Southern Brave were crowned the first men's Hundred champions after they beat Birmingham Phoenix by 32 runs in an action-packed Lord's final.
Chasing 169, Phoenix's Liam Livingstone thrashed 46 from 19 balls, animating a raucous Lord's crowd with an effortless flow of boundaries, before the game swung in dramatic and unlikely fashion. Tim David, only brought into the Brave's squad earlier this week, ran out Livingstone with a 60m direct hit from the deep - the in-form Livingstone agonisingly inches short.
Birmingham still needed another 99 from 55 balls and Brave's impressive bowling attack closed out the game expertly to make the winning margin far greater than looked likely at one stage. Hundred star Jake Lintott had Moeen Ali caught for 36 from 30 balls. Ireland international Paul Stirling earlier hit 61 from 36 balls for the Brave before Ross Whiteley's crucial 44 not out from 19 balls lifted them to 168-5.
The Oval Invincibles joined the Brave with their trophy at the end of a special day at cricket's historic home. When Livingstone was flying - the crowd on its feet as he hit sixes at will - Birmingham were ahead of the Brave in their chase.
Tymal Mills was sensational again in the final, taking 1-13 from 20 balls to push his case for an England recall. Their fast bowling attack - featuring Mills, George Garton, Chris Jordan and Craig Overton - has been of international quality throughout.
Jake Lintott, who paused his teaching career earlier this year when given a county contract, has been a standout performer with his spin. The champions won the title without the injured Jofra Archer and internationals David Warner and Andre Russell, who pulled out because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
"It's been a real team effort and different people have turned up on different occasions," said captain James Vince. "It was Paul Stirling and Ross Whiteley to get us runs on the board that made the difference."
Brave were worthy champions, finishing the tournament with seven consecutive wins after defeats in their opening two games.