BIRMINGHAM, Aug 18: David Willey starred with both bat and ball as Northamptonshire thrashed Surrey by 102 runs to win English county cricket’s Twenty20 final at Edgbaston here on Saturday.

Willey, the son of former England batsman turned umpire Peter Willey, smashed 60 off just 27 balls with six fours and four sixes as Northamptonshire piled up a huge score of 194-2 in an innings reduced by rain to 18 overs.

The 23-year-old left-arm fast-medium bowler then took four wickets for nine runs, including a hat-trick to end the match, as Surrey were bowled out for just 92 with Northamptonshire winning their first major trophy in 21 years.

“I’m really pleased. To be honest I didn’t think we’d won and I thought there was another wicket needed,” Willey told Sky Sports.

“This is once in a lifetime. I will probably never play like this again so I should probably quit while I’m ahead.”

Willey was only promoted to open after Kyle Coetzer injured a wrist in the seven-wicket semi-final win over Essex.

But his big-hitting was followed by half-centuries from captain Alex Wakely (59 not out) and Australia’s Cameron White (54 not out), who shared an unbroken stand of 107 from 57 balls.

It was a night to forget for Surrey’s bowlers, with England One-day International paceman Jade Dernbach’s four overs costing 55 runs.

Northamptonshire’s success was all the more impressive as before this season they’d won just three of their previous 22 Twenty20 matches.

Earlier, former Pakistan all-rounder Azhar Mahmood helped Surrey ensure there was no fairytale farewell for retiring Hampshire captain Dimitri Mascarenhas as they beat the defending champions by four wickets in the semi-finals.

All-rounder Mascarenhas, who has won five trophies in his 18 years with Hampshire, is retiring at the end of the season following a persistent Achilles tendon problem.

But the chances of the 35-year-old, born in London but brought up in Australia and who made 34 limited overs appearances for England, adding to his medal collection were effectively ended when Surrey held Hampshire to 142-9, with Azhar taking two wickets for nine runs.

However, it was ex-England seamer Jon Lewis who had Hampshire’s Michael Carberry, the competition’s leading run-scorer, caught for just six.

As drizzle set in, Surrey found the run chase tough before Zander de Bruyn (41 not out) saw them home in the final over.

White also played his part in Northamptonshire’s semi-final win over Essex, sharing an unbeaten 78-run partnership with Steven Crook saw them pass Essex’s 168-5 with 11 balls to spare.

South Africa Twenty20 International opener Richard Levi got Northamptonshire’s reply off to a sound start with 57 from 35 balls at the top of the order before White (36 not out) and Crook (46 not out) sealed victory.—AFP