Northants win T20 Blast after Wood shines

Josh Cobb rescued Northamptonshire from a top-order collapse as they beat Durham by four wickets to win English county cricket's Twenty20 Blast final at Edgbaston on Saturday.

Northamptonshire, the 2013 champions, slumped to 3-9 chasing a target of 154.

But man-of-the-match Cobb's dashing 80 in a total of 6-155 helped Northamptonshire win with five balls to spare.

Together with Northamptonshire captain Alex Wakely (43), Cobb turned the tide with a fourth-wicket stand of 120 in 78 balls.

England fast bowler Mark Wood, the hero of Durham's semi-final win over Yorkshire with 4-25, struck with his first ball of the final when Adam Rossington was caught at slip.

The big-hitting Richard Levi was then run out for just two and rising star Ben Duckett, who made 84 in Northamptonshire's semi-final win over Nottinghamshire, exited for 4 when lbw to Wood's new-ball partner Chris Rushworth.

It looked then as if Durham were well on course to win a trophy that would help ease the pain of what has been a difficult season for the north-east club, who have reported financial difficulty.

Image Id: ~/media/C14EB0826E6D43759288088662F107E1 Image Caption: Josh Cobb top-scored as Northants won the title // Getty

But Cobb had other ideas, completing a 26-ball fifty, including three sixes and six fours when he hoisted leg-spinner Scott Borthwick high over mid-wicket.

Wakely also struck Borthwick for six, this time down the ground, as he featured in his second century stand of the day after helping Duckett add 132 against Nottinghamshire.

Earlier, Durham were indebted to Keaton Jennings's Twenty20-best 88 for a total of 8-153.

No other Durham batsman made more than England allrounder Ben Stokes's 18 in a match that started just 32 minutes after the north-east side's semi-final win over Yorkshire.

Left-hander Jennings's innings, who posted the highest individual score in an English Twenty20 final, was all the more impressive as his previous best in the format was 42.

Johannesburg-born Jennings, whose father Ray kept wicket for South Africa against 'rebel' touring teams during the country's years of apartheid-induced isolation from official international cricket, faced just 58 balls including five fours and four sixes.

Earlier, England duo Wood and Stokes both played key roles as Durham ended Yorkshire's dream of a domestic treble with a seven-run win in the semi-final.

Image Id: ~/media/54BAE840E91340C1887C370BF28C7B6E Image Caption: Wood and Stokes starred in Durham's semi-final win // Getty

Fast bowler Wood twice took two wickets in three balls on his way to an excellent return of 4-25 in his maximum of four overs as Yorkshire, chasing a seemingly modest 157 for victory, were held to 9-149.

Scorecard: Durham v Yorkshire

Earlier, Stokes's 56 was the cornerstone of Durham's 6-156 in a rain-interrupted innings.

For Wood, plagued by persistent ankle problems, his haul was vindication of the effort he had put in to regain match fitness.

"It's been tough, mentally more than anything," Wood, 26, told Sky Sports. 

"To come back in pre-season and then suffer another setback was hard and I wondered whether I would ever be the same again.

"My adrenaline and heart got me through today - my role in the side is to be aggressive and attacking and take wickets. I did that today."

Image Id: ~/media/0B2F1AA23DC249BF8781539E14AE3E5A Image Caption: Wood had the better of Root during their T20 semi-final // Getty

Yorkshire recalled current England batsmen Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow and Gary Ballance, but the trio managed just 10 runs between them on what was a rare county appearance for all three players.

Root, one of the leading batsmen in world cricket today, never looked comfortable against Wood during a brief innings of seven ended by paceman Chris Rushworth (three for 19).

England vice-captain Root summed up Wood's display on Saturday by saying: "He made me look as if I was batting with my hands and feet on backwards."

Yorkshire's defeat was made worse when David Willey suffered a hand injury dropping a hard-hit caught and bowled chance that could rule him out of England's one-day series against Pakistan starting next week.

Former England opener Adam Lyth top-scored for Yorkshire with 64, who remain in the hunt for what would be a third successive first-class County Championship title and are also in the semi-finals of the 50-over One-Day Cup.

Earlier, England opener Alex Hales's miserable week got worse when he was out for a duck in Nottinghamshire's eight-run semi-final defeat by Northamptonshire.

Image Id: ~/media/B0BB1A2E95964AF69D80EEE87D0ABE9F Image Caption: Alex Hales was dismissed cheaply on T20 Blast finals day // Getty

Nottinghamshire, chasing 162 to win, were held to 9-153.

Andre Russell, bidding to win two domestic Twenty20 titles in a matter of weeks after helping the Jamaica Tallawahs to Caribbean Premier League glory, made a rapid 39 off 18 balls, with three sixes and four fours, for Nottinghamshire.

Scorecard: Nottinghamshire v Northamptonshire

But the West Indies allrounder was out to a superb catch by a diving Rob Keogh on the mid-wicket boundary following a fierce pull off South Africa's Rory Kleinveldt.

Hales was fined 15 percent of his match fee, approximately ($1,960), for showing dissent towards third umpire Joel Wilson following his first-innings dismissal in England's 10-wicket fourth Test defeat by Pakistan at The Oval last week.

The 27-year-old now has a modest Test average of under 28 and is sweating on a place in England's squad for their tours of Bangladesh and India later this year.

He was bowled for a second-ball duck, trying to drive, on Saturday after Kleinveldt uprooted his off stump with a delivery that went through a large gap between bat and pad.