Northamptonshire v Glamorgan
Northamptonshire are within touching distance of Twenty20 Cup progression after another faultless display saw them overpower Glamorgan by 14 runs at Wantage Road.
The Steelbacks face make-or-break encounters against Warwickshire on Monday, followed by a must-win clash with table-toppers Gloucestershire on Tuesday in their bid to guarantee qualification to the knockout phase.
Former England spinner Robert Croft must have regretted his decision to put the hosts in as a half-century from skipper David Sales guided the Steelbacks to a daunting total of 174 for six from their 20 overs.
Opener Usman Afzaal hit a breezy 15, including a six off David Harrison, but the bowler had his revenge with the very next ball - Nicky Peng holding on at mid-on.
Rob White soon followed when he was caught behind by Wallace off Alex Wharf's first ball.
Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly had made 17 when he fell - Wharf again doing the damage with Croft taking the catch.
But skipper Sales led the fightback - launching Dean Cosker for two consecutive sixes in the 10th over.
Sales reached his 50 and took the Steelbacks to 100 when he slogged Richard Grant for six over long-on in the 14th over.
But the seam bowler took his revenge with the next ball taking Sales' off-stump clean out of the ground with a yorker.
Big-hitting South African Lance Klusener continued the onslaught, smashing Grant for 16 in the 16th over, before he was eventually removed by England one-day international Wharf - caught by David Hemp for 37.
The England pace bowler then claimed his fourth wicket, bowling Ben Phillips for six with the Dragons penultimate ball, setting Glamorgan a target of 175.
Glamorgan got off to a slow start with Mike Powell and Grant struggling with the Northamptonshire seam attack.
The opening pair only managed seven runs between them before Grant drove Australian Matt Nicholson's delivery to Ganguly at midwicket in the third over.
This brought Brendon McCullum to the crease who preceded to pepper the boundaries, racing to 40 in just 15 balls.
But the Kiwi was then stopped in his tracks by former Indian skipper Ganguly, with only his fifth ball of the match.
The Dragons' eagerness to make runs became their undoing when Hemp and Powell were run out in the same over with just two runs added, leaving Glamorgan on 87 for four.
James Franklin and Peng steadied the ship before the New Zealand seamer was caught by Sales at midwicket off England spin king Monty Panesar.
He was quickly followed by Peng, who saw his attempted drive off Nicholson caught by Ganguly.
It left Mark Wallace and Wharf with a mountain to climb to secure a surprise win, which they failed to do in the final two overs.
Northampton: Friday 7 July 2006 (20-over match) (1-day match)
Result: Northamptonshire won by 14 runs
Points: Northamptonshire 2, Glamorgan 0
Toss: Glamorgan
Umpires:
G Sharp, P Willey
Teams:
Northamptonshire
U Afzaal, S C Ganguly, A R White, D J G Sales, B M Shafayat, M H Wessels, L Klusener, B J Phillips, M J Nicholson, M S Panesar, J F Brown
Glamorgan
M J Powell, R N Grant, B B McCullum, D L Hemp, N Peng, J E C Franklin, M A Wallace, A G Wharf, R D B Croft, D S Harrison, D A Cosker
| Northamptonshire
|
Runs |
Balls |
4s |
6s |
| U Afzaal |
c N Peng |
b DS Harrison |
15 |
13 |
1 |
1 |
| SC Ganguly |
c RDB Croft |
b AG Wharf |
17 |
19 |
3 |
0 |
| AR White |
c MA Wallace |
b AG Wharf |
1 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
| *DJG Sales |
|
b RN Grant |
51 |
29 |
2 |
4 |
| +MH Wessels |
not out |
|
32 |
30 |
2 |
0 |
| L Klusener |
c DL Hemp |
b AG Wharf |
37 |
22 |
3 |
1 |
| BJ Phillips |
|
b AG Wharf |
6 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
| BM Shafayat |
not out |
|
4 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
| Extras |
(b 0, lb 6, nb 2, w 3) |
11 |
| Total |
(Close, 20 overs) |
174 |
|
Did not bat:
MJ Nicholson, MS Panesar, JF Brown
Fall of Wickets:
1-22 (22 U Afzaal, 9 mins), 2-33 (11 AR White, 7 mins), 3-49 (16 SC Ganguly, 10 mins), 4-101 (52 DJG Sales, 19 mins), 5-163 (62 L Klusener, 22 mins), 6-170 (7 BJ Phillips, 2 mins)
| Bowling |
Overs |
Maidens |
Runs |
Wickets |
Extras |
| DS Harrison |
4 |
0 |
30 |
1 |
- |
| JEC Franklin |
4 |
0 |
24 |
0 |
- |
| AG Wharf |
4 |
0 |
39 |
4 |
(1w) |
| RDB Croft |
4 |
0 |
13 |
0 |
- |
| DA Cosker |
2 |
0 |
29 |
0 |
- |
| RN Grant |
2 |
0 |
33 |
1 |
(2w) |
| Glamorgan
|
Runs |
Balls |
4s |
6s |
| RN Grant |
c SC Ganguly |
b MJ Nicholson |
4 |
13 |
1 |
0 |
| MJ Powell |
run out |
|
31 |
29 |
1 |
1 |
| BB McCullum |
|
b SC Ganguly |
40 |
15 |
4 |
2 |
| DL Hemp |
run out |
|
10 |
11 |
0 |
0 |
| JEC Franklin |
c DJG Sales |
b MS Panesar |
24 |
15 |
2 |
1 |
| N Peng |
c SC Ganguly |
b MJ Nicholson |
24 |
23 |
2 |
0 |
| +MA Wallace |
not out |
|
15 |
10 |
2 |
0 |
| AG Wharf |
not out |
|
7 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
| Extras |
(b 0, lb 3, nb 0, w 2) |
5 |
| Total |
(Close, 20 overs) |
160 |
|
Did not bat:
*RDB Croft, DS Harrison, DA Cosker
Fall of Wickets:
1-7 (7 RN Grant, 10 mins), 2-50 (43 BB McCullum, 11 mins), 3-85 (35 DL Hemp, 17 mins), 4-87 (2 MJ Powell, 4 mins), 5-135 (48 JEC Franklin, 17 mins), 6-141 (6 N Peng, 7 mins)
| Bowling |
Overs |
Maidens |
Runs |
Wickets |
Extras |
| MJ Nicholson |
4 |
0 |
37 |
2 |
(1w) |
| BJ Phillips |
4 |
0 |
29 |
0 |
- |
| SC Ganguly |
4 |
0 |
38 |
1 |
(1w) |
| JF Brown |
4 |
0 |
29 |
0 |
- |
| MS Panesar |
4 |
0 |
24 |
1 |
- |
|
|
|
