Lehmann delight as clinical Steelbacks set up Finals Day showdown with Somerset
Darren Lehmann praised his Steelbacks players after they saw off Gloucestershire by eight wickets at Wantage Road on Wednesday to secure a second successive Vitality Blast Finals Day qualification.
Northants will head to Edgbaston on Saturday for a semi-final clash with Somerset (start 11am), aiming to improve on their last-four loss to Hampshire Hawks last season.
Having topped the Central & West Group with nine wins in 12 group games, Lehmann was pleased to see his team handle the pressure of a knockout game at the cinch County Ground and book their place at the Finals showpiece.
The bowlers did the hard work early on, with Ben Sanderson taking four for 20 as Gloucester were bowled out for 152, with Ben Charlesworth thumping 68 from 38 balls.
The Steelbacks the paced their reply to perfection, playing risk-free cricket before a flurry of late big hits from skipper David Willey and Lewis McManus saw them home with 14 balls to spare.
Willey top-scored with an unbeaten 47 from 33 balls, while good support came from Ricardo Vasconcelos (42 from 30) and Nathan McSweeney (28 from 20), before McManus's late cameo of 12 from just four deliveries.
The only concern for the County on a near-perfect evening, was the fact Chris Lynn had to retire hurt after being hit on the foot by a Duan Jansen yorker.
"I was really pleased with the bowling effort," said Lehmann. "I think it was a pretty good surface and probably a 180 wicket again.
"They came really hard, and that Ben Charlesworth hits a big ball doesn't he? He played beautifully and put us under some pressure.
"It was a good comeback from all the bowlers, I think we bowled well in patches in the last game, but that was a better all-round performance with the ball. I am pleased with that.
"Gloucester fought hard, they made us work and bowled well too.
"It was only that back end when Lewis McManus hit a couple of boundaries and David Willey hit a couple of sixes that the game became well in our grasp.
"But I liked the way we went about the chase, there were a lot of twos out there, it was a fast outfield, and I thought Nathan McSweeney did a really good job with Willey.
"There is more than one way to skin a cat, and for us that was a pleasing way to go about that chase, and I thought Vasco was brilliant at the start."
Northants will take on Somerset, who produced a remarkable performance to beat Yorkshire by two wickets, recovering from 82 for eight to go past the home side's 161 for nine, with Craig Overton smashing 79 not out from 30 balls!
The other semi-final sees Hampshire Hawks entertain Notts Outlaws.