Northants 202 (Procter 82, Raine 5-54) and 197 for 4 (Procter 94) beat Leicestershire 128 (Sanderson 5-39, Gleeson 5-49) and 270 (Cosgrove 80, Kerrigan 4-62)
Northamptonshire’s ninth victory of the season, performed with some ease in benign batting stipulations at Grace Avenue, had a bitter-candy inform for the lads from Wantage Avenue.
Occasions at Hove, where Nottinghamshire wanted top likely to attract with Sussex to verify they could rob the 2d promotion situation from Division Two, meant that Northamptonshire discontinue the season third – and this would possibly per chance be shrimp consolation that no team has made extra of its’ collective skill.
Northants had been left to in particular rue the five-point deduction suffered after defeat at Trent Bridge in slack August for a unhurried over-rate. It was a necessary time for Northants within the self-discipline as they suffered several accidents, in conjunction with that of the captain Wakely, with Rory Kleinveldt taking on, and to bowl in stifling stipulations on potentially the most well liked spell of the season.
Without that penalty, nonetheless, Northants would accept as true with performed stage on capabilities with Notts – and sooner than them on wins.
As for Leicestershire, they had been consigned to a winless season.
Northants head coach David Ripley mentioned: “Now we accept as true with truly played effectively thru the aid cease of the season, in some adversity, in conjunction with in this sport with losing Rory Kleinveldt.
“It’s frustrating that 9 wins is just not always truly enough, especially with the capabilities deducted in Nottingham – we deserved the deduction, but the conditions had been unprecedented.
“The bowlers did a worthy job, Richard Gleeson on the cease of the season has been excellent, Ben Sanderson has been Mr Consistency, and Rory Kleinveldt has taken 50 wickets – winning video games is set taking 20 wickets, and extra in most cases than no longer now we accept as true with performed that.
“Now we accept as true with got some beautiful avid gamers, and to boot they’ve all contributed, but of there is an dwelling we’re searching to toughen or no longer it is within the batting and turning beautiful rankings into tall, match-winning rankings. We’re talking to Luke Procter – we accept as true with to recruit someone who can order of affairs our batters for a region, and him coming in would discontinue that.”
Maybe in sympathy, the stipulations had been very great in favour of the company, as has been the case for the length of this sport. Batting has been at its most hard within the most necessary hour or so of the morning, when the ball has swung and seamed, so the actual fact a saturated outfield outfield prevented play starting up until 12.40pm was supreme for Northants, who began the day needing every other 180 to ranking with ten 2d innings wickets in hand.
By the point play began, a vivid sun had taken any menace out of the atmosphere and certainly the pitch. Northants did lose Rob Newton, the opener pushing lazily at a wide provide from left-arm seamer Dieter Klein to edge a ranking within the aid of, but Procter and Wakely added 121 for the 2d wicket in beautiful time and – an early conceivable bustle-out of Wakely aside – with out valid fear forward of Wakely high-edged a pull and was effectively caught by Sam Evans at deep backward square.
Two extra wickets fell after the smash, Richard Levi palpably leg forward of swishing in some unspecified time in the future of the dual carriageway at Callum Parkinson – the younger left-armer very great definitely one of Leicestershire’s few positives this season – and Procter, with a hundred very great on the cards, additionally leg forward of to a Raine provide that kept a shrimp bit low.
Procter, on mortgage from Lancashire, had a cozy match on the tip of the order, disregarded top likely as soon as in making 176 runs.
