The Blaze Clinches Trophy Treble in Dramatic One-Day Cup Final

Emma Jones lashed a last-ball boundary to complete The Blaze’s trophy treble and rip up Hampshire’s script in a gripping One-Day Cup final at the Utilita Bowl.

Needing two from the final delivery of Daisy Gibb’s over, Jones rocked back and pulled to the rope, sealing a three-title season and silencing a home crowd that had been sensing a heist of their own. She walked off unbeaten on 34 from 25 balls, the calmest player in the stadium as chaos swirled around her.

Beaumont and Elwiss set the platform

For much of the chase, The Blaze looked untouchable. Chasing 252, they moved with authority, anchored by the experience and class of Tammy Beaumont and Georgia Elwiss.

Beaumont, all timing and angles, carved out 74, dictating tempo and picking gaps with ruthless precision. Elwiss matched her for composure, compiling 64 in a partnership that seemed to drain belief from Hampshire and turn the final into a procession. At one stage, The Blaze appeared to be cruising, the required rate under control, the field spread, the pressure firmly on the bowlers.

Then the game flipped.

Hampshire’s spinners drag it back

With the trophy edging away, Hampshire turned to spin and found life. Amanda-Jade Wellington ripped through the middle order, her 3-36 sparking a collapse that dragged the contest into the kind of territory where finals are won and lost.

Bex Tyson backed her up with 2-46, and suddenly the scoreboard told a different story. Four wickets tumbled for just 29 runs. The Blaze, once serene, now needed 30 from the last three overs. The noise rose, the tension thickened, and Hampshire’s fielders began to buzz.

Every dot ball felt decisive. Every mis-hit drew a roar. The Blaze, who had already banked the T20 Blast and County Cup this season, now stood on the brink of letting the treble slip through their fingers.

Jones refused to blink.

Jones finishes the job

Where others felt the squeeze, Jones saw opportunity. She picked her moments, pierced the infield, and kept the chase alive without panicking. Singles, twos, the odd boundary – it was controlled aggression, not blind slogging.

As the final over began, the equation still favoured the bowlers. Gibb held the ball, Hampshire’s season hanging on her six deliveries. The Blaze, three trophies in sight, could not afford a mistake.

The over ebbed and flowed until it came down to that last ball: two needed. Fielders crept in, the crowd held its breath. One miscue and Hampshire would have their redemption after last year’s final defeat to Lancashire on the same ground.

Jones ended the argument with one clean swing.

The pull shot flew to the boundary, The Blaze’s dugout erupted, and Hampshire’s players sank into the turf, beaten on home soil in a One-Day Cup final for the second year running.

For The Blaze, it was the perfect full stop on a dominant season. For Hampshire, it was another haunting question: how many more chances will they get to turn heartbreak into silverware?