Wayne Madsen struck an unbeaten 51 as Derbyshire beat Northants Steelbacks by nine wickets in the final Vitality Blast home game of the season.
Ravi Rampaul became the first Derbyshire player to claim 18 Twenty20 wickets in a campaign, while Alex Hughes took 3-13 as the Falcons dismissed Northants for 100.
Madsen and Billy Godleman (28 not out) put on a 67-run partnership to confirm the victory, Derbyshire fifth of this year’s Vitality Blast.
After seeing 32 runs hit from the first three overs of the match by Richard Levi (18) and Adam Rossington (13), Fynn Hudson-Prentice produced the best possible response by bowling a double-wicket maiden, in which he removed both openers.
From their, the visitors struggled to gain momentum, and Rampaul’s run out of Josh Cobb with a direct hit only strengthened the Falcons’ position.
Alex Hughes’s four overs went for just 13 runs, with the all-rounder claiming the wickets of Alex Wakely (13), Dwaine Pretorius (1) and White (0).
Northants didn’t reach three-figures until the 18th over, but their joy was short lived as Rampaul struck twice to reach 18 wickets in the competition, the most by any Derbyshire bowler during a T20 campaign.
Having been set 101 to win, Derbyshire’s opening pairing of Luis Reece and Billy Godleman made a strong start to the innnings. the duo scored 34 in the first six overs before the former was trapped lbw by Rob Keogh for 21.
Madsen continued in the same manner, scoring steadily as the Falcons moved closer to the winning total, with Godleman also keeping the scoreboard ticking over.
With just two runs needed to win, Madsen arrived at his half-century. His 50 came in 41 balls and included seven fours, before he confirmed the win with 17 balls to spare.
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