Derbyshire were unable to reach the final of the Vitality Blast after being defeated by Essex on their maiden Finals Day appearance.
Alex Hughes and Luis Reece both claimed two wickets each for the Falcons on their maiden Finals Day appearance, as Cameron Delport’s 55 helped Essex to a score of 160-5.
Despite a bright start, the Falcons were unable to chase down the target of 161 at Edgbaston, with Simon Harmer (4-19) and Aron Nijjar (3-26 claiming the bulk of the wickets.
Coming into the game as the competitions joint-leading wicket-taker, Ravi Rampaul opened the bowling for Derbyshire, with he and Logan van Beek limiting Essex to 23 from the first three overs.
However, after a partnership of 78 for the first wicket, Hughes made the breakthrough for Derbyshire when he had Delport (55) caught by Luis Reece.
The Derbyshire man struck again to remove Dan Lawrence (3), before Reece trapped Ryan Ten Doeschate lbw for just one as the Falcons put Essex on the back foot.
Rampaul reclaimed his place at the top of the wickets table when he had Ravi Bopara caught by Reece for 27, as Essex posted a total of 160-5 from their 20 overs, setting the Falcons a target of 161 to qualify for their first Vitality Blast final.
Having struck a scintillating 184 against Sussex earlier this week, Reece made a good start to the innings by smashing three fours and a six off the first seven balls that he faced, before being caught acrobatically by Adam Wheater off Aaron Beard.
The spin of Harmer and Nijjar proved to be decisive, with the pair removing Billy Godleman (9), Wayne Madsen (17) and Leus du Plooy (9) to break through Derbyshire’s top-four.
Hughes provided some resistance for the Falcons, hitting 23 from 27 deliveries before he was stumped by Wheater off Nijjar, while Fynn Hudson-Prentice was bowled by Lawrence for one.
The Falcons were dismissed for 126 as Essex booked their place in the Vitality Blast final.
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