David Willey's all-round performance secured a sixth consecutive Vitality Blast victory for Northamptonshire Steelbacks over Worcestershire Rapids. Elsewhere, Liam Livingstone's explosive 85 not out helped Lancashire break a losing streak, and Charlie Allison's 74 guided Essex to a fourth straight win.
David Willey celebrated his 50th match as Northamptonshire Steelbacks captain in the Vitality Blast T20 competition by leading his team to a sixth consecutive victory.
They beat Worcestershire Rapids at Wantage Road. Willey contributed with both bat and ball, taking 2 wickets for 28 runs and then scoring 47 runs from 33 deliveries. In doing so, he passed the milestone of 5,000 career runs in T20 cricket. He and Justin Broad shared a crucial partnership of 69 runs to secure the win.
The match was affected by rain, leading to a revised target under the DLS method, which Northamptonshire chased down successfully, finishing on 162-4 for a six-wicket victory. This result keeps Northamptonshire at the top of the Central and West Group with a perfect record of six wins from six games. Worcestershire, meanwhile, suffered their third loss and sit fourth in the group.
In another match, Lancashire broke a three-game losing streak by defeating Durham in a rain-shortened 10-over contest at Chester-le-Street. Liam Livingstone was the star for Lancashire, scoring an unbeaten 85 runs from just 31 balls, including eight sixes. His innings included four consecutive sixes off the bowling of Kasey Aldridge.
This performance also saw him break the record for the most sixes hit by a Lancashire batter in T20 cricket, surpassing the previous record of 163 held by his coach Steven Croft. Durham batted first and made 128-2 in their allotted overs, with openers Graham Clark (49 not out) and Alex Lees (42) providing a solid start. In reply, Lancashire reached the target with five balls to spare, finishing on 130-3.
This win moves Lancashire off the bottom of the North Group, joining Durham on eight points, though Durham have played one fewer match. In the South Group, Essex extended their winning streak to four games with a narrow three-run victory over Kent at Chelmsford. Charlie Allison top-scored for Essex with 74 runs, his third consecutive half-century in the competition. Jordan Cox, returning after IPL and England Lions duties, added 40 runs on his first appearance of the summer for Essex.
Essex posted a total of 187-6 after being put in to bat. In reply, Sam Billings scored 62 for Kent, but despite his efforts and some late hitting from Jake Lintott and Fred Klaassen, Kent fell short, finishing on 184-9. The win consolidates Essex's second place in the South Group, while Kent sit four points behind. The Vitality Blast now enters a two-and-a-half-week break
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