Wood for 129 for the first wicket, Somerset Sabres still lost the match at Taunton. Smith's 105 helped Somerset set a target of 190, but none of the bowlers conceded less than seven an over to Northamptonshire Steelbacks' batting. Simon Francis was the worst, ending with 57 conceded runs in four overs, while Riki Wessels hit 49 not out with four sixes off 22 balls, and the Sabres had to see that Northamptonshire won with an over to spare. (Cricinfo scorecard) Northamptonshire v Worcestershire (5 July) Match abandoned; Northamptonshire (1pt), Worcestershire (1pt) No play was possible at The County Ground, Northampton due to rain, and the hosts Northamptonshire Steelbacks qualified for the quarter-finals thanks to the no-result. (Cricinfo scorecard) Warwickshire v Northamptonshire (6 July) Warwickshire (2pts) beat Northamptonshire (0pts) by 41 runs Warwickshire Bears were lifted to a total of 205 for 2 by hitting eight sixes at Edgbaston, Ian Bell carrying his side with 66 not out off just 38 balls. Nick Knight also made 61 as Northamptonshire Steelbacks failed to make any impact with the ball. The Northamptonshire reply was stifled by some reasonably economical bowling, with no regular bowler conceding more than eight an over, and good fielding which yielded one run out and stopped the boundaries. Warwickshire seamer Jamie Anyon took three for 34, for his second successive match with a three-wicket haul, while Usman Afzaal became top scorer with a run-a-ball 43. Ben Phillips hit 41 not out from number four to complement his bowling figures of two for 43. In the end, Northamptonshire made 164 for 6, but still went through – along with Warwickshire, who finished second in their group thanks to their win over Somerset two days earlier. (Cricinfo scorecard) Essex v Northamptonshire (8 July) Essex (4pts) beat Northamptonshire (0pts) by five wickets Essex Eagles recorded their seventh win in eight attempts in the National League, cementing their place at the top. After Northamptonshire Steelbacks won the toss and batted at Chelmsford, three run-outs and Grant Flower's bowling, which yielded three for 21, saw them go from 185 for 5 to 200 all out. Essex's reply was secured by a healthy 90 not out from Flower after Essex had struggled initially, being 95 for 4. 29 not out from Dutch-South African Ryan ten Doeschate sent them past the target with ten balls to spare. (Cricinfo scorecard) Essex v Northamptonshire (10–13 July) Essex