Lancashire beat Northamptonshire by 13 runs in the final of English T20 Blast

Sent into bat, Lancashire made 166 for seven in their 20 overs and won the game by 13 runs.

Australia all-rounder James Faulkner capped an eventful couple of months by helping Lancashire to a 13-run win over Northamptonshire in the final of English domestic cricket’s Twenty20 Blast tournament at Edgbaston on Saturday. Faulkner, man-of-the-match in Australia’s World Cup final win over New Zealand in Melbourne in March, was fined 10,000 British Pounds (15,650 Dollars, 14,350 Euros) and banned from driving for two years by an English court on August 5 after being found to be nearly three times over the legal alcohol limit when his car was involved in a minor collision with the back of another vehicle in Manchester.

Prior to that drink-drive punishment, Cricket Australia temporarily banned Faulkner for “conduct that is unbecoming of a representative”, ruling him out of both last week’s one-day international against Ireland in Dublin and the upcoming white-ball matches against England, starting with Monday’s Twenty20 in Cardiff.

But the focus was back on the 25-year-old Faulkner’s cricket on Saturday as Lancashire, last season’s beaten finalists, ended a 16-year wait for a limited overs trophy. The Tasmanian took two for 25, including both Northamptonshire openers David Willey and Richard Levi, and afterwards Lancashire coach Ashley Giles told Sky Sports, “[Faulkner has] a huge impact on the whole team. He’s been a pleasure to have around. His skills are undoubted and he loves these big occasions — he just steps up and gets on with it,” the former England left-arm spinner added.

Sent into bat, Lancashire made 166 for seven in their 20 overs, a total built on a 77-run opening stand between South Africa’s Ashwell Prince (43) and Alex Davies (47).

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