Michael Burgess steers Warwickshire away from hazard to all however seal Northants’ relegation
Warwickshire 147 for 4 dec (Rhodes 44, White 3-37) and 176 for 8 (Burgess 78*, Sanderson 5-42) beat Northamptonshire 250 (Nair 78, Gay 77, Hannon-Dalby 7-46) and 72 for 0 dec (Gay 31*, Hassan 30*) by two wickets
Northamptonshire’s relegation from LV=Insurance County Championship Division One was successfully sealed by a two-wicket defeat to Warwickshire at Edgbaston.
The residence facet overcame a top-order implosion brought on by a hat-trick by Ben Sanderson (5 for 42) to chase down an artificially created goal of 176 in 60 overs. They lurched to 24 for five following Sanderson’s hat-trick, however sixth-wicket pair Michael Burgess (78 not out,rom 128 balls) and Ed Barnard (41, 71) added 70 and Burgess batted with ability and composure to see his facet residence in an unbroken ninth-wicket stand of 52 with Olly Hannon-Dalby.
Needing a win to protect any reasonable hopes of survival, the guests needed to settle for any equation supplied to them on the final day of the rain-affected match. Warwickshire vindicated their warning by collapsing early on, however recovered to report a win that just about buries Northants. Jon Sadler’s facet will not be mathematically relegated however wants a extremely unlikely mixture of maximum-point wins from their final two video games (Surrey and Essex) and Kent or Middlesex amassing no factors in any respect.
Delivering the agreed goal required a morning of faffing about. Warwickshire declared 103 behind after which opened the bowling with wicketkeeper Burgess. Hassan Azad (30, 70 balls) and Emilio Gay (31, 65) loved an out of doors internet so as to add 72 in 22.3 overs earlier than the declaration arrived ten minutes earlier than lunch.
With their facet’s latest top-order travails in thoughts, Warwickshire’s supporters had been taking nothing as a right and duly noticed the highest 5 depart for a mixed 20 runs in 10.2 overs. Kraigg Brathwaite’s unproductive begin to his Warwickshire profession (42 in 4 innings) continued when Jack White clipped his off stump and Sanderson then delivered a masterclass of an over.
It introduced a hat-trick of the best high quality. Outswingers to left and right-handers respectively noticed Will Rhodes caught at first slip and Sam Hain bowled off stump. Dan Mousley, evidently taken abruptly by the clatter as he took a very long time to reach, was quickly trudging straight again after edging the hat-trick ball to 3rd slip. When Rob Yates edged Sanderson to first slip, Warwickshire had been 24 for five and in disarray.
Barnard and Burgess restored order because the stress lifted after the opening bowlers got here off and the pitch eased within the afternoon sunshine. Barnard fell lbw, sweeping, to Rob Keogh within the final over earlier than tea, however a flurry of fours from Danny Briggs offered important impetus.
Sanderson returned to entice Briggs lbw and when Craig Miles top-edged an odd hoik, No. 10 Hannon-Dalby went in with the final two wickets needing to search out 52. While the tail-ender dug in deep, Burgess handed an 89-ball half-century and went on to handle the chase completely in a high-class innings which culminated in his third six, the successful hit.