Sussex Sharks were beaten by Northamptonshire Steelbacks tonight as England all-rounder David Willey blasted the fastest hundred in the format by an English batsman, in the NatWest T20 Blast quarter-final.
The left-handed all-rounder hit 10 sixes and seven fours in a 40-ball century that was also the second fastest in England in T20.
Willey’s sensational hitting ensured the Steelbacks made light work of a target of 166, reaching it with four overs and seven wickets in hand after they had restricted the Sharks to 165 for 7.
The 25-year-old lost opening partner Richard Levi in the eighth over when Levi was leg-before to the first ball from leg-spinner Will Beer after they had put on 78.
A 10th six from Willey took him to his first format hundred and he departed to a standing ovation from a full-house crowd of almost 6,000 after he was caught by George Bailey at wide mid-on off the next ball.
Ben Duckett became Beer’s second victim in the 14th over but by then the 2013 winners heading for victory, which they sealed when skipper Alex Wakeley reverse-swept Beer for a boundary.
At one stage, Sussex looked on course for a total of 200 plus after being put into bat on a slow pitch.
Willey had removed Luke Wright, who had scored 564 runs in the competition without scoring but Chris Nash and Mahela Jayawardena both made half-centuries as Sussex reached 92 for 1 in the 10th over.
The turning point came when Josh Cobb took a sensational one-handed diving catch running around the fine-leg boundary to remove Jayawardena for 50 from 32 balls, which included a six and nine fours.
Nash was LBW in the 13th over for 53, hitting across the line at Rory Kleinveldt who then picked up Craig Cachopa for 13.
It was never going to be enough once Willey, targeting the short square boundary on the pavilion side and with a strong breeze at his back, got into his stride.
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