Ripley reflects on 'carnage' at the County Ground as Steelbacks are smashed

David Ripley admits it was 'carnage' at the County Ground on Friday night as the Steelbacks suffered a nine-wicket demolition at the hands of Worcestershire Rapids.
Rory Kleinveldt was bowled by Luke Wood for 15Rory Kleinveldt was bowled by Luke Wood for 15
Rory Kleinveldt was bowled by Luke Wood for 15

Northants made their way to 187 for nine after losing the toss, with Richard Levi top scoring with 39.

But it was nowhere near enough as the Rapids made light work of the reply, winning with a whopping 41 balls to spare.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Martin Guptill lashed 102 from just 38 balls, while Joe Clarke ended unbeaten on 61 from 33 deliveries.

Alex Wakely tried to bring some calmAlex Wakely tried to bring some calm
Alex Wakely tried to bring some calm

It was a chastening experience for the County, who have lost six of their seven Vitality Blast matches this season, with the other game a tie at Edgbaston last Friday.

And head coach Ripley said: "I thought our score was fairly competitive.

"Batters came off saying that the ball was sticking a little bit, the boundaries were a bit bigger and the outfield was slower.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"There are always key wickets in the Worcestershire side and we missed an early catch to get rid of one of them.

Richard Levi top scored for the SteelbacksRichard Levi top scored for the Steelbacks
Richard Levi top scored for the Steelbacks

"After that, it was carnage.

"Another 30-ball hundred (to add to Dan Christian's for Notts Outlaws at the County Ground earlier this month) is tough for us, but we've got to find a way to not let that happen.

"You don't set very often so we've got to say it's well played to some extent, but we've got to find ways to be more competitive.

"We've got to find out how to get into the over and out of it and we've spoken about what options we've got when people are coming hard at us like that.

"We've got some challenges ahead of us because we're not able to stop the rot at the moment."