Lewis McManus, Justin Broad and Luke Procter all displayed strong performances as Northamptonshire secured a 51 run victory (DLS) against Cambridgeshire at Peterborough Town Cricket Club.
Captaining the side, Lewis McManus won the toss and elected to bat, with Hassan Azad and Justin Broad starting at the crease.
It was a fast start for Cambridgeshire, as Jack Loveday took the wicket of Broad, trapping him LBW with the third ball of the day.
Luke Procter joined Azad in the middle and the pair put on a 31 run partnership, before Azad was caught on the boundary, giving Loveday his second wicket.
Procter and McManus began to rebuild the Northamptonshire innings, putting on a fifty partnership off 62 deliveries.
Procter fell quickly after, after being run out by Craig in the 19th over after attempting a quick single.
Tom Taylor was in next and wasted no time increasing the run rate, striking a strong partnership with McManus.
By the halfway stage of the innings, Northamptonshire were 135/3, with McManus on 42 and Taylor on 24.
The captain brought up his fifty soon after the break, reaching his half century in 75 balls, with four boundaries on the way. The partnership between McManus and Taylor reached 75 before Harrison Craig got one through the gap to bowl Taylor for 38.
James Sales fell quickly after for seven, giving Craig his second wicket and bringing Gus Miller to the crease.
McManus fell in the 38th over for a well made 62 after he chipped one back up to Callum Guest, reducing Northamptonshire to 178-6.
The last four wickets fell for 45 runs but could not see through the whole innings, being bowled out for 223 in 47.5 overs.
Cambridgeshire made a positive start, scoring 37 runs off the first six overs but Northamptonshire’s bowlers bounced back in style, taking seven wickets during the next six overs.
The bowling attack was spearheaded by Justin Broad and Luke Procter, who picked up three wickets apiece to help reduce the batting side to 49-7 in the 13th over.
Procter took two in two balls in the 13th over, bowling Wilson for one and Clilverd for a golden duck.
Cambridgeshire managed to gain some stability in their innings through Callum Guest and Danny Mohammed as the pair put on a 50 partnership to bring up the batting side’s 100 in the 23rd over.
At the halfway stage, Cambridgeshire found themselves 113/7, trailing by 110 runs, with Mohammed on on 20 and Guest on 39.
Simon Kerrigan was the one to make the breakthrough, as he dismissed Mohammed thanks to a stunning catch from Tom Taylor at slip.
Alex Russell struck in the following over, removing Jack Loveday for three and to leave Cambridgeshire 138/9.
Cambridgeshire found themselves 166/9 35 overs in but play was halted when the rain finally arrived.
The players didn’t return to the pitch, with Northamptonshire winning by 51 runs (DLS).
Justin Broad and Luke Procter were the pick of the bowlers, taking 3-4 and 3-11 respectively on a productive fixture ahead of the Steelbacks’ first Metro Bank One Day Cup game against Gloucestershire on Friday 4th August.