashes with Surrey, hitting 53 off 37 deliveries at Taunton before a 44-ball 84 in Somerset's victory at The Oval on 30th June.

James Milton's Tip:

Banton struck nine sixes in two South Group innings for Somerset against Surrey and the opener is worth backing to inflict more pain on the Surrey bowlers in the second semi-final. 

Opening partner Smeed is favourite to be Somerset's Top Batter, as he was in the 2021 Blast final defeat to Kent, but he made just eight and six in the group meetings with Surrey so Banton looks a better bet at Edgbaston.

James Milton's T20 Blast Finals Day Tips

Somerset to win T20 Blast @ 11/4

Essex to hit Most Match Sixes vs Hampshire @ 11/10

Tom Banton to be Somerset Top Batter vs Surrey @ 7/2

Odds displayed were correct at the time of writing and subject to fluctuation.