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Earlier this season I was at Trent Bridge when the ample frame of Rory Kleinveldt sidled to the crease with his side 206 for 5 in response to Notts 445 in 50 overs of freewheeling, record-breaking carnage.The deep-blue afternoon sky had receded behind the floodlights, and with the sun firmly past the yardarm, a raucous crowd grew giddily sozzled at the home teams Test-ground, East Midlands superiority. And then Kleinveldt - which in Afrikaans means small field - started to plonk the ball into the stands with brutal power and regularity.At one stage, a Johannesburg looked decidedly on, but alas Kleinveldt, batting with a runner, ran out of steam, having bludgeoned - there is no other word for it - 128 from 63 balls with nine sixes, and Northants finished 425 all out with ten balls remaining, having smitten 17 maximums in their innings.Given that a teams capacity to clear the ropes strongly predicts their prospects in T20 - this, more than exposure to international T20 leagues, is the cornerstone of West Indies success - it should perhaps have come as scant surprise that Northants won this years T20 Blast, having reached the final last year and having won it in 2013.They give it a spank. If you add the three T20 successes of Leicestershire, then the two counties considered the most vulnerable to the periodically mooted reduction in first-class clubs have bagged it five of 14 times, heartening for those who like to see romance trump finance.As a Staffordshire lad, I always had a soft spot for Northamptonshire, who had availed themselves of a steady stream of players from the Potteries - under Mike Turners astutely thrifty chairmanship in the seventies they also mined another Minor County, pre-first-class Durham - including stalwarts from Brian Crump to Jason Brown, as well as four England players: David Steele, Rob Bailey, Paul Taylor and Jeremy Snape. Taylor had been signed on the back of a NatWest Trophy first-round match in which his 12 wicketless overs had disappeared for 92 runs. Sometimes you have to see through the numbers, and Taylor ended up taking over 500 first-class wickets for the Cobblers.In fact, Staffordshire played Northants in back-to-back seasons, both times receiving a thorough shellacking (the pitilessness of which might be explained by Northants having been turned over by Staffordshires neighbours, Cheshire, in 1988, the year after they had been to both Lords finals). Jon Addison, who joined my club as pro in 1994, used to tell a story of one of those games, when he was due in at No. 3 as Staffs attempted to chase down Northants mammoth 360 for 2 off 60 overs.On a chilly day, Curtly Ambrose ambled in for the first ball, which came down at charity game pace. Next ball, Staffs schoolteacher opener Steve Dean gave him the charge, flat-batting a four over extra cover. Cue double teapot, long stare, and the removal of several jumpers. The third ball scorched through. Another was top-edged over the keepers head. Eventually, Dean gloved a catch to slip, and as Addo entered he muttered, Thanks a f***** lot, Deany.Not long after, having himself been dismissed, Addo asked why Dean had run at the worlds premier fast bowler. Well, Dean replied, I figured I was only going to play against him once, so I wanted to see what it was like when he was bowling properly.Northants themselves started life as a Minor County, winning two championships and sharing two more across ten seasons before accession to the County Championship in 1905, a competition they - along with Somerset and Gloucestershire - are yet to win. Given the way English domestic four-day cricket has settled into a semi-stable hierarchy, with counties based at Test venues at the top, and given these clubs seductive pull for the most talented and ambitious red-ball players in Division Two, it is hard to imagine Northants ever winning it. So clearly a judicious move to focus on the white-ball game. And in that they are no minnows at all. Indeed, in the 20 years between September 1, 1976 and August 31, 1996, no team reached more Lords finals than Northamptonshire. They made the short journey down the M1 a total of ten times: a quarter of all finals. Only Lancashire, with nine, made more than seven trips to Lords over that period; Yorkshire, who beat Northants in a 1987 thriller on fewer wickets lost, made just one. Another game was lost with scores level - to Derbyshire in 1981, which finished with Geoff Miller (who could well have been Mankaded in another era) diving face first at the stumps - while three were won: against Lancashire in 76, with Bishan Bedi, Mushtaq Mohammad and Sarfraz Nawaz in the team, Essex in 1980, and Leicestershire in 92.Seeing Allan Lamb, squat and powerful, scuttling out through the famous old gate unfailingly sent a crackle of anticipation around Lords. There was Wayne Larkins, too, a maverick who could, when the mood took him, destroy the very best bowling - and there was a lot of that about in the late 1980s. The cast also included internationals in Peter Willey, Geoff Cook, Nick Cook, Neil Mallender, David Capel and Kevin Curran; the overseas players, Eldine Baptiste, Winston Davis and Roger Harper; and lower-key key contributors in Tony Penberthy, Alan Walker, Alan Fordham, Richard Williams and current coach David Ripley.In the aftermath of the recent success, Northants skipper Alex Wakeley spoke eloquently about how the countys constraints had actually benefited them. The skeleton staff meant there was little anxiety over being dropped, which in turn bred adventurous cricket, while the budgetary restrictions (Nick Hoult reported for the Telegraph that the chairman was declining lunch on match days to save ￡25, while caterers were helping ground staff with covers, and players reporting in for half-day training on a PCA day had to buy sandwiches from the petrol station over the road) have also helped cultivate a Dunkirk spirit.Its perhaps little surprise that Steele, a man not predominantly famous for his fiscal extravagance, was so well loved at Wantage Road. I interviewed Steeley a couple of years back, just prior to the 2012 BBC Sports