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ScorecardScott Boland took his maiden five-for in first-class cricket•Getty Images and Cricket Australia

Victoria fast bowler Scott Boland began the season with a career-best performance, his maiden five-wicket haul in first-class cricket restricting New South Wales on the opening day of the Sheffield Shield at the MCG.Having won the toss, Victoria were able to keep NSW quiet, and Boland made the first two breakthroughs despite being brought on second change. His dismissal of the openers reduced NSW to 2 for 30 in the 22nd over.NSW recovered through three half-centuries, from Scott Henry, Kurtis Patterson and Ben Rohrer, but none of them were able to kick on to make an innings-defining score.Legspinner Fawad Ahmed dismissed Henry and Patterson before Boland returned to pick up Rohrer for 70, the innings top score.Boland then took three quick lower-order wickets to reduce NSW to 8 for 266 and end the day with figures of 6 for 49. The visitors had lost their last four wickets for 18 runs.

Given the bruised and battered state of pitch at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, only a brave soul would predict that the Bangladeshi pace bowlers will have a say on the final day of the third Test.Despite the overhead conditions and playing surface in this game, the two sets of pace bowlers have actually given a decent account of themselves. Tinashe Panyangara is the third highest wicket-taker in the series and the top among pace bowlers while Shafiul Islam was steady in the first innings here.Only Shahadat Hossain has had some success at this venue, taking 22 Test wickets, second only to Shakib Al Hasan’s 40 wickets. In first-class cricket, it is Chittagong’s Tareq Aziz who has taken most first-class wickets at this venue which is a huge credit for a pace bowler.Among Bangladesh’s current attack, Shafiul has taken six wickets previously while Rubel Hossain has five in six first-class games. So both pace bowlers will likely be having less focus on them on the fifth day, as it is certain that Mushfiqur Rahim’s prime concern would be to take the maximum out of Shakib Al Hasan, Taijul Islam and Jubair Hossain in the remaining 90 overs.Shafiul can however stake a claim to some more bowling after his attacking intent in the Zimbabwe first innings fetched him two wickets. His figures of 2 for 50 from 18 overs broke two partnerships. He first removed Hamilton Masakadza when the second wicket stand had risen to 160 runs on the third morning and later picked up Regis Chakabva’s wicket when his 113-run sixth wicket partnership with Elton Chigumbura was looking threatening. Shafiul used a straight line and a lot of patience to pick up the two wickets.”My goal was to make him [Masakadza] play straight,” Shafiul said. “I set a field with five on the on-side so if I bowled on the fourth stump, he would have found boundaries quite easily. So I tried to bowl it as straight as possible and I got the wicket. It was the same with the second wicket. I tried to keep him playing straight and waited for the mistake.”

Wearing pitch has Mominul hoping

Mominul Haque said that the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury pitch has broken up considerably, which will encourage the Bangladesh spinners. The last time a side had batted here on the fifth day, they lost only three wickets and saved the Test.
“I think it might be challenging but at the same time, we have to give importance to the first session and particularly the first two hours. There are a lot of rough areas on the fourth and fifth-day pitch, as there usually are, it is the same here.
Mominul said that Taijul Islam has started off well in the fourth innings, though the only wicket to fall on the fourth evening was Brian Chari, to Rubel Hossain.
“Taijul Islam has started bowling well, he has found good areas so hopefully if our bowlers can continue that, we can have a positive result. It is not the same wicket [as the one against Sri Lanka in February]. There was less turn on that surface.”

