Rossington sinks Middlesex as T20 dream ends
Middlesex 132-7 (20 ov): Bailey 46, Stirling 35; Kleinveldt 3-34
Northamptonshire 135-3 (18.1 ov): Rossington 67*; Roland-Jones 2-24, Higgins 1-12
Northamptonshire beat Middlesex by seven wickets
Middlesex’s dream of a first appearance at T20 finals day since 2008 were ended by their former batsman Adam Rossington, whose unbeaten 67 saw Northamptonshire to victory.
Despite only making 132-7, the visitors retained hope when 29 were needed from 30 balls but Rossington lifted his third six over square leg to pass 50 and then a bigger maximum over mid-wicket to kill off his old club.
He shared a stand of 58 in eight overs with Ben Duckett (29) to break the back of the chase, leaving George Bailey’s run-a-ball 46 in Middlesex’s innings in vain.[phone][/phone]
After Dawid Malan (0) and Nick Gubbins (7) had fallen cheaply, Bailey and Paul Stirling put on 68 in 9.4 overs but despite setting a steady platform, their side could not find any momentum, and James Franklin’s unbeaten 21 was made amid a clatter of wickets.
Toby Roland-Jones struck in the third over to remove Richard Levi and Northants lost a second wicket when Josh Cobb miscued a drive and was caught at point off Ryan Higgins.
But 41-2 after six overs was as close as Middlesex came to defending their score, as Duckett and Edgware-born Rossington – who left Lord’s in 2014 to seek first-team cricket – did the bulk of the work.