NORTHAMPTON, England, CMC – Out-of-favour West Indies star, Carlos Brathwaite, produced another steady, if not spectacular all-round performance, as his Birmingham Bears won their third on the trot with a 55-run thrashing of Northamptonshire here yesterday.
Coming out of a weekend when they won both their encounters, Bears successfully defended 170 at Wantage Road, to skip to the top of the North Group on six points with three wins in four outings.
Opting for first knock, Bears got half-centuries from the in-form Sam Hain (69 not out) and Pieter Malan (62) to reach 170 for three off their 20 overs.
Ed Pollock fell to the very first ball of the contest and Will Rhodes followed for 13 at 34 for two in the sixth over but Hain and Malan combined in a 90-run stand to rebuild the innings.
Hain struck seven fours and a six off 42 balls while Malan belted four fours and three sixes in a 45-ball knock before perishing in the 14th over.
Brathwaite then chipped in with a muted run-a-ball unbeaten 19, providing support for Hain in an unbroken 46-run, fourth wicket stand.
In reply, the hosts slumped to 115 all out in the penultimate over with Brathwaite using his skillful medium pace to claim two for 19 from 2.5 overs.
However, it was left-arm spinner Jake Lintott with four for 20 who wrecked the innings, as only Ricardo Vasconcelos (36) and Nathan Buck (26) passed 20.
Brathwaite played a role in the dismissal of both openers. He snared an easy catch at extra cover to dismiss captain Adam Rossington without scoring off the fifth delivery of the innings from left-arm spinner Danny Briggs.
And he returned in the fourth over to account for the other opener Richard Levi for ten, holing out to Hain at deep mid-wicket at 23 for two.
Brathwaite took the final wicket to seal victory for Bears when last man Ben Sanderson scooped a full length delivery to Rhodes running back at mid-off.
A former West Indies T20 captain, Brathwaite has so far taken seven wickets from four games at an average of 14 and an economy rate of 7.3.
He has not featured for West Indies in the last two years.
