By Brian Halford

Essex Eagles went through to Vitality Blast Finals Day after beating Birmingham Bears by two wickets in a thrilling quarter-final at Edgbaston.
Disciplined bowling, backed up by excellent fielding, restricted the Bears to 167-6. Sam Hain struck a typically polished 52 from 26 balls but, tied down by Harmer and Sam Cook, the home side needed some flailing from Benjamin and Drakes to approach a par score.
Essex then reached 171-8 with just two balls to spare. Dan Lawrence underpinned the chase with 62 and although the Bears fought hard, Shane Snater hit a six with two b...