Steelbacks skipper Willey ready for 'special' night but insists winning is all that matters

David Willey is a veteran of more than 350 T20 matches played all around the globe.

He has played for England 43 times and been part of a World Cup-winning squad, has played in the Indian Premier League, the Big Bash League in Australia and also The Hundred, as well as many, many more white ball tournaments.

But he admits, it still always means that little bit more when he takes to the field wearing a Steelbacks shirt.

Willey is Northampton born and bread, and began his career at the club where his dad Peter also played with distinction when he was a teenager.

He was man of the match when the Steelbacks claimed their first T20 title in 2013, claiming a hat-trick to win the game, and again starred as the team were runners-up two years later.

Willey did leave in 2015 for a seven-year stint at Yorkshire, but he returned last year to take over the Steelbacks captaincy, and on Thursday night will lead his home county into battle in a Vitality Blast quarter-final against Somerset at a sold-out County Ground.

He admits that will feel a bit special, but also insists that all that ultimately matters is the team beating Somerset, and the Steelbacks reaching a first Blast Finals Day since 2016.

"It's great to be captain, it is obviously special as it is a club that I have been at for many, many years," said Willey.

"From long before I even played here it is special to me and my family, but this game on Thursday is not about me.

"I have wanted to come back and hopefully contribute to some success, and long-term success at Northants, even beyond my playing years.

"Hopefully this is a stepping stone towards doing that, and this one really is for the boys in the dressing room and for the fans, and hopefully we can get to Finals Day."

Asked if there would be any extra nerves leading the Steelbacks into such a big match, the 34-year-old said: "There will be a bit more excitement I think, as it always means a little bit more in the heart when I play for Northants.

"As for nerves, I don't really feel them any more, thankfully.

"When I am out there it is just about hopefully doing the best I can and contributing in whatever way I can, whether it is with bat, ball or leader, to us getting a positive result."

The Steelbacks enjoyed a successful North Group campaign, finishing second in the table behind Birmingham Bears, but it was a feature of the matches at the County Ground that the majority of them went right down to the wire.

There were last-ball finishes in three of the six group matches played at Wantage Road, with the Steelbacks winning two of them and the other ending in a tie, and they also saw off Durham with just two balls remaining.

There is every chance the last-eight date with Somerset could also go all the way, and Willey at least knows his team has had plenty of practice in those tense situations!

"We racked up eight wins in the North Group with some close games, and it is really about those close matches, where it has got down to the last ball or the last over," he said.

"When you do get across the line in those you start to build this belief that whatever position you are in you can win games.

"It is testament and credit to the lads because we have made little adjustments, people have played slightly different roles, people have gone in earlier with the bat or been held back.

"Not everybody is getting what they want for their own journey, and my thanks go to the team for being able to put that to the side and to do what is being asked of them to get the results we need."