Nightwatchman Kerrigan hits new heights
ReportLancashire loanee Simon Kerrigan struck a career-best 62 and Rob Newton pronounced himself king of the half-centuries as Northants achieved a hard-won victory in Cardiff
Rob Newton has the most half-centuries in either division  •  Getty Images
Northants 310 (Levi 101, Hogan 4-58) and 221 for 3 (Kerrigan 62, Newton 53) beat Glamorgan 207 (Salter 59, Meschede 49, Gleeson 5-60) and 320 (Cooke 69, Gleeson 3-71, Kleinveldt 3-77) by seven wickets
Northants remain in contention for promotion to Division One after defeating Glamorgan in Cardiff.
With a game in hand over leaders Worcestershire, next week’s important game against Nottinghamshire, now second, could determine who goes up next season. Northants play bottom club Leicestershire in the final game, and if they replicate this fine all-round performance in their last two games, they have a chance of promotion.
They also defeated the weather, after heavy rain stopped play with only nine runs needed for victory. There was delay of 82 minutes, before the rain relented and victory was achieved with 34.4 overs to spare.
Simon Kerrigan, who is on loan from Lancashire, ostensibly for his left arm spin, shone as a batsman as Northants reached their target with seven wickets in hand. After coming in as nightwatchman after Ben Duckett was dismissed the previous evening, Kerrigan never looked in any trouble against a Glamorgan attack, who were guilty of bowling too many poor deliveries in the morning session, giving the batsmen opportunities to score freely and set up the run chase.
Resuming on 42 for 1, the second wicket pair were soon scoring at four runs an over, and apart from against Michael Hogan, they scored freely and quickly shared a 50-run partnership. Newton reached fifty from 99 balls with nine fours – his second half century of the game- but was out shortly afterwards when he was bowled by Craig Meschede. This was Newton’s tenth score over fifty in the championship this season, the most by any player in the two divisions.
Kerrigan’s commendable contribution ended when he was bowled, shouldering arms against Hogan, for 62, equalling his previous career-best score made for Lancashire against Hampshire at Southport in 2013.
Following Kerrigan’s dismissal, Richard Levi joined Alex Wakeley, the captain having recovered from his injured finger, and the first-innings centurion made his intentions clear by hitting two sixes as Northants accelerated towards their target. The rain then descended and it was a frustrating wait for the visitors, but when play restarted they needed only a further nine balls to reach their target, and take a welcome 22 points.
