LANCASHIRE captain Mark Chilton was a disappointed man after his side were beaten in the final of the Twenty20 Cup against Somerset Sabres at the Oval on Saturday night.

But he insisted his side would take the defeat in good spirits.

"It's desperately disappointing. We've played some great cricket in this competition, entertained a lot of people but unfortunately tonight wasn't our night and obviously all of the players are just gutted.

"We know Twenty20 can be a game where you lose a couple of wickets early and it has gone so well for us. Credit to the Somerset guys, we played a lot of good cricket and tonight was not to be.

"The players have been great throughout this competition and we've got a lot to look forward to for the rest of this season. We'll pick ourselves up from this."

Rain had limited the final to 16 overs each, with Smith's side limiting Lightning to 114 for eight before knocking off the required runs with more than an over to spare.

Smith lost opening partner Marcus Trescothick - the left-hander caught behind off England team-mate Andrew Flintoff for 10 - but Matthew Wood arrived at the crease to take the score past the 50-run mark.

Flintoff then bowled Wood for 22 to leave Somerset 60 for two, and Ian Blackwell followed soon after he was caught by Stuart Law to the first ball of Gary Keedy's spell - but Smith's sensible innings had brought the rate close to a run per ball.

The South Africa captain, who will now return to international duty, finished on 6 not out as his side reached 118 for three, with James Hildreth hitting the winning runs.

Starting finals day as fourth favourites, the Sabres were boosted by Richard Johnson's two wickets in two balls after losing the toss.

Wickets fell regularly for Lancashire, although Stuart Law's 59 gave his side a fighting chance of defending a total.

Johnson's double was crucial, although the Sabres were initially encouraged by early wickets from Andy Caddick, who bowled the first over of the innings after Lightning won the toss.

Having dropped Mal Loye off the second ball of the final, Johnson did not waste an almost identical opportunity at deep square-leg four balls later.

Caddick then induced an ugly top edge to claim the vital wicket of Flintoff for just two, Blackwell remaining calm to take the catch at mid-wicket.

Andrew Symonds and Law led the recovery, but their work was undone when Wes Durston ran Symonds out for 12 with a direct hit to reduce Lightning to 40 for three.

Johnson then took his two in two balls - just as he had in the Sabres' semi-final - with Dominic Cork caught in the slips and Glen Chapple playing on.

Skipper Mark Chilton missed a straight ball from Blackwell, while Andrew Crook departed off Johnson's bowling to a high catch by wicketkeeper Carl Gazzard.

Gazzard also dismissed Law off the final ball of the innings, leaving the Sabres with a relatively attainable target.

Earlier in the day, Somerset had defied the odds to beat holders Leicestershire by four runs, with Gazzard starring with an unbeaten 26, two stumpings and a direct-hit run out.

Lancashire had reached the final after Flintoff starred with bat and ball in a 22-run win over Surrey.