Personality of the Year award, and not too far into our chat, his eye well in, he enquired what I was going to do for him. Quid pro quo, he said, in a sort of slow, low, velvety growl. Answering his own question, he suggested I send him a case of wine, doubtless assuming things were as they had been in his 1970s heyday, when journalists from the nationals may well have had an expense account to attend to such niceties. Im freelance, I told him plaintively, and that would seriously eat into my fee. Perhaps through partial deafness, perhaps through plain doggedness, he failed to pick up the implications, so I caved in and asked what his tipple was. Before I could run through a few grape varieties, he flashed back with trademark assurance: White. Dry? Sweet…? Any type of white, he affirmed, as though my question were unnecessarily fancy.As for Steeley, so for the Steelbacks: they, too, seem to prefer white to red these days. Buy Nike Shoes China . Scott won the Australian PGA last week in his first event in Australia since winning the U.S. Masters in April. American Matt Kuchar, ahead by two strokes with four to play and even with Scott with one to go, double-bogeyed the 18th after taking two shots to get out of a bunker. Nike Shoes Outlet China .ca. Hey Kerry, big fan of yours, just finished reading your book. I think that we all saw the Canucks/Flames line brawl just after puck drop. It was obvious that something was about to happen, even to the referees because the fourth lines were on to start. http://www.chinashoesnike.com/ . Those lessons were more than enough to overwhelm the Utah Jazz. Lou Williams scored 25 points and the Hawks continued their offensive upswing as they rolled to an easy 118-85 victory over the Jazz on Friday night, winning their third straight and for the fourth time in five games. Nike Shoes Cheap China . -- Tony Stewart is 20 pounds lighter and has a titanium rod in his surgically repaired right leg. Nike Shoes China . A forerunning sled crashed into the worker Thursday at the Sanki Sliding Center. The unidentified worker broke both legs and was airlifted to a nearby hospital. NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee Titans head into the second half of the season believing theyre right in the playoff mix now that theyve already exceeded their win total from last year.For Gus Bradley and the Jacksonville Jaguars, the future is much less certain.Marcus Mariota threw two touchdown passes and DeMarco Murray rushed for 123 yards and a touchdown Thursday night as the Titans breezed to a 36-22 victory over the Jaguars . The Titans led 27-0 at halftime and scored on six straight possessions during one stretch.The Titans are 4-4 at the halfway point of the season, a major step forward for a franchise that went 2-14 in 2014 and 3-13 last year. Theyve won three of their last four and have a chance to play meaningful games down the stretch if they maintain this momentum.Were just sick and tired of losing, man, Titans left tackle Taylor Lewan said. Sick and tired of being a pushover in this division. I think weve had some games that were close and (we) shouldnt even be .500. We should be over .500.The Jaguars arent feeling nearly as good about themselves.A poor performance in a prime-time showcase will turn up the heat on Jaguars coach Gus Bradley, who is in his fourth season and owns a 14-41 record . The Jaguars (2-5) had to score two touchdowns in the last 3 1/2 minutes just to make the final margin respectable.The first half was inexcusable, Bradley said. We didnt come out to play. I dont know what the answer is. Do we play with some anxiety? Yeah, I can say I felt like we pressed too much, but some of the plays that werent being made had nothing to do with anxiety.I dont know if its focus. We have a high standard, and we didnt meet that standard.Here are some things to know about the Jaguars and Titans:MURRAY, HENRY FORMING DYNAMIC DUO: The Titans acquired Murray and drafted 2015 Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry because they believed a physical running attack could help them turn things around. Those moves are paying off so far. Murray has rushed for 756 yards and already has exceeded the total from his disappointing 2015 seeason in Philadelphia.dddddddddddd Henry rushed for 60 yards against the Jaguars and scored his first touchdown. Murray hurt a toe late in the first half but returned to the game.MARIOTA AT HOME: The Titans quarterback had the best home performance of his career. Mariota had been just 2-8 at home since Tennessee drafted him No. 2 overall out of Oregon in 2015, and he had at least one turnover in each home game this season until Thursday night. Mariota was credited for a fumble on the opening drive for a 12-yard loss, but left guard Brian Schwenke recovered the ball. Mariotas 148.1 passer rating was the second-highest of his career.MARIOTA LENDS HELPING HAND: Mariota helped the Titans even when he wasnt throwing or carrying the ball. On Murrays 14-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, Mariota attempted a downfield block to help clear the path to the end zone.Hes a team-first guy, Murray said. He doesnt care about his stats or anything really. Obviously, he doesnt care about his body either, but weve got to talk about that. It was a huge play by him. Hes our leader and to see him do that, its pretty special.Mariota downplayed his role in Murrays touchdown. He really did all the work, Mariota said. I just kind of got in the way.JAGUARS STRUGGLING TO RUN: The Jaguars came in ranked 30th in the NFL running the ball, and their struggles continued Thursday as they ran only 11 times for 48 yards.Bortles ended up rushing for a team-high 22 yards. Chris Ivory had four carries for just 6 yards, and T.J. Yeldon ran three times for 20 yards.BORTLES BOUNCES BACK (OR DOES HE?): Bradley said earlier this week that he firmly, firmly believes in his third-year quarterback. Bortles responded by throwing for 337 yards with three touchdowns, but most of those yards came with the Titans playing prevent defense.In the first half, Bortles was just 8 of 16 for 64 yards.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '