Lehmann delighted as on-song Steelbacks move eight points clear at the top
Northants Steelbacks sit eight points clear at the top of the Vitality Blast North Group after securing a fifth straight win when they saw off second-placed Lancashire Lightning by 24 runs at Old Trafford on Sunday.
The win saw Northants match their best start to a T20 campaign, with the 2009 side led by Nicky Boje also winning their first five group games.
But David Willey's side have done it the hard way, with of those five wins coming on the road.
It was a solid all-round team performance that won the day in Manchester, with David Willey (37), Ricardo Vasconcelos (32), Ravi Bopara (28) and Lewis McManus (28) all doing their bit to see the Steelbacks total 180 for six in their 20 overs.
The bowlers then got to work, with George Scrimshaw claiming a career-best haul of four for 19 and Lloyd Pope taking two for 27, with Luke Procter, Willey and Ben Sanderson also chipping in as Lightning fell short on 156 for nine.
Head coach Darren Lehmann was delighted with the performance, and admitted it was one of the best ones of the five victories claimed so far.
"That was one of our better performances across the five wins I suppose," said the Australian.
"I thought the win at Worcester (on Friday) was polished, but I think this one was equally as polished.
"I was really pleased with the total we put on, we took a bit of a risk with the weather by having a bat first, but we knew the wicket would take a bit more turn to help the likes of Lloyd Pope out, and Saif Zaib.
"So 180 I was really pleased with. I reckon it was about a 170 wicket, so we were above par and it showed that really.
"There was one short side with the breeze, but the way we bowled was great, I thought we bowled really well, especially getting the early wickets again."
And he added: "So we are getting there, and I’m pretty happy with our last two performances, with the only downer being a couple of dropped catches.
"But all in all we have been pretty good, and in the last two games we've been a lot better with the ball and bowled to plans and then executed with the bat, so I’m obviously pleased with that."
The Steelbacks are back on home soil this week as they play two matches in the space of three days at the County Ground.
Wednesday night sees them host Birmingham Bears (start 6.30pm) before they entertain Durham on Friday.
Bears have won two and lost two of their opening four matches, and they were comfortable 58-run winners of Derbyshire Falcons at Edgbaston on Sunday.