The Cricketer looks at the outstanding performers from across the 20th season of the domestic 20-over competition
Adam Lyth (Yorkshire Vikings)
No maiden title for the Headingley club but Lyth led the way at the top of the order, hitting 525 runs at a strike rate of 177.36 (only Rossouw scored at a quicker rate of the top 24 run-scorers). His five fifties were punctuated by an 81 from 46 balls to beat Durham. The former England batter will have regret over his form during the knock-out phase, making a duck against Surrey and only eight in the Roses semi-final loss.
Chris Lynn (Northamptonshire Steelbacks)
The Australian opener's maiden spell in county cricket was the highlight of Northamptonshire's Blast campaign of six wins in 14 games. Lynn crushed 516 runs in 10 innings including two hundreds - one of only two players to reach three figures on multiple occasions - against Leicestershire Foxes and Worcestershire Rapids. There were few bigger hits in the competition than the six he mashed into a local resident's garden during an onslaught against Durham in late May.
James Vince (Hampshire Hawks)
The tournament's leading run-scorer, winning captain and Blast player of the year. Vince became the competition's second-highest ever run-scorer in 2022 and is honing in on Luke Wright at the top of the standings. Two centuries and three fifties helped a Hampshire batting line-up that relied mostly on their bowling to take them to the title. His unbeaten 129 against Somerset in the group stage was the highest individual score by a Hants player in T20 cricket. Marshalled the champions brilliantly to capture a third title by the thinnest of margins.
Rilee Rossouw was outstanding for Somerset (Harry Trump/Getty Images)
Rilee Rossouw (Somerset)
Given the overseas players that have previously passed through Taunton, it wouldn't have been too unfair to describe Rossouw as a rather underwhelming arrival for the Blast. But the South African repaid the faith, smashing 623 runs at a strike rate of 192.28 as Somerset roared to Finals Day. That run included seven fifties and a competition-best 42 sixes in 16 innings. After hitting a poor run of form, he returned to his best with a sparkling 93 to beat Derbyshire Falcons in the quarter-finals. Form has led to a Proteas call-up for the England T20Is.
Adam Hose (Birmingham Bears)
The highest run-scorer in the competition outside of the players who featured on Finals Day. Hose's 557 runs were scored at a strike rate of 160. His century as the Bears overwhelmed Worcestershire Rapids, a brutal 53-ball assault of 110 not out was one of the individual performances of the summer. That his 16 in the last four defeat to Hampshire was the Bears' best score of the match says plenty about the manner of their quarter-final exit.
Ben McDermott (Hampshire Hawks)
In the top 10 run-scorers for the competition and with the second most dismissals, behind only Alex Davies at Birmingham Bears. The Aussie turned up when Hants needed him most, scoring 61 in the last eight win over the Bears before adding 31 in the semi-final and another 62 as Lancashire were beaten in the final. Helped complete the key dismissal of Steven Croft, clinging on at the fourth time of asking after the Lancs batter had been caught on the glove.
James Fuller was part of Hampshire's sterling bowling attack (Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
Sunil Narine (Surrey)
The West Indian allrounder was canny with the ball and at times destructive with the bat for Surrey, who looked like tournament favourites for so much of the 2022 campaign. He cracked 199 runs at a strike rate of 163.11, but it was his mystery spin that stood out. An economy rate of 5.96 was better than any bowler to deliver more than four overs. He was hardly prolific, taking 14 wickets at 22.14 apiece, but he was able to slow the scoring rate in the middle overs and forced teams to take risks elsewhere.
James Fuller (Hampshire Hawks)
In a competition for evergreen seamers the wrong side of 30, Fuller was among the most potent. Only two players captured more than the 23 wickets Fuller claimed while being ever-present for the eventual champions. Was primarily deployed in the middle overs, slowing the scoring rate and taking key wickets at regular intervals. Economy rate of 7.83 was only better by Naveen-ul-Haq in the top eight wicket-takers in the competition. Came to the party in the final with the crucial dismissal of Tim David in the 16th over.
Richard Gleeson (Lancashire Lightning)
It has been a blinding summer for the 34-year-old, who finished the Blast as the leading wicket-taker. His 25 scalps may not have been good enough to take Lancashire to the title but he has forced himself into the T20 World Cup conversation, with England's battery of quick bowlers falling victim of injury. Gleeson knows all about fitness issues but is now thriving after treading the long road back - a story everyone can get behind. Didn't have the best Finals Day and took a pasting against Yorkshire courtesy of Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Jordan Thompson.
Jake Lintott's rise continues (David Rogers/Getty Images)
Naveen-ul-Haq (Leicestershire Foxes)
The Afghanistan youngster returned for a second season at Grace Road and virtually matched his performance, adding 24 wickets to the 26 he claimed in 2021. A Blast bowling average of 16.90 stands up with anyone in the competition over the last two editions. Though unable to guide Leicestershire into the knock-out stages (he was partly to blame for that) his T20 skills caught the eye, with his variations, including a deceptive in-ducker, deceiving batters up and down the country. Highlights included taking 4 for 24 against Notts Outlaws and a maiden five-for against Worcestershire.
Jake Lintott (Birmingham Bears)
The west country left-armer's remarkable rise continues, finishing as the leading spinner in the competition with 22 wickets in 15 games. Though he took some punishment in the quarter-final thumping by Hants he helped the Bears get there in the first place. His stand-out performances came as he took 4 for 27 against Leicestershire Foxes, dismissing Scott Steel, Colin Ackermann, Naveen-ul-Haq and Callum Parkinson.
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