Northamptonshire win after fine recovery

Northamptonshire 150 for 8 beat Warwickshire 110 by 40 runs
Scorecard

Johan Botha's best Twenty20 bowling figures helped Northamptonshire to a 40-run win which ended Warwickshire's unbeaten start to their Friends Life t20 campaign at Edgbaston. The South Africa off-spinner took 4 for 16, including two wickets in his first over, as Warwickshire were dismissed for 110, their lowest Twenty20 total.

Botha found a slow pitch, on which Warwickshire's New Zealand off-spinner Jeetan Patel had taken three for 19, to his liking and he stifled Warwickshire's chase as they tried to keep up with the Duckworth Lewis rate as steady rain threatened to curtail their innings.

Botha may have taken the individual honours but the fact that Northamptonshire reached 150 for 8 and had a total to defend in the first place was due to Jack Brooks and David Willey, who shared a Twenty20 world record-equalling ninth-wicket stand of 59.

Northamptonshire were in danger of being dismissed for under 100 when they limped to 91 for 8, but Brooks and Willey rode their luck to equal the record stand of Lancashire's Glen Chapple and Peter Martin at Leicester in 2003.

Brooks, who had made only seven runs in the competition before this innings, struck out boldly and lifted Neil Carter for a straight six in his breezy unbeaten 33 from just 19 balls.

Left-hander Willey also lifted Carter for six over long on in making 22 from 15 balls which helped Northamptonshire recover after they had struggled against Patel and seamer Steffan Piolet, whose three for 25 constituted competition-best figures. Piolet took two wickets in his first four balls including Alex Wakely, who was lbw working to leg after he had clobbered six fours in his 35.

Warwickshire's response was timid and they ran into trouble against Botha after Carter was run out trying to take two to Chaminda Vaas at short third man. William Porterfield, who made half centuries in the wins over Durham and Yorkshire, carved to point and Warwickshire captain Jim Troughton went lbw in Botha's first over.

Botha then snared Darren Maddy and Varun Chopra playing across the line and Hall ended a mini-revival by bowling Keith Barker and Tim Ambrose, whose seventh-wicket partnership of 23 was the best of the innings, in the space of four balls.