David Willey’s unbeaten 47 and Ben Sanderson’s four-wicket haul pushed Northamptonshire into Vitality Blast Finals Day for the second straight year, as the Steelbacks beat Gloucestershire by eight wickets in a quarter-final at the County Ground, Northampton, on July 15.
Chasing 153, Northamptonshire got there in 17.4 overs, losing just two wickets along the way. Gloucestershire had earlier been bowled out for 152, undone by a middle-order collapse after Ben Charlesworth’s career-best 68.
Charlesworth’s 68 Not Enough for Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire lost Dawid Malan and Graeme van Buuren inside the first two overs, both falling cheaply to the new ball. D’Arcy Short tried to counter, striking Willey to the boundary twice before Sanderson bowled him to leave the visitors at 16 for three.
Charlesworth then took over. He hit 22 runs off a single Willey over and pulled Sanderson out of the ground for six, reaching his half-century in style. Gloucestershire crossed 100 in the same over Charlesworth got to fifty, but James Sales removed Jack Taylor soon after, catching him behind as he tried to pull.
The innings fell apart from there. Kamran Dhariwal was run out through a sharp piece of fielding from Ricardo Vasconcelos and Calvin Harrison, and Miles Hammond was bowled attempting to manufacture room against George Scrimshaw. Charlesworth’s innings ended when he was caught at backward point off Harrison, and Duan Jansen fell lbw the very next ball. Sanderson returned to close out the innings, bowling Matt Taylor and Marchant de Lange in the final over to finish with figures of 4 for 20, his best of the season.
Willey Guides Northamptonshire Home
Northamptonshire lost Chris Lynn to a foot injury early in the chase after he was struck by Duan Jansen, forcing him to retire hurt. Vasconcelos kept the scoring rate up before he was dismissed for 42, caught by Charlesworth off de Lange.
Willey and Nathan McSweeney then settled the innings with low-risk batting, running hard between the wickets and avoiding unnecessary risk. No boundary was hit for 24 balls after Vasconcelos got out, though the pair kept the total moving. McSweeney eventually found the gap, pulling past a diving Short at deep backward square, before he was dismissed lbw trying to sweep Short.
Willey took charge after that, driving Matt Taylor through the covers and finding the boundary regularly. Lewis McManus supported him well, pulling and hitting a six off de Lange. Willey finished the match with a six down the ground off Jansen, sealing the win with 14 balls to spare.
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Northants Book Second Straight Finals Day Trip
The win sends Northamptonshire to Vitality Blast Finals Day for the second consecutive season. Sanderson’s bowling and Willey’s calm finish were the difference on a pitch that offered turn and bounce throughout the Gloucestershire innings.
For Gloucestershire, Charlesworth’s innings stood out as the only substantial contribution, with Jack Taylor’s 24 the next best score. The bowling attack could not find a way to slow down Northamptonshire’s chase once Willey and McManus got going in the closing overs.
Northamptonshire will now turn attention to their Finals Day opponents, with the semi-final draw expected to be confirmed in the coming days.
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