2:14 AM IST, 9:44 PM local time: Who can stop Northamptonshire Steelbacks? That seems to be the overarching theme of this competition. They are the only undefeated side in the tournament — have been for a while now — and seem to continue going from strength to strength. Tonight again, they made it a one-sided affair and thumped Worcestershire Rapids by 6 wickets and 2 complete overs to spare (DLS method).
In a run chase that lasted 16 overs, they went through a 6-over boundary-less period. They had lost wickets, two international quality spinners — Usama Mir and Sikandar Raza — were operating in tandem and Steelbacks were looking to rebuild. Most days in modern day T20s, such phases can really hurt you. But perhaps, it was the confidence that David Willey and co. had in their ability to make up for it, that made them respect good bowling and then, explode when it mattered.
Just look at what they did on either side of those 6 overs. In the first 5 overs of the innings, they scored 71/1. Chris Lynn's 18-ball-37 and Nathan McSweeney's 15-ball-26 was instrumental in it. In the 5 overs post that phase, they scored 66/1, with skipper David Willey leading the charge with a 33-ball-47 and Justin Broad finishing things off.
Before that, Worcestershire Rapids had managed 154/5 off their 18 overs. Gareth Roderick top-scored with a 32-ball-47, while Sikandar Raza with his 24-ball-36 and Ethan Brookes with a 9-ball-19 made sprightly contributions towards the end. For the hosts, James Sales picked 3/34 and captain Willey registered 2/28 off his 4 overs.