“I tried to bowl stump to stump. As simple as that. I wanted the batsmen to make the mistakes, by continuing to bowl at the stumps. If they make one mistake, I would have a chance. Fortunately, I took two wickets and on both occasions the umpires gave the decision.”But given the conditions, Shafiul had to have a surviving mentality, so that the captain wouldn’t take him out of the attack and hand the ball to a spinner. He said that his confidence is now much better than the time immediately after recovering from injury earlier this year.”I started off by trying to cut off the runs. I wanted to give them as few as possible,” Shafiul said. “If I gave away too many runs, then I would be taken out of the attack. I just had to be patient. That’s the key in this pitch. If you are patient, you will be rewarded.”I had lost all my confidence through the ankle and shoulder injuries,” he said. “I thought I wouldn’t be able to bowl with the same pace or energy. But I slowly came back. First it was the rehab and then the first-class matches. I made a comeback in the West Indies, and I retained my place here.”Panyangara has been the standout pace bowler in the series. He has taken at least one wicket in each of the six innings in Dhaka, Khulna and Chittagong, with his best performance being the 5 for 59 in the first innings of the first Test.But he was not prepared to rate any of his performances because of his team’s dire state. He said bowling in Chittagong was quite tricky as it gave the bowler with very little margin for error. “So far all of them are on the same level because we haven’t won yet,” Panyangara said. “Whenever we win and if I have done well, I will put that on top. Since I haven’t done well, nothing is on top.”I think it was a bit tricky to bowl on this. Sometimes the ball was going through a bit and then other times it wasn’t going through as much,” he said. “It is a very good batting wicket, as a bowler you have to be very disciplined which is not the easiest of things against the Bangladeshi batting line-up. It is a challenge at the same time.”If there is a pace bowling picking up wickets, be assured that he will have to bowl with utmost discipline, particularly in the span of 90 overs.

Zimbabwe captain Elton Chigumbura felt that it was dropped catches and early wickets that cost his side the first ODI against Bangladesh. Zimbabwe dropped three catches, including two from Mushfiqur Rahim, and later lost their way after a fast start to the 282-run chase.Mushfiqur was first dropped on 16 by Chigumbura himself at cover, the visiting captain failing to hold on to one hit hard at his body. When on 56, Mushfiqur was caught at deep midwicket by Solomon Mire, but Chigumbura, this time the bowler, had overstepped. A little while later, Brendan Taylor dropped Mushfiqur on 60, fumbling a straightforward chance at point.The theme of these missed opportunities continued in their chase after Hamilton Masakadza and Sikandar Raza added 47 in eight overs. Shakib Al Hasan took two quick wickets to stall Zimbabwe’s progress, before another pair of wickets from Mahmudullah added more stutter to their stride. Once Taylor fell for 54 to a brilliant catch by Mushfiqur, Zimbabwe’s chase was virtually over.”If I have to be critical I think we dropped too many catches,” Chigumbura said. “I thought we made a good start but when Mushfiqur and Shakib were batting we didn’t take our chances there. Then they put up a big score. I thought that score was chaseable looking at the situation of the wicket. On our batting, we started well but we lost wickets. The number of wickets we lost in the first 20 overs, it was going to be hard for the lower order to try and get 200 runs from there.””It is always disappointing to not take the chances you get in the one-day game because one catch can lose the game. There were a couple of catches that went down; also we got a wicket off a no-ball which was disappointing. The main problems were losing the wickets. I think we have to make sure that we can correct that one in our batting. Especially when you are chasing, the most important thing is to keep wickets in hand.”Chigumbura did not use his two lead spinners much, giving them just 15 overs in all. John Nyumbu bowled seven of them, giving away 40 runs for one wicket, while Tafadzwa Kamungozi bowled one more for the exact same figures.Chigumbura said that the situation of the match meant that the seamers had to be brought back, though he offered some praise for Kamungozi.”I thought it was the situation of the match. In the last five or six overs, the batters were really going after the bowlers. I thought especially Kamungozi did well. And it was also time for the seamers to finish the innings.”

