Villiers dropped on 10published at 18:59 BST 17 July

18:59 BST 17 July

Durham 17-1 v The Blaze

Ooh.. that could come back to hurt The Blaze.

Lucy Higham gets a good hand to a cut to point from Mady Villiers (on 10) but spills it. And it goes for four as well.

Earlier in the over Grace Ballinger slings a loose one angled across Heather Graham and the batter does not miss out, slapping it through cover.

Good comeback next ball from the left armer which finds a thick enough edge to evade the dive of Tammy Beaumont at slip.

But the drop could hurt.

As you've probably noticed the Radio 5 Sports Extra commentary isn't up and running yet.

We're aware and trying to fix the problem ASAP.

We'll keep you up to date with everything in text form in the meantime.

Charley Phillips gets a bit too straight on a couple of occasions in her first over with Mady Villiers clipping off the pads for a first boundary through midwicket..

She is saved by mid on who keeps it to a single on the fourth deilvery with a swift tumble to her right and concedes a single with the final delivery, flicked to square leg.

Durham have steadied the nerves.

A very tidy over from Grace Ballinger gives The Blaze first blood.

The Blaze seamer got a hint of movement away with the new ball and the edge to Tammy Beaumont was taken well.

Huge start for the pre-race favourites.

Here we go...

Grace Ballinger to Mady Villiers with Hollie Armitage at the non strikers end. The pair take a nervy single and a shy at the stumps from Lucy Higham.

A direct hit and Armirage would have been toast.

If you want to give us your thoughts on the final, click on the yellow Get Involved button and let us know what's on your mind.

Image source, Shutterstock

Low scoring T20 games can generate plenty of excitement and the second semi final did produce a tense finish. But generally spectators like to see high scoring run chases and they haven't had that at the Oval so far.

Surrey and Hampshire have both gone out with their lowest first innings scores of the summer and Surrey's was the third lowest by anybody in the tournament.

We've seen just five sixes so far and no half centuries, Durham's Heather Graham top scoring with 35.

It could be a difficult one for whoever bats first in the final to try to assess what might be a winning total on a pitch which has favoured the bowlers in the opening two games.

Having finished fourth with seven wins and four defeats in the group stage Durham were probably outsiders going into Finals Day. But their victories had included one against Hampshire and two against the Blaze.

So they'll be looking for one more upset and they have one of the most prolific batters in the competition. Huddersfield born Hollie Armitage made six appearances for England across the two white ball formats in 2024 and she's been making a case for a recall.

In the final she'll be vying with Charli Knott to be the tournament's top run scorer. Armitage needs just eight runs to overtake Grace Scrivens of Essex and she must also be within 17 of what Knott scores.

Image source, Shutterstock

If The Blaze are standing in front of the fireworks later with WT20 Blast trophy in hand they will owe a drink or two during the celebrations that follow to all-rounder Charli Knott.

Four Surrey wickets in the semi-final earlier today (4-15) as Blaze ran out winners by six wickets. They took her haul to 25 for the tournament, two clear at the top of the charts.

In addition her 21 runs (from 18 balls) made it 404 runs during the Blast campaign leaving her just 24 runs behind Essex’s Grace Scrivens and off top spot in the Blast’s top run-scorers charts.

All in all, quite the all-rounder’s display in an outstanding campaign and while it has been backed up Grace Ballinger with the ball who moved to 19 in the Blast after 3-18, there is no doubt as to the identity of key bowlers in the Blaze line-up.

Both sides are unchanged from their semi-final line-ups...

Blaze XI: Beaumont, S Bryce (wk), K Bryce, Knott, Elwiss, Jones, Gordon (c), Groves, Higham, Ballinger, Phillips.

Durham XI: Armitage (c), Villiers, Windsor, Heath, Graham, Rogers (wk), Thompson, Turner, Johnson, Filer, Levick.

Image source, Shutterstock

Right Blaze fans, get ready for a run chase because Kirstie Gordon has called right at the toss elected to have a bowl.

It looks a sensible decision with Durham's skipper Hollie Armitage agreeing she would have done the same had the coin landed the other way.

Another low-scoring affair in the offing? Judged on chases of 106 and 130 in the two semi-finals that could be the case.

Welcome back.

The Blaze v Durham coming up in the Women's T20 Blast final.

Let's get straight to the toss and team news...

While The Blaze and Durham get ready for the final at 18:45 BST, we'll pause the live text.

We'll be back at 18:30 with toss and team news from The Oval.

Dominic James
BBC Radio Newcastle commentator

Grace Thompson, take a bow.

What pressure on young shoulders and she relished that. Didn't shy away from it and ran towards it.

Fair play getting Durham over the line. Brilliant, absolutely brilliant.

Rita Green
Ex-cricketer and commentator on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

What a tense end but I tell you what, the coolest person in the ground was Grace Thompson who has batted beautifully to take Durham over the line and book themselves a final against The Blaze.

Hampshire did a brilliant job of keeping the pressure on Durham the entire way with such a small total to defend. Credit where it's due, they tried their very, very best but a thick outside edge in the end was enough for Durham to get over the line.

That is that! Grace Thompson's very useful cameo at the end of Durham's innings with the bat has helped them to book their place in the final later this evening.

It was nervy at times, and Hampshire Hawks bowled largely very well to make what appeared a routine chase a tense affair, but we have our line up for the final.

Eight precious runs to Durham in Georgia Adams' final over with the ball!

An excellently timed shot by new batter Sophia Turner, straight down the ground which beats mid-off who is up, relieves plenty of pressure.

Durham need four off the final over and Poppy Tulloch is set to bowl it.

Rita Green
Ex-cricketer and commentator on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Could that be a pivotal moment? Naomi Dattani with the catch at mid-off.

What are we seeing here? All Durham needed was 12 to win the game and the very, very important Heather Graham, who was on 33, is now out.

Can Durham get it over the line with just over two overs remaining?

In all, there were four runs which came from that over, plus the wicket of Heather Graham. Durham need 12 runs from 12 balls to take on The Blaze in the final. Hampshire are still applying as much pressure as they can. Dots will be precious.