Steelbacks book place in Twenty20 finals day
South African Andrew Hall starred with bat and ball as Northamptonshire Steelbacks booked their place at the Twenty20 Cup finals day with a 13-run victory in their rearranged clash against the Hampshire Hawks.
Hall top-scored with a quickfire 39 to haul Northants to 134 for six before taking best bowling figures of three for 25 as Hampshire collapsed.
Once dangerman Dimitri Mascarenhas fell to Johan van der Wath, the Friends Provident Trophy winners lost four wickets in eight balls as Northants booked a semi-final match against Sussex.
Hampshire captain Mascarenhas put Northants into bat and his decision paid off when he dismissed Stephen Peters for a duck who flashed a shot straight to Chris Benham.
It got better in the next over as Dominic Cork, picking up where he left off on Saturday, forced Rob White (5) to edge to wicketkeeper Tom Burrows.
Mascarenhas soon picked his second wicket and the scalp of captain Nicky Boje for five as Liam Dawson took a great catch at cover to leave the home side wobbling on 16 for three.
Alex Wakely (18) briefly lifted spirits by scoring 13 runs off a Mascarenhas over but he mistimed a pull shot off Chris Tremlett to give Sean Ervine an easy catch.
Niall O'Brien clung on for 25 before edging to Burrows in Ervine's first over just as Northants seemed to be getting back to an even keel.
Ervine continued to haunt Northants when he bowled Riki Wessels, who made a steady 22 when his side needed something more spectacular.
But despite being reduced to 82 for six, an unbeaten seventh-wicket partnership of 52 between Hall and Van der Wath, 14, saw Northants post a respectable score.
Hall continued his form when he bowled James Adams for a duck in the second over as part of a superb wicket maiden.
Team-mate Lee Daggett then got in on the act, dismissing Michael Lumb (26) with his first ball and Michael Carberry (15) who edged to O'Brien.
When Benham was caught on the boundary by Van der Wath and Liam Dawson stumped trying to hit spinner Monty Panesar, Hampshire were teetering on 62 for five in the 11th over.
Ervine (28) was brilliantly caught by Daggett to give Boje his second wicket with the game in the balance.
When Mascarenhas' innings of 36 off 24 balls came to an end in the 17th over, a thrilling finish was on the cards with the visitors needing 17 off the last two overs.
But Cork, Tremlett and Burrows all fell without adding to Hampshire's total as the Wantage Road crowd celebrated Northants' first trip to Twenty20 Cup finals day.
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Weather for Northampton
Thursday 24 May 2012
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