David Willey Inspires Northants to Sixth Consecutive Win

Northamptonshire beat Worcestershire to make it 6 straight wins in the T20 Blast, staying top of the North Group. A second-wicket partnership of 62 from 48 between Gareth Roderick and Brett D'Oliveira anchored the Rapids' total of 154 for 5 from 18 overs after they were put in, with Sikandar Raza adding an unbeaten 36 from 24. But it was not enough as Chris Lynn (37 from 18) set the tone for Northamptonshire to chase down a rain-adjusted target, hammering 28 off a single Tom Taylor over before Willey and Broad finished the job. Having won the toss, Willey - who also equalled Alex Wakely's Steelbacks record of 133 T20 appearances - proceeded to lead by example with three miserly powerplay overs that included a wicket maiden. The result extends Northants’ dominant run in the Blast, with Willey’s captaincy and form central to their momentum. The 6-in-a-row puts them firmly in control of their group as the competition heads into the business end. Bottom line: Willey’s 2 wickets + 47 off 33 powered Northants to a sixth consecutive T20 Blast win, keeping them flying at the top of the table. However, both batters fell to James Sales (3 for 34) in the space of three deliveries as D'Oliveira holed out to deep midwicket and Zaib, scampering in from the fence, held his nerve to take a skier from Roderick while narrowly avoiding a collision with team-mate Ricardo Vasconcelos. But Worcestershire struck back as Lynn skied Finch to cover and McSweeney was caught behind trying to reverse-sweep Raza - who applied the brakes in tandem with fellow spinner Usama Mir. The required rate crept up above nine, but Broad eased the pressure with a straight six off Raza and Willey then followed suit, pumping Finch for successive maximums before Allison bowled him around his legs. Northamptonshire 162 for 4 (Willey 47) beat Worcestershire 154 for 5 (Roderick 47, Sales 3-34) by six wickets