Cobb admits Steelbacks only have themselves to blame for missing out on Blast quarter-finals

Skipper Josh Cobb admits the Steelbacks have only got themselves to blame for failing to reach for the quarter-finals of the Vitality Blast.

Northants suffered their fourth straight North Group defeat on Friday night, losing a thrilling clash against Leicestershire Foxes by one run at Grace Road, and their Blast campaign is now over.

The loss to the Foxes followed on from three defeats in the space of four days against Derbyshire Falcons, Birmingham Bears and Yorkshire Vikings, with the Steelbacks slipping from the top of the table to fifth.

A win over Leicestershire would have seen the Steelbacks move back up to third ahead of Sunday's final batch of group games, but they fell just short and must now look back on a campaign that promised so much, but ultimately ended in failure.

And Cobb admitted that the buck stops with him and the rest of the Steelbacks players for coming up short.

"We have spoken a little bit about our intensity in the field, and with the ball, and whether we have quite been on it the last four games," said Cobb in the aftermath of the dramatic loss to the Foxes.

"Obviously I don't want it to be a batters v bowlers thing, because we look at the Yorkshire game and it was the batting that let us down a bit.

"But I think as a group we have not been quite on it.

"Whether that is down to complacency, or almost a bit of anxiety going into big games, and whether people have been a bit insular rather than going out there and playing with freedom.

"That's something only the individuals can know from looking at themselves, and we have to do some self-reflecting on that.

"Ultimately, that last week we have had, losing four in four, hasn't been good enough.

"We had it in our grasp and we should have qualified."

The Steelbacks' T20 campaign for the summer isn't quite over yet though, as they host India in a friendly at a sold-out County Ground on Sunday (start 2.30pm).