New Zealand batsman Jamie How will retire from all forms of cricket after the 2014-15 Ford Trophy, the domestic one-day competition, to pursue a career in the corporate sector.How, 33, played 19 Tests, 41 ODIs and five Twenty20 internationals for New Zealand during an eight-year career that began in March 2006. He averaged 22.70 in Tests and 29 in ODIs. His last Test for New Zealand was in 2009 and he has not played ODI cricket since 2011.”These are never easy decisions to make but the time has come to embrace an opportunity outside cricket,” How said. “The role with Toyota New Zealand was too good to pass up. I really thank them for the opportunity they’re providing, and I’m looking forward to the new challenge.”Most importantly I’m looking forward to spending more regular time with my young family and to establishing a career after cricket. I am very proud to have played for my country and was very fortunate to play alongside and against some of the very best players in the world.”How played 130 first-class matches, most of them for Central Districts, and he said that the team had been a big part of his life. He captained Central Districts for six seasons and led them to victory in the 2008 HRV Cup and 2013 Plunket Shield. “I wish the Central Districts team all the best for the remainder of the season and thank them for understanding the need for me to take up this new opportunity.”New Zealand Cricket chief executive David White said How had been a fine ambassador for the game and a popular team-mate. “It’s always a poignant time when someone like Jamie decides to retire but I’m delighted he’s found a career outside cricket and wish him well in his endeavours.”Central Districts board member Campbell Furlong described How’s contribution to the association as “immense”. “Quite apart from all his on-field achievements Jamie was, and is, a great bloke,” Furlong said. “When he has time to sit back and consider his career, he should feel particularly proud of the respect in which he’s been held by team-mates, opponents and supporters of cricket alike.”

Bangladesh left-arm spinner Taijul Islam was struck on his left wrist while batting in the nets on Monday evening at the Shere Bangla National Stadium. He was taken for an X-ray immediately after the injured area swelled up. According to team sources, however, Taijul is expected to train on Tuesday morning, and the scan is only deemed “precautionary”.Bangladesh are on their sixth day of training at home, and will leave for Brisbane on January 24 for another two-week training camp. Tamim Iqbal, who had a knee operation in late December, will join the team four days later after another appointment with Dr David Young, the orthopaedic specialist who operated on him, in Melbourne.

ScorecardStifling spells by Anya Shrubsole and Heather Knight dismantled New Zealand’s batting in the first of the three T20s in the series helping England Women to a crushing win in Whangarei. Only one of New Zealand’s batsmen – Erin Bermingam – registered a double-digit score after the home side opted to bat before being bowled out for 60 in 19.4 overs.Knight triggered the collapse with a three-wicket haul early in the innings. She struck with the first ball of her second over, then picked up two more wickets in her third to register here best T20 figures and leave New Zealand reeling on 11 for 4 after five overs. New Zealand’s slide continued as Danielle Hazell’s double-strike reduced them to 18 for 6 in the eighth over. An embarrassing end looming over, New Zealand’s bottom order survived long enough to stretch the innings till the 20th over, but were not able to avert the disaster totally. Shrubsole picked up three of the last four wickets to end with figures of 3 for 6. The scale of England’s dominance was such that only one boundary was hit in the innings.England’s reply didn’t start in the most convincing fashion, with Lauren Winfield falling to Bermingham in the third over for 1. England captain Charlotte Edwards then stitched a 30-run partnership with Sarah Taylor and remained unbeaten on 32 to see the side through with 50 deliveries to spare.New Zealand’s coach Hamish Barton observed that the players found the transition from 50 over to cricket the T20 format a little challenging. “We didn’t make the right decisions or execute our shots with the accuracy. We just got ourselves into a hole, and then couldn’t get ourselves out,” he added.

