I love an underdog triumph as much as the next man, and when the victorious tale involves a team that you support, then it is that much sweeter. To call Northamptonshire underdogs in the T20 format may sound odd; after all, the county won the tournament in 2013, and were runners-up last season. Yet in terms of resources, the county are a prime example of a team punching above their weight.
During my childhood I was lucky enough to enjoy the era of Lamb, Larkins, Bailey, Capel and so many others, including current coach David Ripley. The two final defeats in 1987 were hard to take, and the 1995 County Championship contenders containing Anil Kumble was another story of so near yet so far. Our 2013 T20 win was thrilling, but it was only when I started to take my son to Wantage Road in 2014, that my enthusiasm was truly stirred again.
Since then, we have spent many a Friday cheering the team on, even managing to bring my wife and daughter along with us on a few occasions. The T20 format might not be to the tastes of everyone, but for a father introducing his son to cricket, it is ideal. Providing great entertainment and superb value for money - a family of four can watch Northants for £36 - even a purist like me cannot fail to see the appeal of the shortest version of the sport.
And what an atmosphere to watch cricket in. I've lost count of how many times the players have referred to their twelfth man during interviews, as the relatively small but raucous crowd, create an intimate yet sometimes intimidating vibe. When my son and I travelled to Edgbaston to see Northants win away this season, we both knew that we had well and truly caught the bug.
I had also been to Edgbaston the year before, for the away fixture against Birmingham Bears - Warwickshire, to you and me - and the finals day to celebrate my 40th birthday with a group of friends. The disappointment felt at the end of the final was intense, a feeling of what-if at the conclusion of a long campaign. Sat in my dragon onesie that I had been forced to wear as part of my birthday celebrations, my spirits were low. Going one step further in 2016 seemed a distant dream.
Even during the fine run to the 2015 final, the vultures were circling. The news that David Willey was to join Yorkshire was disappointing, although not entirely unexpected. For a cash-strapped county like Northants, the money received for Willey was vital, and no one could begrudge the player a move to a bigger county. Just as in football, it is hard to prevent a big fish leaving the small pond.
Holding off the bigger counties is a thankless task. Earlier this season it was announced that fast bowler Olly Stone would be plying his trade at Warwickshire from 2017 onwards, and keeping our little genius Ben Duckett is going to be a big challenge. But somehow the county keep on fighting.
Often team spirit is cited as a significant factor behind the success of a side, but with Northants you do get the impression that win or lose, the players genuinely pull together. Led by the impressive Alex Wakely, the team has had to overcome a number of obstacles along their way to T20 glory.
Injuries have proved to be a major headache, especially in the bowling department. Losing Stone for the season was damaging, the promising youngster damaging an anterior cruciate ligament whilst celebrating a wicket in a match against Worcestershire. Stone's misfortune gave opportunities to others, though, and it seemed to be a recurring theme that someone would step up to the plate when needed.
First it was Richard Gleeson and Moin Ashraf who put their hands up, both performing admirably during a difficult time for the county. Ashraf was signed in June on a short-term deal, and immediately impressed by taking 3/17 against Durham. Gleeson put pen to paper on a three-year deal in the same month as Ashraf, and was a revelation in the T20 Blast. Taking 3/20 against Leicestershire and 3/12 on our trip to Edgbaston, Gleeson ended the season with 14 wickets at 16.00, at a miserly economy rate of 5.97.
With Gleeson and Ashraf fitting in so well, the bowling unit was well balanced. Rory Kleinveldt, Mohammad Azharullah, and Steven Crook took key wickets during the tournament, left-arm spinner Graeme White continued his fine form in white ball cricket that saw him called up to the new North v South fixture in the UAE in March, and leg-spinner Seekkuge Prasanna became a key component in the T20 side.
Batting wise, Northants were blessed. A fine opening partnership of Richard Levi and Adam Rossington would often set the tone, with Duckett's ability to play shots all around the wicket standing out, bringing him England Lions recognition. Josh Cobb has also thrived during the campaign, skipper Wakely played many a crucial knock throughout the season, and Rob Keogh was a vital cog in the team. With all-rounders in Crook, Kleinveldt and Prasanna, the team batted deep.
As my son and I set off for Northampton for the fixture against Derbyshire on May 27, I was a little unsure about what to expect. Secretly I thought the gap left in the team by Willey would be too big to fill, a crucial missing component as the T20 season progressed. Yet an impressive three-wicket win set the ball rolling, and five wins out of the first six completed Northern Group matches helped to propel Northants to a top two finish.
