Matchwinner Willey happy to ride his luck

The left-hander, opening the batting alongside Richard Levi, bludgeoned 95 from 44 balls as the Northamptonshire Steelbacks chased down the visitors’ 176-4 to win in the final over.

It was a powerful display by Willey but he was fortunate to get granted two lives by some comically poor fielding as two straightforward catches were squandered as a result of miscommunication.

But the man himself wasn’t particularly fussed, saying: “Fortunately for me it was my day, I got the rub of the green.

“To get a decent score when chasing a big total is pretty special and most importantly Northants have won.

“It was very fortunate for me but it’s Twenty20 and you’ve got to take your luck when it comes.”

The form in the shortest format, in stark contrast to that in the four-day game, has been good with two wins from two and Willey wants to see that taken into the clash with Yorkshire next weekend.

He added: “It’s not been a great start for us in the County Championship but hopefully the form in here can give us some belief to get stuck back into the Championship and get some results in our favour.”

Willey, who hasn’t bowled a ball this season because of a back injury, won’t be fit for that particular outing but he says that he intends to return to full duties sooner rather than later.

“Hopefully I’ll bowl next Friday against Worcester (in the Twenty20) if everything goes to plan and then the Sri Lanka game will be a practice game for me before being fit for selection again, all being well,” he said.