Match facts

February 20, 2015
Start time 14.00 local (01.00 GMT)

Big Picture

If England thought life would be any easier once they left Melbourne, they had best think again. The Westpac Stadium – The Cake Tin, as it is known to locals – may not have the capacity of the MCG, but 33,000 passionate New Zealand supporters will ensure the atmosphere remains just as hostile.In drawing both World Cup hosts in their opening two matches, England were presented with a tough start to the tournament. Whether their fragile self-confidence has recovered from the mauling in Melbourne remains to be seen but, if it hasn’t, the problem will only be compounded by a New Zealand side with the skill, the belief and the support to make it their year.The difference in mentality between the teams is illustrated by their aims. While England talk of trying to qualify for the quarter-final and then taking it from there, New Zealand are trying to win with a good net run rate to ensure they qualify as high as possible in the group.While New Zealand have named their XI – the same team that won their first two matches – England fielded a side at the MCG that had never appeared together before and are keeping their options open ahead of this match.While New Zealand know that, with two wins behind them already, another victory will give them a foot in the quarter-finals, England will know that if they lose they have no room for error left in the competition. Lose a game against an Associate side, or even to rain, and they could be facing an embarrassingly early exit.And while New Zealand look experienced, hungry and well balanced, England look uncertain of their team, their tactics or their ability to win such games. Most of all, they look reliant for experience on a small group of players not all of whom are in the best of form.But while New Zealand are the strong favourites going into the game, the teams are actually level on 104 points in the ICC ranking table.New Zealand, though, have two batsmen in the top 10 of the ratings (Kane Williamson at six and Ross Taylor at eight), while England have only one in the top 20 (Joe Root at 15). And England have three bowlers in the top 20 of the ODI rankings (James Anderson at four, Steven Finn at 12 and James Tredwell, who is unlikely to play, at 17), while New Zealand’s highest rated is Kyle Mills, who is unlikely to play, at 20. Trent Boult, who looked so dangerous against Scotland, is down at No. 56.It might also encourage England to recall that the last time they played an ODI series in New Zealand – in early 2013 – they won 2-1.

Form guide

New Zealand: WWWWL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
England:LLWLW

In the spotlight

England have had troubles against the left-arm quicks of one host nation – the Mitchells, Johnson and Starc – in the lead-up to this World Cup, and in their second game they will be confronted with a New Zealand version of that annoyance. Trent Boult swings the ball later and to a greater degree than Johnson or Starc, and the deliveries he used to get two in two against Scotland’s top order would have threatened far more experienced batsmen. But while England’s right-handers will keep their eyes peeled for the one that darts in from Boult, they will be equally tested by the deliveries that slant away from them.It seems that for England, the form of the captain – whoever it might be – is destined to remain the talking point. The fact is, Eoin Morgan – or Eoin Rogers as the mayor of Wellington referred to him – has scored two runs in his last five innings in all cricket and passed five only once in his last eight ODI innings. It is not a sustainable run of form.

Team news

New Zealand have confirmed they will play the same XI that defeated Sri Lanka and Scotland. While there might have been a temptation to rotate the squad – this will be their third game in seven days – McCullum pronounced himself happy with a side that offered aggression at the top of the order, “craft players at No. 3, 4 and 5” with “power” to follow. They also have a well-balanced attack offering swing, pace and left and right-arm variety. The only argument for change might have been to give some of the support players a game in case they are needed at a latter stage of the tournament.New Zealand (probable) 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Brendon McCullum (capt), 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Grant Elliott, 6 Corey Anderson, 7 Luke Ronchi (wk), 8 Daniel Vettori, 9 Adam Milne, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Trent Boult.Having shaken up their settled XI at the last moment before the Australia match, nothing can be taken for granted this time. But it seems unlikely England will make another change. Gary Ballance adds some solidity to the batting and, though they miss the option offered by Ravi Bopara’s all-round skills, Joe Root can contribute a few overs if required. Alex Hales has impressed the management in the nets and Chris Jordan enjoyed a prolonged spell with the ball and the bat in practice, but it is hard to see a way in for either of them at present.England (probable) 1 Ian Bell, 2 Moeen Ali, 3 Gary Ballance, 4 Joe Root, 5 Eoin Morgan (capt), 6 James Taylor, 7 Jos Buttler (wk), 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Stuart Broad, 10 Steven Finn, 11 James Anderson.

