All-rounder Park stars as Derbyshire confound Northants
FRIENDS PROVIDENT t20, Northampton: Derbyshire 109-8 beat Northants 100-8 by nine runs Match scorecard
Park was once an England substitute fielder against his native South Africa
Derbyshire all-rounder Garry Park took three wickets as the visitors claimed an unlikely nine-run Friends Provident t20 win over Northants.
Nicky Boje (3-20) and Zimbabwe's Elton Chigumbura helped limit Derbyshire to a mediocre 109-8 at Wantage Road.
But, despite 37 off 46 balls from Alex Wakely, Northants fell 10 short of their modest target on 100-8.
Park took 3-11, while Steffan Jones and Tim Groenewald chipped in with two wickets each.
It had looked a straightforward task for Northants after Jack Brooks and Chaminda Vaas (2-28) began dismantling the Derbyshire innings.
Boje trapped Park for 20, and Andrew Hall (2-21) appeared to put the home team in total control.
Northants then lost Rob White in the third over when he sliced Groenewald to Sadler at third man.
But Vaas hammered 18 off a Groenewald over as he and Wakely took the score to 48 before the Sri Lankan lofted spinner Robin Peterson to Groenewald at deep mid-wicket.
Tight bowling by Jones and Park then forced a series of errors as the Northants batsmen lost their way in what should have been a straightforward chase.
Northants captain Andrew Hall tells BBC Radio Northampton:
"Our bowlers did an exceptional job but, in the batting department, we didn't take the singles, we lost too many wickets at key times and we put the lower order under pressure.
"One of our top five players should have batted through the game, and we didn't do it.
"The wicket slowed up more than we thought it would but we still should have got there."
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