A thunderous exhibition of ball striking from David Willey saw the Northamptonshire Steelbacks become the first team to qualify for the NatWest T20 Blast finals day on 29 August.
The Sussex Sharks were outplayed in the first quarter-final of the competition on Wednesday as Willey, who made his one-day international debut for England in May, followed bowling figures of three for 27 with an awesome innings of 100, with seven fours and 10 sixes. The Steelbacks won by seven wickets with four overs to spare.
The man-of-the-match Willey, 25, who is expected to quit Northants for one of the leading counties this winter as he pursues his ambition to play Test cricket like his father, Peter, reached his century from 40 balls, the fastest by an Englishman in this form of the game. His second fifty came from 13 deliveries, with seven sixes. He struck one Michael Yardy over for 34, 6-4-6-6-6-6.
The Steelbacks, who won this competition in 2013, were second favourites against a powerful-looking Sussex side but on the back of Willey’s innings they made short work of their target of 166.
The result looked beyond doubt once Willey and Richard Levi put on 74 for the first wicket in 7.1 overs. Yardy, who retires at the end of the season, will not have fond memories of his last T20 game; he made nought without facing a ball and then saw his three overs smashed for 46 runs. He was the bowler in the eye of Willey’s storm.
The Steelbacks, who were without the injured Adam Rossington (back) and Graeme White (side) had chosen to field first on a sunlit evening. Sussex went into the match without a championship win for three months and facing the prospect of relegation for the first time since 2010. But with their overseas stars Mahela Jayawardene and George Bailey playing alongside each other for the first time, and with Chris Jordan returning after injury, the Sharks looked nothing like their ailing four-day line-up and had high hopes.
Their innings was centred on two fine half-centuries from Jayawardene and Chris Nash. They were set for a score of 200 before a sensational catch by Josh Cobb to dismiss Jayawardene altered the shape of the match.
Sussex suffered a major setback in the second over, when their heavy-scoring captain Luke Wright was caught at mid-on for a third-ball duck, off the bowling of Willey. And in the next over Rory Kleinveldt almost pulled off a stunning caught-and-bowled to dismiss Nash.
But, from a modest 14 for one after three overs, the Sussex innings got off the ground when Jayawardene and Nash collected 39 in the next three, to bring up the 50. Jayawardene reached his fifty from 30 deliveries, with a six and nine fours. He did not add to that, falling to a spectacular diving one-handed catch by Cobb at fine-leg. Sussex were still well placed at the halfway point, at 97 for two, but Cobb’s stunning effort ruined the momentum of their innings.
Sussex were unlucky to lose their other big signing, Bailey, off the last ball of the 11th over. The Australian international batsman was given out lbw even though he appeared to inside-edge the delivery from Stone on to his boot.
Nash reached his 33-ball 50 when he got down on one knee to sweep Cobb for his fifth four – there were also a couple of sixes. But, like Jayawardene, he did not go on and was lbw for 55 when he played across the line. He was quickly followed to the pavilion by Craig Cachopa, Jordan and Will Beer. The last 10 overs produced only 68 runs as Northants battled back.
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