Birmingham Bears put pressure on Worcestershire with crucial Blast victory

The Bears' total of 191 for 6 owed much to a dazzling debut from Chris Benjamin

Edgbaston: Birmingham Bears 191-6, Northamptonshire 177-8 - Birmingham win by 14 runs

Scorecard

Birmingham Bears preserved their Vitality Blast qualification hopes for another few hours at least by closing their group campaign with a 14-run victory over Northamptonshire Steelbacks.

Their win turned the pressure on Worcestershire Rapids who visit Leicestershire Foxes this evening. Will Rhodes's side faces a tense wait - they will qualify if the Foxes do them a favour but a Rapids victory would take them through at the expense of their rivals.

The Bears' total of 191 for 6 owed much to a dazzling debut from Chris Benjamin. The 22-year-old struck an unbeaten 60 off 34 balls with seven fours and two sixes to lead a recovery from 68 for 4.

The Steelbacks, qualification hopes long extinct, mustered 177 for 8 in reply. They threatened briefly through Ricardo Vasconcelos and Josh Cobb and Rob Keogh bashed an unbeaten 55 when the cause was lost, but the chase fell away in the face of pressure built by superb spin bowling - 2 for 20 in four overs- from Jake Lintott.  

After choosing to bat, the Bears received a brisk start from Adam Hose. The opener was injured embarking on a quick single on five, resumed with a runner and struck 37 before skying Graeme White to long on.

Three wickets fell in seven balls as Tom Taylor's excellent throw punished Kyle Mayers for hesitating at the start of a second run and Freddie Heldreich trapped Sam Hain lbw.

That was 68 for 4 but Benjamin, having already had a chance to acclimatise himself as a runner for Hose, started audaciously by reverse-sweeping his first ball for four. That launched a stand off 84 in 52 balls with skipper Will Rhodes, the debutant racing to a 27-ball half-century.

Fourteen balls remained when Rhodes lifted Mohammad Nabi to deep midwicket. Those 14 balls produced 39 runs as Carlos Brathwaite celebrated his 33rd birthday with three sixes in a thunderous ten-ball 27.

After the Steelbacks lost Ben Curran, lbw to Yates, to the seventh ball, Vasconcelos and Cobb thrashed 65 in 34 balls before Cobb was brilliantly caught by Rhodes at mid on off Craig Miles.

Seven runs from Lintott's first two overs cranked up the pressure which told when Vasconcelos top-edged Rhodes to short third man. Lintott removed Taylor and White with successive balls and the Steelbacks' Blast campaign was laid to rest while the Bears' attention turned to Leicester.