Pitch and conditions

While McCullum suggested the drop-in pitch would be full of runs, recent scores at the ground paint a less clear picture. Pakistan were bowled out for 210 about three weeks ago while, a couple of days earlier, Sri Lanka made 287 and then bowled New Zealand out for 253.Only five times has a team exceeded 300 on this ground and only once has it occurred since the end of 2005. In both recent games the ball appeared to hold up just a little. It may well not be the batting paradise some people are predicting.The weather is excellent, though strong winds are always likely in Wellington – even in the enclosed stadium – which can make life hard for fielders and bowlers.

Stats and trivia

• New Zealand have won nine out of the last 11 completed ODIs at this ground
• England have lost both of the ODIs they have played on the ground
• England have been bowled out in 12 of their last 18 ODIs; New Zealand have been bowled out three times in their last 16
• The lowest score at an ODI on the ground is 89, made by England in 2002
• Local hero Ross Taylor, who averages 100 in ODIs on the ground, requires 64 runs to become the fourth New Zealand player to score 5,000 ODI runs

Quotes

“Tough times don’t last, but tough blokes do. He’s a champion player. He’s one of my better mates from around the world in terms of cricket.”
“We got criticised greatly in 2014 for not being proactive enough in the first ten overs. So now it’s a bit ironic to hear we have to calm down.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsJimmy Hansra was Man of the Match for his match-winning innings•Peter Della Penna

Canada were one game away from making an undefeated run to the ICC Americas T20 title for the second time after breezing to a seven-wicket win over Bermuda at Indianapolis World Sports Park. Bermuda managed just 114 for 7 after winning the toss, and an unbeaten 79-run stand between Jimmy Hansra and Srimantha Wijeratne took Canada home with 10 balls to spare.Bermuda’s batting stumbled early once again and had difficulty recovering: Dion Stovell was lbw playing across the line to fast bowler Cecil Pervez on the first ball of the match. Christian Burgess was out for 5 to make it 15 for 2 on the first ball of the fourth over as Hansra took a superb catch – a skier over extra cover that swirled in the wind off the bowling of Saad Bin Zafar. David Hemp, Bermuda’s leading scorer in Indianapolis, fell for 12, mistiming Satsimranjit Singh to Rizwan Cheema at cover.Bermuda captain Janeiro Tucker top-scored with 34 but survived a run-out chance before he had scored. Zafar had a clear shot at the stumps from short third man with Tucker six yards short and having given up, but the throw was errant. Tucker wound up lasting until the 15th over, adding 47 runs with Tre Manders before he was well caught by wicketkeeper Hamza Tariq off a thick edge while attempting to cut offspinner Nikhil Dutta.As he did against USA in a Man-of-the-Match performance, Pervez returned to produce a superb spell at the death to take a wicket in the 18th and 20th overs. Both times he clipped the top of off stump, getting Delray Rawlins for 24 and Josclyn Pitcher for a duck. Left-arm spinner Farhan Malik claimed Jacobi Robinson for 1 to round off the wicket-takers for Canada with Pervez’s 3 for 17 the best figures on the day.Canada’s chase got off to a slightly rocky start. Just as he did in the first game against Bermuda, Ruvindu Gunasekera pulled to fine leg but once again a straightforward chance was put down, this time in the first over before he had scored. Bermuda kept coming hard though and three balls later Cheema was beaten for pace on an attempted drive and bowled by Pitcher for 1. Gunasekera then fell on the first ball of the second when he was bowled by Jordan DeSilva for 6 to make it 7 for 2. Nitish Kumar entered at three and lasted until the final ball of the eighth, when he lofted Stovell to Manders at long off for 12.Hansra was joined by Wijeratne and the pair chased down the target with relative ease. He brought up his 50 in 46 balls with a single off Tucker to end the 15th before teeing off for a six straight down the ground off Robinson in the 16th. Three overs later, he finished off the match by hitting a towering six that ricocheted off the top of the sightscreen scaffolding on the north side of the ground to finish unbeaten on 68. Wijeratne was not out on 26. Hansra said Canada were not satisfied with being 5-0 and were motivated to go for an undefeated title run by beating USA in the tournament final on Saturday.”It means a lot. What we came here to do, we’re just one game away to accomplish that goal,” Hansra told ESPNcricinfo after the win. “We wanted to win convincingly. I think we’ve done that so far. Bowlers and batters have stepped up when needed. Tomorrow we know we have a good game. USA is going to come hard at us. We just have to keep calm and do the little things right and I think we’ll be fine.”

