Steelbacks made a statement with Rapids success, says Ripley

Northants Steelbacks head coach David Ripley hailed his side's best all-round performance of the season as they cruised past Worcestershire Rapids at the County Ground.
David Ripley (picture: Kirsty Edmonds)David Ripley (picture: Kirsty Edmonds)
David Ripley (picture: Kirsty Edmonds)

The Steelbacks secured a seven-wicket win thanks to their third successful run chase in as many NatWest T20 Blast matches this season.

Josh Cobb struck an unbeaten 56, while Richard Levi, who had hit a half-century in each of the previous two matches, racked up a fine 44 from 25 balls.

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The Steelbacks chased down Worcestershire’s 144 for six with ease, and Ripley was delighted with the accomplished display.

“It’s our best all-round performance of the season, in terms of bowling, fielding and batting,” Ripley said.

“We watched Worcestershire on television last night (Thursday) and they played very well.

“They were three from three and we talked about really putting a marker down, for everyone else to see us beat them.

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“To do that, we needed to play an all-round game - and we really did.

“I’m really proud of the performance.”

But with the Steelbacks’ next T20 game coming at Worcestershire next Friday night, Ripley knows his side can’t afford to get carried away with their slick start to the campaign.

“It’s just points on the board,” he said.

“I wouldn’t imagine anyone’s going to win 14 games from 14 and in T20 cricket that’s almost an impossibility.

“Teams will be beating each other along the line so having banked the three wins is great.

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“As I said when we lost three from three at the start of last season, we could still qualify and we can’t get too ahead of ourselves having won three from three.

“If we lose our next three, we might be mid-table so we’ve got to keep the momentum going.

“We’ve got players who are in form and playing well and that’s important.”