Steelbacks slide to damaging Warwickshire defeat in 10-over Edgbaston clash

The defeat means the County’s hopes of progressing to the knockout stages are now all but over.

The endeavours of the Edgbaston groundstaff and the patience of the impressively large number of home fans who stayed through the rain was rewarded with a 5pm start and a sixth straight win for the Bears.

Warwickshire totalled 104 for three as Ed Barnard belted 32 (14 balls) while skilful work from Simon Kerrigan (2-0-14-2) kept a brake on the run-rate.

Northants never recovered from a stodgy start, hitting just two fours in the first three overs, and finished well short on 80 for six (Will Rhodes three for 22, Olly Hannon-Dalby two for 10).

They now need to win both their remaining games to have a chance of qualifying.

Put in, Warwickshire were abrasively launched by a stand of 40 in 20 balls by openers Barnard and Rob Yates.

The latter sent one ball out of the stadium over the very short Pershore Road-side boundary but then perished when he chipped Jack White to mid on.

Warwickshire charged to 50 in four overs against the seamers but found the spin of Kerrigan harder to attack.

The slow left-armer’s first ball dismissed Jake Bethell, who lifted a reverse-sweep, and his fourth lured Barnard out of his ground to be stumped by skipper Lewis McManus.

Rhodes (23, 15 balls) and Michael Burgess (26, 19) flailed away to mixed effect to add 51 in 33 balls to ensure a demanding target.

The Steelbacks’ reply began slowly as Hannon-Dalby and Craig Miles each delivered an over for just five runs.

Ricardo Vasconcelos lifted a Henry Brookes full toss to deep mid-wicket and the visitors’ decision to bat second came back to bite them as gloom descended.

The innings’ first six, hoisted over the off-side by Rob Keogh off Rhodes, at last came from the 33rd ball, but Keogh lifted the 34th only to extra cover.

Tom Taylor, in prime form, launched his first ball for six and, while he was there, Northants still had a sniff, but Emilio Gay hoovered up 15 balls for his eight runs, Taylor skied Hannon-Dalby to extra cover, and the challenge of finding 47 from the last three overs proved far too much.