Northamptonshire Second XI played out two T20 matches vs Gloucestershire Second XI yesterday, with the first ending in an agonizing 3-run loss before claiming a hard-fought victory in the afternoon by 22 runs.
Both matches saw the first run out for Chris Lynn, who didn’t fail to impress as he hit a punishing 121 runs across both matches.
Northamptonshire’s attack got off to a quickfire start, with Zaib bowling Lace and Russell catching Renwick off the bowling of Sales to pin Gloucestershire back at 26/2.
Cockbain entered the middle and made the innings his own, hitting 105 from 61 balls to steer Gloucestershire towards a decent total of 185 with a short boundary to one side.
Chris Lynn set a solid foundation for the chase in his first outing for the Club, hitting 48 runs from just 34 balls. The Australian showed his power with just his third ball, advancing down the wicket and launching his first maximum to the long boundary over cover.
Thurston, Zaib and Hankins carried on the momentum through the middle order, but a tight final over saw Northamptonshire fall short by 3 runs.
Batting first in the second fixture, Lynn and Gouldstone opened the innings for Northamptonshire and both batted fluently. Lynn found another gear in this knock, firing seven sixes and peppering the nearby gardens to put 73 runs on the board from only 42 balls.
With James Sales and Chris Lynn both caught from the bowling of Shaw in quick succession, it was Zaib and Young who carried on the momentum, adding 50 as Northamptonshire posted 187/6.
Sales led the Northamptonshire attack, taking 3 as wickets fell at regular intervals for the visitors. Cockbain threatened again but fell just short of 50 to leave Gloucestershire 110/4. Despite Taylor posting an unbeaten 42, Northamptonshire’s bowlers kept his partners in check to see Gloucestershire finish 22 runs short.