Steelbacks put to sword

Rob Newton: Scored 12 before being caught and bowled by Muttiah Muralitharan

Hamish Marshall: Was out first ball but still saw his side win to make quarter-finals

Gloucestershire booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Friends Life t20 with a rain-affected eight-wicket win over Northamptonshire.

In their first match since the departure of head coach David Capel, the Steelbacks were reduced to 31 for four before rain curtailed their innings, with Ian Saxelby taking two for six.

The Gladiators were given a revised target of 23 from five overs and, unsurprisingly, this did not prove difficult as they took just 14 balls to reach it.

It allowed them to overtake Warwickshire in the group standings after their defeat to Glamorgan to qualify alongside Somerset and Worcestershire, while the result meant Northamptonshire finished bottom with a solitary win.

Reduced

After losing the toss, the hosts were reduced to 14 for three when the players were then taken off for rain at the end of the fifth over, following the departures of skipper Alex Wakely (two), David Willey (five) and Cameron White (four).

Play resumed 45 minutes later with no overs lost but Rob Newton soon departed for 12 when he was caught and bowled by Muttiah Muralitharan before rain forced the players off again and curtailed the hosts' foundering innings.

Chasing just 23 from the minimum five overs, Gloucestershire lost skipper Hamish Marshall from the first ball when he was trapped lbw by Willey.

Willey then ran out Australia batsman Ed Cowan from point after an aborted single off David Burton in the second over but the winning run came with the second ball of the third over via a leg bye from the thigh of Ian Cockbain off the bowling of Lee Daggett.

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