ScorecardChris Gayle delivered – and how – on his first appearance for Somerset [file picture]•BCCI

The Gayle has landed. Three years ago Somerset were salivating over the prospect of Chris Gayle playing for them in the T20 Blast, only for his rapprochement with the West Indies Board to scupper those plans. But Gayle had always said that, when he made his belated debut in England’s T20 competition, it would be for Somerset.The standing ovation that greeted his dismissal spoke of the impact Gayle had made upon the Chelmsford crowd, supposedly one of the most raucous away crowds he could have faced. So too did the desperation of hoards of fans afterwards to get autographs, selfies or, in the case of a few, even a kiss on the cheeks. It spoke of a cricketer with transcendental power.Chelmsford had enjoyed – endured even – an archetypal Gayle T20 innings, even down to the almost ostentatious care with which he played himself in. After leaving a succession of balls, holding his bat carefully inside the line, it took Gayle until his sixth ball, a gentle push to midwicket, to get off the mark. Eighteen balls in and Gayle had only six runs.

“Beautiful,” says Gayle

“Beautiful, it’s a great start,” Chris Gayle said after summoning a matchwinning 92 on his first innings for Somerset, hours after meeting his team-mates for the first time. “A last-ball thriller in my first game so I can’t really complain. We got across the line. It’s a short stay over here, so I’m looking forward to entertaining the fans as much as possible.”
As so often in T20, Gayle batted with caution in the Powerplay before exploding later.
“It’s too cold for me but I stuck it out,” he joked. “It was something myself and Trescothick discussed in the middle. I didn’t want to make such a slow start and then get out because I know with my capabilities, I knew the runs would come so I’m very happy.
“It’s been good, I haven’t really had a chance to have a net, I’ve been in London and this was the first day catching up with the team. It’s a mental thing, it won’t happen like that all the time.”

Then it happened. Flats were cleared, marquee roofs were hit and dozens of spectators who had parked their cars were left fearing for the safety of their vehicles. Having cleared humongous grounds the world over, Gayle seemed like a man affronted by the puny size of Chelmsford’s boundaries. With laconic foot movement – and with such power and timing, why bother? – Gayle swatted deliveries through mid-on and cleared the legside boundary with six sixes, each more awesome than the last.Gayle’s impact goes beyond his mere runs. That much was clear from how Essex coped once he had located his swagger: they bowled five wides to him after he had reached 50. Straight after reaching that landmark, Gayle cut Reece Topley to third man. It was hard and low, but David Masters was in a perfect position and should not have shelled it. Gayle’s next shot seemed like an innocuous forward push, but thundered through mid-on for four. After another four, Gayle launched the final ball straight over the scaffolding behind the bowler’s arm.Suddenly, Somerset were cruising towards their target of 177. It looked, too, as if Gayle, representing his 12th club in T20 cricket, was en route to his 15th T20 century. But after he was sharply taken at Greg Smith at midwicket on 92, Somerset almost contrived to make a mess of the 13 required in ten balls.Tom Cooper nonchalantly flicked his first ball for six over square leg, but was run out in a moment of panic next ball. Essex entrusted Ravi Bopara with the final over, and he almost succeeded in preventing Somerset get the five more they required to win. But a single scampered from the final ball, after Lewis Gregory had dropped the ball into the legside, ensured Gayle’s belated Somerset debut had the result it deserved.However enticing the prospect of a Gayle-Trescothick opening partnership, the Chelmsford crowd also longed for Essex success after three defeats in their first four T20 games.And for all the focus on Gayle, exuding a typically unperturbed air patrolling the infield, Essex have a belligerent left-handed overseas opener of their own. In the third over of the innings, Jesse Ryder played three ferocious pulls off Sohail Tanvir, the second sailing over the square leg boundary for six. With his classical technique, Tom Westley provided an ideal folly; together the two added 90 in only 8.1 overs.It was a position from which Essex would have had designs on 220. Jim Allenby ensured otherwise, bowling wicket-to-wicket at a speed that forced the batsmen to generate their own pace. Besides the openers, no other player passed 16.Yet again, Somerset were grateful to the death bowling nous of Alfonso Thomas, whose final over yielded three runs and three wickets. In the process he became the fourth ever bowler to pass 250 T20 wickets. Few bowlers have more T20 pedigree, which is why South Africa attempted to entice him out of his Kolpak deal with Somerset in 2012 to play in the World T20.

