Richard Levi contributed 24 to an opening stand of 78 as Northants steamrollered Sussex in the T20 Blast quarter-final in Brighton.
He was then out lbw in the eighth over, the fifth time his leg has got in the way in this competition; more than anyone else. But at least he can boast about being part of a record performance by David Willey, who turned the match into a rout, striking the fastest century of the season in the NatWest Blast – and the eighth fastest of all time – to secure victory by seven wickets with four overs to spare.
Willey reached his hundred in 40 balls, hammering 10 sixes and seven fours. Levi’s contribution came off 19 balls, with two sixes in one over, from Chris Liddle, and two fours before falling to legspinner Will Beer.
Willey’s record-breaking hundred surpassed Brendon McCullum’s 42-ball effort for Birmingham Bears against Derbyshire at Edgbaston earlier this season.
Willey launched his onslaught in the third over when he took 18 off England teammate Chris Jordan and then crowned his performance with 34 from an over delivered by Mike Yardy:, five sixes and a flat leg-side four.
Levi’s 24 moves him to 10th on the run-scoring list with 406 from 14 innings, with a top score of 67 which helped Northants sneak into the play-offs. He averages 31.23 with a strike rate of 145.
Earlier, Rory Kleinveldt had taken 2-28 off his four overs to help hold Sussex to 167.
