T20 Blast: Jacob Bethell clubs 15-ball fifty as Bears beat Northants

After impetus at the start of the innings from Ed Barnard, with a T20-best 48, and skipper Al Davies (36) in an 80-run opening stand, Dan Mousley also weighed in with 43 off 29 balls before Bethell took over late on to lift the Bears to a season high of 219-4.

His 16-ball knock – including seven sixes – was described by BBC Radio WM’s Richard Wilford as an “other worldly half-century of pure range hitting”.

Bethell said he “wasn’t really looking at the scoreboard too much. I was just trying to watch the ball and hit it.”

“I put in a lot of work over the winter which I spent over here rather than going away,” he told BBC Radio WM.

“And I think that work is paying off. Practice creates confidence and I am playing with a lot of confidence.”

After two early wickets for miserly England paceman Richard Gleeson, who averages less than five runs an over in this competition in 2024, Northants folded to 129-9 to lose by 90 runs.

The downside for the Bears, ahead of Friday’s Midlands derby at Worcester, was a side strain for Gleeson, which further depletes their bowling options, having rested England all-rounder Chris Woakes.

Yorkshire had a 104-run stand between skipper Shan Masood (61) and former England captain Joe Root (43) to thank for posting a competitive 173-8 against Lancashire.

Saqib Mahmood took three wickets, but spinner Chris Green was the pick, taking 2-21 from his four overs.

Lancs might a bright start but then slipped from 67-2 in the eighth over to 88-5 by the 11th before failing to hit 20 off the last over in closing on 166-8 to lose by seven runs.