Cobb inspires Steelbacks to win
Sun 26 Jun 2016
NatWest T20 Blast Matchday 8: Northants Steelbacks v Leicestershire Foxes
REPORT | All-rounder Josh Cobb haunted former county Leicestershire Foxes as Northants Steelbacks registered an eighth successive home NatWest T20 Blast victory, the latest by a 6-wicket margin.
Foxes skipper Mark Pettini made a half-century and Kevin O'Brien and Paul Horton each scored 29 but the team were restricted to 149-5 at Wantage Road.
Seamer Richard Gleeson claimed 3-20 at either end of the innings while spinners Cobb and Graeme White tied things down in the middle, taking 2-39 from their combined seven overs.
Dangerman Richard Levi was dismissed early but Adam Rossington and Cobb, in the 100th innings of his T20 career, shared 89 in 9.4 overs to break the back of the chase.
Both batsmen posted half-centuries with Cobb making the highest score of the game (57, 46 balls, 5x4, 1x6) as well as being the joint most economical bowler of the contest alongside Gleeson.
The Foxes made two changes to the side that lost to Birmingham Bears as Horton and Rob Taylor were brought into the XI. Umar Akmal has finished his spell with the Foxes while Ben Raine was having a well-earned breather - this was the first game he has missed in all three competitions.
Leicestershire has not enjoyed a great deal of success with the coin this season and that continued this afternoon.
The team was invited to bat first and found themselves at 17-2 after 19 deliveries as Gleeson produced an identical opening to his first two overs, bowling big-hitting left-handers Mark Cosgrove (2) and Cameron Delport (6).
Pettini, who previously collected his first boundary by cutting Moin Ashraf in the 3rd over, then helped to take 17 in Mohammad Azharullah's first offering. The skipper struck a mighty maximum before flicking a four behind square on the leg-side while O'Brien also found the fence through mid-off.
The Ireland international then picked up two further boundaries through the off-side as the Foxes progressed to 47-2 off the powerplay while Pettini went on to record further fours, pulling down to long leg before deftly guiding Crook past the 'keeper.
The alliance between Pettini and O'Brien reached 50 from 32 balls and the Foxes were nicely placed at 79-2 at halfway.
Pettini picked up another brace of fours off Crook in the third man region to move to 49 as a dozen came off the 11th over but the brakes were then applied by the finger spinners. Cobb and White took a wicket apiece and only conceded 27 from the next five overs.
Cobb (3-0-15-1) enticed O'Brien into holing out to his spin colleague at long-off, and although Leicestershire's skipper registered 50 off 31 deliveries (6x4, 1x6), he was pinned in front in White's last over as the slow left armer finished a good day's work with figures of 4-0-24-1.
Only one four came in that crucial 30-ball period, Horton using his feet to get to the pitch of a White delivery before executing a textbook extra cover drive.
County were at 116-4 with four overs to go and the reintroduction of pace initially helped to get the scoreboard moving, Horton striking further fours through the covers and backward square leg as 20 came from the next twelve balls.
However the Steelbacks regained control of the game as only 11 were yielded from the last two overs from Ashraf (4-0-28-0) and the impressive Gleeson.
The former Yorkshire seamer bowled a good 19th over and further momentum was lost when Horton (29*, 25b) had to retire hurt after being struck by an accidental beamer from Gleeson, who finished with a career-best 3-20 as Hill (15, 13b) disturbed his own stumps.
Levi hit the final three balls of the first over for four but the big-hitter, who had made destructive half-centuries in his previous two T20 innings against the Foxes, then fell to Clint McKay (4-0-21-1). He sliced high towards third man where Michael Burgess, on as a substitute fielder, took a confident catch off the Foxes' most impressive bowler.
Rossington collected a four through mid-on before the over was completed and three more boundaries came off the third, including consecutive strikes from new batsman Cobb through cover point and over mid-wicket before the 'keeper cutely guided down to third man.
The duo each struck a four through the leg-side as the score reached 44-1 after five overs and Cobb then clubbed the first maximum of the innings over mid-on to record the 50 before the powerplay was out.
Although the Foxes could now had five men outside the circle, they couldn't halt the flow of boundaries.
Rossington made room to delightfully drive Dexter through extra cover in the next over before the ball reached the fence a further three times in the 9th. Cobb clattered a four over mid-off and Rossington lifted over square-leg before sending another late cut past Hill.
The opener then picked up consecutive fours through sweeps off Jigar Naik - one conventional and a reverse - as the Steelbacks raced to 93-1 after ten overs. The 'keeper also struck Delport down the ground to record the Steelbacks 100 and then recorded his 50 with a single off the next ball, the 29th he faced (9x4).
Pettini kept ringing the changes in a bid to make the breakthrough and the introduction of Cosgrove paid dividends as he yorked Rossington with his very first T20 delivery for the Foxes.
The left-handed Ben Duckett struck back-to-back fours in the 14th over to keep momentum going and Cobb went on to record his third half-century in four innings from 40 balls (4x4, 1x6).
Delport picked up his first two wickets for the Foxes as Duckett (20, 16b) picked out O'Brien at deep mid-wicket and Cobb (57, 46b) hit to Pettini at mid-off but the Steelbacks were always in control and won with 13 balls to spare.
The Foxes are not in NatWest T20 Blast action this week, so return with a home game under the floodlights against East Midlands rivals Derbyshire Falcons on Friday, July 8 (6.30pm start).
Leicestershire bowling figures: Taylor 3-0-35-0, McKay 4-0-21-1, O'Brien 2-0-21-0, Dexter 2-0-11-0, Naik 2-0-17-0, Delport 2.5-0-27-2, Cosgrove 2-0-19-1
