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. Walter Payton Jersey . 10 Texas A&Ms offence dominated as usual against SMU. Jim McMahon Jersey .J. Jefferson has been charged with assaulting his girlfriend. http://www.cheapbearsjerseyssale.com/?tag=kyle-fuller-jersey-sale .Y. -- Leading 3-0 with only 11:25 left, the Colorado Avalanche committed a seemingly meaningless penalty to give the New York Islanders a power play. Benny Cunningham Jersey . 8 Kansas to a 64-63 win over Texas Tech on Tuesday night. The freshman from Vaughan, Ont. Daniel Brown Jersey . James, who turned 29 on Monday, injured his groin Friday during the Heats overtime loss at Sacramento. He sat out the following game, a 108-107 win Saturday in Portland, before coming back to help send the Nuggets to their seventh consecutive loss. SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Notre Dame hit fast and hard and spread the wealth Wednesday night on offense.V.J. Beachem and Bonzie Colson each scored 16 points to lead Notre Dame to a 92-49 win over Seattle University in the second round of the Legends Classic.Junior point guard Matt Farrell chipped in a career-high 13 points for the Irish (2-0), who took control early with a 15-2 run and led by 31 at halftime.We were very ready to go, said Notre Dame coach Mike Brey. We shot it great because we passed it even better than we shot it.Steve Vasturia also finished with 13 points as six Irish players scored in double digits, and they finished with 23 assists.That just shows were sharing the ball and playing together, Beachem said. Thats our number one key to success, offensively.After hitting just 3 of 16 3-point tries in their opening win over Bryant, the Irish knocked down 10 in the first half alone.Matej Kavas scored 11 to pace Seattle (1-2). Redhawks leading scorer Brendan Westendorf, who came in averaging 19.5 points, did not score after missing all eight of his field-goal attempts, including seven from 3-point range.He wasnt the only Redhawk who struggled as Seattle shot just 29 percent while committing 21 turnovers.Bottom line is, we were manhandled, said Seattle coach Cameron Dollar. We didnt have the competitive spirit we normally have.After being outrebounded by Bryant last Saturday, Notre Dame edged Seattle on the boards, 40-33, with Colsons eight leading the way.POINT THREATAfter looking to pass first rrather shoot in Notre Dames first game, Farrell fired away from deep and hit three 3-pointers, while still managing to dish out four assists.dddddddddddd.I love getting other people involved, thats something Ive always done, but if I get an open shot, Ive got to take it, Farrell said. Thats something the coaching staffs been on me a lot. They want me to be more aggressive.HE SAID ITBrey: One of the officials grabbed me at the end and said, `Man, youve got a great vibe. Your guys really like playing together. And thats quite a compliment. You can imagine how many different teams and vibes hes around in heated atmospheres, and I let our guys know that.BIG PICTURESeattle: The Redhawks, who play all five of their Legends Classic contests on the road, faced Notre Dame for the first time. After playing Colorado tough in a 12-point loss in Boulder last week, this one got away from the Redhawks, who trailed by 20 with 6:25 still to play in the first half.Notre Dame: Unselfish offense by the Irish continued to impress Wednesday night, as the Irish are averaging 90.5 points after two games.UP NEXTSeattle: Meets Louisiana-Monroe on Monday in the Legends Classic at Eastern Washington University in Cheney, Washington.Notre Dame: Host to Loyola (Maryland) on Friday, its third straight home game to open the season before facing Colorado in the Legends Classic at Barclays Center in Brooklyn Cheap Adidas Hockey Jerseys Wholesale College Jerseys Cheap Nike Basketball Jerseys Cheap Football Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap Baseball Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap Jerseys From China Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Nike NBA Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Soccer Jerseys China Cheap NCAA Jerseys China Stitched NFL Jerseys Cheap Custom Jerseys China Cheap Basketball Jerseys Authentic NFL Jerseys China Cheap College Jerseys Wholesale Football Jerseys ' ' '