Ripley revels in Steelbacks’ ‘top performance’ at Headingley

The Steelbacks claimed an excellent eight-wicket win in a rain-affected match that was reduced to 12 overs per side.

Shahid Afridi took three for 15 and Azharullah two for 24 as Yorkshire were limited to 82 for seven before the Steelbacks charged home.

Richard Levi’s 35 and Ben Duckett’s unbeaten 31 proved key as the away side claimed the victory in just 7.4 overs.

And Ripley said: “We played really well. From the first ball to the last, we played good, aggressive cricket.

“We hit the pitch hard with the ball, we took our catches against a team full of international players.

“It was a really top performance and it would be great to play like that every week.”

The Steelbacks got quick wickets at the start of the Yorkshire innings, with star names Aaron Finch and Glenn Maxwell dismissed for five and two respectively.

“They’ve got world class T20 players and it’s how well we played right through the game,” Ripley added.

“Although it was only a 12-over match, we almost dominated it in its entirety and that doesn’t happen very often in this format.

“It was a really good performance from us.”