Rampant Steelbacks beaten by the rain
Somerset and Northants share top spot in the Midlands/Wales/West Group after their Twenty20 Cup clash at Taunton was abandoned with only five overs bowled.
Both teams took one point to be level on 11 after eight games, one ahead of Warwickshire and Worcestershire, who face each other in their penultimate match tomorrow.
A heavy downpour ended proceedings after the players had already been off the field once because of a lighter shower when 2.2 overs had been bowled.
Thunder and lightning accompanied the second interruption and, although the rain soon stopped, the outfield was deemed too wet for any further play by umpires Jeremy Lloyds and Richard Illingworth at 7.45pm.
The Steelbacks will feel the more hard done by, having made a rapid start to their innings after winning the toss. They raced to 49 without loss in the five overs possible, Ian Harvey unbeaten on 27 and Rob White 21.
Harvey often enjoyed himself at Taunton in his Gloucestershire days and was again threatening to be a thorn in Somerset's flesh.
Mark Turner, recalled to the Sabres line-up in place of Ben Phillips, having performed well in the corresponding match at Northampton, was the bowler to suffer most.
His only over, the fourth of the game, went for 19, with the sequence 4,6,dot,4,1,4. Harvey collected 15 of those runs and looked in dangerous form.
Charl Willoughby had opened with an over costing just two runs, but from then on Harvey and White plundered the bowling to put their side in an apparently strong position.
The abandonment was a big disappointment for a crowd of around 5,500, many of whom were still in the ground when the umpires made their decision.
Steelbacks
Harvey not out 27
R White not out 21
Extras 1lb 1
Total for 0 49 (5.0 ovs)
Bowling
Willoughby 3.0 0 16 0
Trego 1.0 0 13 0
Turner 1.0 0 19 0
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Weather for Northampton
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 12 C to 25 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 22 mph
Wind direction: East
