Steelbacks paid for dire opening admits Coetzer

Kyle Coetzer says that a poor start to their innings cost Northamptonshire Steelbacks the chance to sign off their Natwest t20 Blast home campaign with a victory.
Steelbacks captain Kyle CoetzerSteelbacks captain Kyle Coetzer
Steelbacks captain Kyle Coetzer

Chasing Nottinghamshire Outlaws’ 174-6, the hosts were reduced to 9-2 with dangermen David Willey and Richard Levi both back in the pavilion.

And captain Coetzer, who top scored with a fine 67, commented: “We needed to get off to a good start and I thought they bowled really well.

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“They picked up a couple of early wickets and that put us on the back foot right from the start.

“You’re asking a guy to go out and play a wonder innings every single time and you know that’s just not going to happen.

“We back them both (Willey and Levi) to perform really well and they have both shown they can do it in the past and at times this season.”

While the batting didn’t fire, it was a different story in the field where a good fightback in the final overs saw the Outlaws cut down from a score of 158-2 which threatened to become a final total nearing the 200 mark.

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And that pleased Coetzer who added: “They took us on early and maybe we didn’t hit the length we wanted to hard enough but we pulled it back really well.

“There were a few guys who put their hands up and said they really wanted the ball,especially when two guys were set and it was good to see some character.”

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