Unfortunately as we took our seats for the final group match against Yorkshire, it dawned on me that from this point on, the team would have to do it without us. Thankfully the boys plodded on regardless, winning their quarter final against Middlesex whilst I regularly took anxious glances at the score on my phone during our family holiday in the New Forest. But sadly, I also couldn't make finals day.
Asking a sports fan for free dates on their calendar can be a tricky task, but when my wife asked me in June to keep August 20 free for a birthday day out, I didn't foresee any issues. But as Northants kept winning, I had an inkling I knew what was going to happen. Naturally I was delighted, yet after being so down after the defeat in 2015, I was disappointed that I wouldn't be there to cheer on the team.
My hopes for a day out at a final moved towards the Royal London One Day Cup. But an agonising defeat in the quarter final against Surrey crushed that dream. More importantly, it looked as if the loss provided physical and mental damage just two days before finals day.
An injury to Gleeson saw Wakely take the strange decision to finish off the over himself. In a nip and tuck affair, Wakely's figures of 0.4-0-0-24 proved costly. It still took a stunning innings from Kumar Sangakkara to see Surrey home, yet Wakely took the defeat hard. He released a statement apologising, but tellingly said that the team were determined to put things right at Edgbaston.
That devastating loss was not the only thing the team had to get over before their journey up to Birmingham. The news that Prasanna was not being released by Sri Lanka was a blow, and when Gleeson was ruled out through injury, I am honest enough to admit that I feared the worse. I should have known better.
Facing our bogey team of Nottinghamshire, who contained seven England internationals and a star overseas T20 specialist in Andre Russell, did not fill me with optimism, but fortunately this would be a match played on grass and not in my negative head. Duckett chose the ideal moment to demonstrate his talents, scoring a superb 84 from 47 balls after Northants had been reduced to 15/3. Ably assisted by Wakely, Northants posted a competitive 161/8.
I had been unable to follow the innings, fully engrossed in getting out of an Escape Room at Bletchley Park, since you didn't ask, but on checking the score the second I left the building, I felt we had a defendable total.
And so it proved. Gleeson's replacement Ben Sanderson, who had recently taken 16 wickets in County Championship matches against Glamorgan and Leicestershire, bowled superbly, as the team put in a fine all-round performance. Kleinveldt's dismissals of Alex Hales and Russell were crucial, and with Crook taking 3/28, Notts fell short by 8 runs. I may have received a few strange looks on looking at my phone and punching the air in a Milton Keynes restaurant, but I didn't care.
I did manage to see quite a bit of the final, catching the end of the Durham innings, before settling down for what I hoped would be a procession. Of course, sporting victories are rarely straight forward, and at 9/3 I started getting that same sinking feeling as twelve months previous. Fortunately Josh Cobb played a quite brilliant innings, and our captain once again steadied the ship, and before you knew it, we had one hand on the trophy. There were a few wobbles towards the end, yet as Rob Keogh hit the winning boundary, the celebrations could begin.
As I slowly descended into a drunken state of euphoria, I watched the team lift the trophy and realised that here was a group of players that you really could relate to, a proper team full of men who drain every last drop of effort in order to represent Northamptonshire. And judging from their Twitter accounts, all involved justifiably celebrated into the night, as undoubtedly the strains of the club song filled the air. A thoroughly deserved win for a very likeable band of brothers.
I do hope the powers-that-be are careful with the future of our national T20 tournament. Talk of city based franchises, or teams representing regions, fills me with dread. Admittedly the IPL has been a huge hit, and the ECB are right to look into the situation, but they and the counties need to tread carefully. If a new tournament is established with matches based in the major cities, then where does this leave a county like Northamptonshire? A club that depends so heavily on the income provided by the T20 nights would be hit hard, and the thought of where this may lead is worrying to say the least.
The feeling of happiness you get when your team wins a cup is priceless,
and as Wakers and Co. were dripping in Champagne (and rain) at
Edgbaston, I knew I wanted to write a piece about this fine county and
the men that put a smile on the faces of so many on August 20. Attending Northamptonshire matches with my son means so much to us, an evening out that we both love, a time to bond, as we get behind our nearest first-class county. I just hope that the fun and pride we have in following Northamptonshire in the T20 Blast is not taken away from us in the future.
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