An unbeaten 71 by Man-of-the-Match Cameron White plus 4/16 by Mohammad Azharullah helped the Northants Steelbacks maintain their position at the top of the group table - and clinch a quarter-final place in the Friends Life t20 - as they defeated Glamorgan by six wickets under the Cardiff floodlights.
The Welsh county fielded the same team for tonight's contest from the side that defeated Worcestershire at the SWALEC Stadium on Tuesday evening, so it was the usual partnership of Jim Allenby and Mark Wallace who opened the batting, with the latter cover-driving Matthew Spriegel's opening delivery for three before Stephen Crook dropped a sitter as Wallace top-edged an intended sweep. Allenby then leg-glanced Willey to the ropes but next over he Lee Daggett grasped a rasping square-cut to give Mohammad Azharullah who took 4/14 at Northampton, another Welsh wicket.
16/1 saw Chris Cooke join Wallace and he began by swatting a pair of two's before pulling Crook for four and on-driving James Middlebrook to the boundary boards as the tempo increased with Glamorgan reaching fifty in the 8th over as Cooke pulled Daggett for six into the Grandstand followed by a cover driven four.
Cooke then speared Middlebrook over long-on for another maximum but with the total on 70 in the 10th over Azharullah returned to have Wallace caught at long-on. His departure saw Marcus North join Cooke as the pair accumulated in one's and two's until Cooke on-drove Crook for four as he reached his fifty from 37 balls.
But with the total on 90 North miscued a drive and was caught by Richard Levi at cover, and three runs later Cooke departed as he pulled Spriegel to Willey at deep mid-wicket. Murray Goodwin and Ben Wright duly joined forces hoping to recreate their magic from earlier in the week but it wasn't to be as with the total on 102 Azharullah returned at the River End and had Wright caught behind, before one run later he bowled Goodwin as Glamorgan nosedived to 103/6.
Nathan McCullum then pulled Willey for four before nearly being caught and bowled by Azharullah who finished with figures of 4/16 with the sole boundary coming from his final ball as McCullum celebrated his reprieve by drilling the Pakistani for four to long-off. Willey then removed Wagg with the first ball of the final over before the Kiwi scooped the bowler for four to square-leg. Willey then had him caught at long-on before Dean Cosker followed in similar fashion off the final ball as Glamorgan ended on 125/9.
Levi and Coetzer opened the batting with the former nurdling Allenby for four in the first over before the latter leg-glanced Michael Hogan. Coetzer added further fours as he off-drove Wagg and upper cut him to extra cover in consecutive deliveries. But Allenby, in his follow-through deflected a drive from Coetzer onto the stumps with Levi stranded out of his ground.
22/1 then became 23/2 as Coetzer spooned a pull against Hogan to Wright at square-leg. Cameron White and Alex Wakely joined forces with the former pulling Allenby for four before Cosker entered the fray at the Cathedral Road End with 90 needed off 13 overs, and the canny spinner kept things as McCullum also came on at the River End. But the Kiwi was drilled for six by White over the enclosures as the Steelbacks reached the fifty-mark in the ninth over.
White then leg-glanced James for four before pulling a short ball to the ropes at long-leg but Hogan returned to put a brake on the Steelbacks progress conceding just a single as the target became 64 from nine overs. Cosker then struck as Wakely miscued a drive to Goodwin at backward point to leave the visitors on 62/3 in the 12th over.
Crook joined White and smeared some one's and two's before Cosker delivered another frugal over. Allenby then returned as was edged by Crook to third man as well as being harpooned to mid-wicket as the equation became 32 from 30 balls. Hogan then returned in a bid to break the stand but White drilled him through mid-off for four as he reached fifty from 42 balls as the target became 18 from as many balls.
White responded by straight-driving McCullum for a second six and then planting him over deep square-leg for a third six, but with four needed Crook swatted the Kiwi to North at mid-on, leaving White to secure victory with nine balls to spare as he pulled Wagg for four.