ScorecardJames Faulkner scored 73 but was unable to get Lancashire over the line (file photo)•BCCI

James Faulkner’s 73 off 46 balls wasn’t enough for Lancashire as they suffered defeat by just four runs to Northamptonshire in a highly entertaining Natwest T20 Blast encounter at Wantage Road. The Australia allrounder was caught chasing the winning runs off the final ball of the game as Lancashire finished on 165 for 5.Azharullah was the finisher for Northamptonshire, as he defended 14 off the final over. Faulkner’s ramp shot over the wicketkeeper’s head off the second ball made it 10 wanted from four but Arron Lilley was run out off the penultimate ball chasing a second. With five needed from the last ball, Faulkner could only top edge into the air for Azharullah to gleefully take the catch and give Northamptonshire their third victory in four.Put in by the visitors on a balmy Wantage Road night, Josh Cobb’s two boundaries in the second over from Tom Bailey got Northants motoring – one a handsomely driven effort through cover, the next edged just beyond keeper Alex Davies. Bailey’s over cost 16 and 13 followed from the next bowled by 18-year-old Saqib Mahmood.

Insights

Northamptonshire have now won three matches in four and the return to form of Azharullah, who bowled the final over, has been an important factor in their success – he took 3 for 28 in this match having taken 2 for 24 against Yorkshire last week. Azharullah was the leading wicket-taker in the 2013 competition, taking 27 wickets as Northamptonshire lifted the trophy.

With the home side 50 without loss after five, Lancashire captain Steven Croft turned to spin and brought on Steven Parry. The left-armer removed both openers in the space of three balls, Levi caught in the deep for 17 and Cobb trapped lbw for a rapid 47 off 33 balls.Just 27 runs came from the second five overs as Parry, Steven Croft and then Lilley’s spin tightened the screw. It was only when Steven Crook – against his former county – hammered two successive sixes off Croft that the shackles appeared to loosen.Parry, who 18 months ago was part of England’s World T20 squad, finished with 2 for 24. But Northants clattered 15 off the 18th from Mahmood and 13 off the last from Bailey to set a target of 170 for Lancashire to win. It seemed no more than par.The visitors’ reply suffered a major blow early on, as Ashwell Prince picked out Graeme White off his fellow South African Rory Kleinveldt in the third over. Azharullah induced a top edge to remove Brown cheaply two overs later and by the end of the Powerplay, Lancashire were 37 for 2. The wickets continued to fall with Livingstone and Croft following soon after.Lancashire would need Faulkner to get them close and when he flayed two straight sixes in successive overs, a close finish looked on the cards. Alex Davies joined the party and scooped Olly Stone to the third man boundary.More prodigious hitting from Faulkner followed in the 16th over, with Lancashire needing 63 from 30 balls. Crook saw two huge sixes slammed over his head, which was part of 17 claimed from the over. Davies’s cameo produced three successive fours from Azharullah’s 18th over before he missed a straight one and was bowled for 34 off 24 balls. Jordan Clark soon fell too and Faulkner was left with too much to do at the death.