Steelbacks have the mettle to challenge giants
MIDDLESEX have Brendon McCullum while Yorkshire possess many of England’s finest, but no team has proved they have a stronger spine in the Blast than the Northants Steelbacks.
And batsman Josh Cobb says it would have been foolish to tinker too much with a winning formula that yet again has them well-placed for another tilt towards Finals Day.
If the ECB’s plans for a city-based competition see the light of day, Northants will be an endangered species – even though the format is quite clearly in their DNA.
They may not have the budget to possess strength in depth – they used just 13 players in last year’s Blast, excluding two who played one game apiece – but invariably find a way to compete.
The Steelbacks won the trophy outright three years ago before making the final again in 2015, and are the only side to possess a perfect record heading into tonight’s fixture with Worcestershire Rapids.
The white flag could also have been waved at Trent Bridge on Monday after Notts set them an eye-popping 445-8 in the One-Day Cup, only to finish their chase 21 runs short of the target.
It has all come despite losing England all-rounder David Willey to Yorkshire over the winter – and Cobb insists it proves that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
“We haven’t been as consistent as we’d have liked in red-ball cricket, but our limited-overs sides are very exciting, you can see we’re always very dangerous when we get going,” he said.
“Last year we made the final having used very few players and we’ve only lost one in Dave (Willey). It’s a settled side, a confident side because we know the plans we have to put in place as individuals inside out.
“I know the smaller counties do seem to have a lot of success, having been at Leicestershire and Northants over the last few years.
“Team spirit in those two camps has played a big part.”
Injuries hit a compact Northants harder than most and they will have to do without Richard Levi due to a dislocated shoulder as well as Olly Stone, who cruelly suffered a damaged anterior cruciate ligament while celebrating a wicket against the Rapids last week.
Levi, in particular, had been in devastating form after scoring three half centuries in the Steelbacks’ three T20 games to date, though overseas help has also come in the form of Sri Lanka’s legspin all-rounder Seekkuge Prasanna.
“Prasanna is probably unknown to a lot of people in this country but he has been exceptional with the ball in every game so far,” Cobb said. “We’ve only seen him bat in a couple of innings, but he hit a first-ball six against Leicestershire to get over the line.
“He’s a brilliant presence in the dressing room, too, the lads love having him here – he’s been a great addition.”
The traditional county heavyweights have some ground to make up in the North with Notts Outlaws, Yorkshire Vikings and reigning champions Lancashire Lightning filling out the bottom three places.
Lightning have beaten tonight’s opponents, Leicestershire Foxes, in four consecutive home games – though visiting bowler Ben Raine possesses the best average of any player to bowl more than nine overs in the Blast so far (10.6).
Yorkshire will need to solve their away day blues – they haven’t won on the road since May 2015 – at Birmingham Bears, who have won five of the last six encounters between the two sides.
Derbyshire Falcons have won three of their last five t20 fixtures after winning the same amount in their last 18 games prior to that run, and they will look to keep that run going at the Outlaws.