Birmingham Bears have defeated Lancashire Lightning by four runs to win their first T20 Blast title in a thrilling final at Edgbaston.
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Andrew Flintoff took the wicket of Ian Bell with his very first ball, before Varun Chopra was sent packing with the score at 64-2.
Birmingham struggled to get things moving with William Porterfield next to go for 31, while Rikki Clarke's evening was also soon over.
Laurie Evans's racked up an innings-high score of 53 runs, signalling the end of the Bears batting with a score of 181-5.
Tom Smith and Ashwell Prince were sent packing at 62-2 as Lancashire began their stint at the crease.
A stuttering Usman Khawaja was not too far behind, caught out by Evans, who had moments earlier agonisingly dropped Karl Brown.
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Lancashire's chances took a huge blow when England wicketkeeper Jos Buttler was sent back to the pavilion at 102-4, and Birmingham could taste victory when Steven Croft followed after raking up just six runs.
Paul Horton, Brown and Jordan Clark tried to arrest the slump, but it was to no avail as they were all soon dismissed.
Flintoff almost became the hero as he took the Lightning close to their target, but Lancashire fell short four runs short to ensure that Birmingham secured victory on their home ground.
Daniel Lewis
