ON one of English cricket's most lucrative days, in front of a full house of 23,700 at Edgbaston, there was something gratifying about the NatWest T20 Blast final being contested by the two most impoverished clubs.

Durham and Northamptonshire might not have the greatest debts, but both have been cap-in-hand to the ECB in the last two years and would welcome any prizemoney.

Northants took £175,000, Durham £78,000 – perhaps enough for one senior player's annual salary. It will not make a huge difference, but it is better than what is on offer for the Royal London Cup.

The final of the 50-over event at Lord's is no longer the one-day showpiece. It has been upstaged by this day-long extravaganza of intense action, fireworks, loud bursts of Sweet Caroline and YMCA, fancy dress and dancing in the aisles.

There were even some tumblers hired to turn somersaults when a six was hit, although they couldn't hold a candle to Amy Tinkler.

The showers didn't really matter, except that the start was delayed by 30 minutes and the rest of the programme squeezed, which did Durham no favours.

While play often continued through short bursts of drizzle, the two heaviest showers interrupted Durham's innings in the semi-final, leaving them with even less time to recover for the final.

“I didn't even have time to fill out the team sheet,” said skipper Paul Collingwood. “The game against Yorkshire was like a final for us. We put so much energy and intensity into it, to go back out again within 30 minutes was not ideal.

“But I can't be more proud of the team. From the position we were in with a couple of group games left to get to the final was a great achievement. I have no regrets about the way we have gone about it.

“We had an exceptional performance by Mark Wood in the semi-final. He's ideal for this form of cricket because he can bowl every ball at full tilt. He gets batsmen out with pure pace.

“Then in the final Keaton Jennings showed how much he has developed this season, which has been a huge bonus for us. The way he has responded since being dropped at the end of last season has been magnificent.

“There's been a big shift in his mental approach in realising what he can achieve. I hope a lot of young players look at how he puts the work in as a model professional.”

Northants skipper Alex Wakeley spoke of the team spirit among his small squad. He fielded the players available, while semi-final opponents Nottinghamshire, the great under-achievers, arrived with the dilemma of picking two from their three overseas men. They also left out Greg Smith, who had played throughout, to accommodate Alex Hales.

While they continue to struggle near the foot of the second division, Northants have been in three of the last four T20 finals, winning it twice. As Leicestershire realised before them, when resources are limited it's the best way to go.