Rossington ensures Northants confound sceptics again

Northamptonshire 135 for 3 (Rossington 63*, Roland-Jones 2-24) beat Middlesex 132 for 7 (Bailey 46, Stirling 35, Kleinveldt 3-24) by seven wickets Scorecard

Northants Steelbacks sealed the second Finals Day spot with a commanding seven-wicket win over Middlesex. “No one likes us and we don’t care” rang out from a few in the Ken Turner Stand, as they rose to embrace more Twenty20 success.

While the sentiment seems a tad forced, there is a feeling in this part of the world that many take delight in shedding light on their faults, while applying the dimmer when success comes their way. For the third time in four years, they will command the Edgbaston spotlight.

It was a game that boiled down to how both sides operated outside the Power Play overs. And even that can be caveated by the fact that the Steelbacks, who were all for chasing before Dawid Malan won the toss and opted to set a target, knew they didn’t have to break sweat.

That Northants were led to victory by a measured and unbeaten 67 from Adam Rossington will have stung Middlesex supporters. Rossington used to be theirs: a plunderer of runs in the Middlesex second team while the first XI stuttered, hammering away at a door that, ultimately, never fully opened for him.

Opportunities came with the white ball, but Middlesex’s ambivalence to limited overs cricket at the time, coupled with John Simpson’s desire to play all forms, meant he was beginning to exist in a void. The cheers of six-and-a-half thousand filled every bit of air above Wantage Road when he helped the final ball of the match around the corner for four.

So much of the occasion spoke of being Northants’ night. Two hours before the start, Abington Avenue was at a standstill as members were turned away from the car park as Sky set-up their various …

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