Broad hails 'awesome start' for Northants Steelbacks as they overpower Vikings

All-rounder Justin Broad hailed Northants Steelbacks' 13-run win over Yorkshire Vikings at Headingley on Friday night as 'an awesome start to the tournament'.

On a night of high drama in west Yorkshire, the Steelbacks hammered their highest score in T20 cricket as they posted 237 for four, beating the 231 for five they hit in a tie at Birmingham Bears in 2018.

Justin Broad takes to the air to hammer a boundary in his innings against Yorkshire Vikings on Friday (Picture: Peter Short)

placeholder image — Justin Broad takes to the air to hammer a boundary in his innings against Yorkshire Vikings on Friday (Picture: Peter Short)

Broad hit 67 from 32 balls, David Willey 54 from 24 balls, Ricardo Vasconcelos 46 from 38 balls and Matt Breetzke a brutal 36 from 15 deliveries – with Northants smashing 17 sixes in total.

But on a good track the home side will have felt they were still in the game.

That said, victory for the Vikings looked highly unlikely as they slumped to nine for three after just five balls of their reply, with Willey claiming the wickets of Dawid Malan and Will Luxton, and Adam Lyth being run out by Saif Zaib.

Yorkshire hit back though, with James Wharton and Will Sutherland both hitting 58, from 29 and 30 balls respectively, to see their side to 174 for six and well in touch with six overs remaining.

Liam Guthrie endured a tough night on his Steelbacks debut, as he was clubbed for 68 runs in his three overs.

But the match remained nip and tuck until a couple of crucial tight overs from Ben Sanderson swung the game the Steelbacks' way, and they were able to celebrate a 13-run victory.

“It was a great wicket today," admitted Broad. "Our openers set the platform really nice. I was told to go in and, with two spinners on, attack that. It’s a really nice ground to play at.

“With one short boundary, it was always important we had a left and right-hand combination. With the start we had, we felt like we could be aggressive.

“We knew it was a good wicket and that we needed to get a lot (of runs) in the end. It was important to stay positive and keep at least one guy going, which we did well.

“It’s a tough place to come and win here, so that’s an awesome start to the tournament.”

The Steelbacks play their first home game of the North Group campaign on Sunday (3pm) when they host Leicestershire Foxes at the County Ground.

The Foxes were also winners in their opening game on Friday, seeing off Derbyshire by five wickets at Grace Road.

Quotes courtesy of Graham Hardcastle