Northamptonshire won a sensational final against last year’s winners Lancashire in a nail-biting contest that featured jaw-dropping individual displays. The final match at Wantage Road was absolutely buzzing as the players arrived. Northamptonshire made a remarkable reply, powered by Ben Sanderson’s ferocious hitting and Calvin Harrison’s match-turning bowling.
Ben Sanderson put in a man-of-the-match display with the bat, scoring 65 from only 28 balls. This outstanding innings made it his first half-century and was noted as the second fastest ever in Northamptonshire’s red-ball history. His aggressive batting significantly boosted the team’s total, particularly during a vital ninth-wicket partnership with Liam Guthrie, which yielded 81 runs.
Calvin Harrison answered the call superbly in a stiff test against Lancashire’s explosive batting firepower. His influential bowling performance changed the momentum to our side. He picked up 4 wickets for only 32 runs, ripping through Lancashire’s batting line up and enabling Northamptonshire to pull off an incredible comeback victory. Harrison’s knack for taking the big wickets, particularly Marcus Harris and Josh Bohannon, swung the momentum once more in Northamptonshire’s favour.
Saif Zaib was equally influential for the Northants in-form bowling unit. After a circumspect start, Zaib turned it on, lacing Anderson Phillip for two boundaries in a row through the covers. From playing stoic straight drives to crisp square cuts and slashes behind the wicket to the slips, he displayed the range and flexibility of his strokes. Zaib’s massive hit over long-on for six was a statement of attacking intent.
Lancashire made a fast start, and with Marcus Harris in the form of his life, they immediately looked a threat. He hoisted the team’s total into three figures with a crisply-timed cover-driven four off Sanderson. But his early dismissal by Harrison proved pivotal in shifting the momentum of the match.
Harrison’s spell was a display of pace and control as he rapidly removed both set batters in handful of deliveries. He tempted Harris out of her crease for a masterly stumping. Then, he trapped Bohannon leg before wicket with a rippin’ delivery after a doggy poke-in defense. These wickets were important in stopping Lancashire’s charge.
As the game progressed and Harrison’s brilliance began to speak for itself, the captain of Lancashire, Keaton Jennings, stood up as photogenic witnesses to her wizardry.
“He’s a class act, is Cal (Harrison) – whatever situation you throw him the ball in, he just controls the game. He’s been ideal for us and especially picking up some big wickets there, which got us going, was just what we needed.” – Keaton Jennings
While Jennings recognized Harrison’s brilliance, he expressed frustration at his team’s inability to capitalize on opportunities throughout the match.
“The disappointing thing for me is we’ve had four, five, six, seven opportunities in the game to win it and we squandered all those opportunities… I think every individual in that changing-room can and should look at themselves and figure out ‘how can I improve by 10-20 per cent, if not more?’” – Keaton Jennings
In spite of a powerful start on behalf of Lancashire and useful partnerships, they collapsed spectacularly from 116 for two wickets. They then crumbled to just 50 all out as they had no answer to the pace attack of Northamptonshire, with every member of their batting order falling cheaply.
As the game came to an end, with the score at 3-0, goalkeeper Ben Sanderson thought about what this win would mean.
“It’s why we play cricket, days like that – it’s what we get out of bed and train all winter for. Both teams fought hard for it and we came out on top – to come back like that and get the win was unbelievable.” – Ben Sanderson
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