Cummins, 21, who hit the winning runs in his lone Test for Australia against South Africa three years ago, stepped up at the Blues' time of need on Friday night to save them from a precarious position.

He struck an unbeaten 31 from 21 balls at the death – and the increasingly accomplished finisher Carters laid on 28 from 23 – to lead them past the target of 226 with two balls remaining and only two wickets to spare.

It ends Queensland's two-year reign as domestic one-day champions and leaves NSW, last season's finalists, to take on Western Australia in the final at the SCG.

The Blues will on Sunday again have the services of returning Australian all-rounder Shane Watson, who made a rare state appearance scoring 34 in the run chase.

Watson didn't bowl in the afternoon – he won't in Sunday's final either – and earlier in the day it did not seem as if he or anyone else from NSW would be needed to bat for long as the Bulls slumped to 5-68.

Sean Abbott, another all-rounder, 11 years Watson's junior, and strike bowler Josh Hazlewood were the responsible parties, but wily campaigner James Hopes (72) and lower-order clubber Ben Cutting (52) restored respectability and ensured a tricky pursuit on a wicket that did not prove easy to score on.

When Watson, batting at No.3, blazed four quick boundaries soon after joining captain Peter Nevill (44) it appeared the Blues' path to the final might be straightforward after all. Nevill exited soon after, though, trapped lbw by leggie Cameron Boyce, and Watson, pinned down by the bowling of Cutting and Peter George, then departed with an awkward attempted sweep of another spinner, Jason Floros.

Kurtis Patterson, who had led NSW to victory with an unbeaten 50 against Queensland a fortnight ago, set about a repeat of that feat, but his run out for 35 triggered what threatened to be a match-turning middle-order collapse.

Ben Rohrer followed for 33 thanks to a smart catch at deep square by Floros, and then Abbott, taking a route one approach, tried to heave George over the mid-wicket fence on the very next ball, but succeeded only in finding Nathan Reardon.

If the Queenslander's hands were safe on that occasion, they failed him crucially three overs later when he spilled a towering hit by Cummins and, despite Carters and then Gurinder Sandhu falling in the final over, the Blues snuck over the line with a Cummins four.