T20 Blast round-up: Northants maintain perfect record

T20 Blast round-up: Northants maintain perfect recordImage source, ShutterstockImage caption, David Willey scored his second consecutive half-century for Northamptonshire SteelbacksByMatthew CresswellBBC Sport EnglandPublished11 minutes agoNorthamptonshire Steelbacks maintained their perfect record in the T20 Blast by successfully chasing down a target of 185 to beat Gloucestershire at Bristol by eight wickets and make it an incredible eight wins from eight matches in the competition.Half-centuries by David Willey (73) and Australia opener Nathan McSweeney (72 not out) helped the visitors reach their target with 16 balls to spare, to extend their lead at the top of the Central and West Group over second-placed Gloucestershire and effectively secure a home quarter-final in the knockout stages.Elsewhere, Lancashire Lightning picked up a third consecutive T20 Blast win in a row with a narrow four-run victory at Derbyshire Falcons as their new signing, Pakistan all-rounder Shadab Khan, fired a half-century and took three wickets.A wonderful third-wicket stand of 105 between Surrey's Josh Philippe and captain Ollie Pope helped the Brown Caps to a seven-run win in a run-fest at Essex.And in cross-pool play, Warwickshire Bears continued their white-ball improvement, tasting victory over Sussex Sharks.Today's scorecardsT20 Blast tablesWilley and McSweeney power Northants to another winImage source, ShutterstockImage caption, Nathan McSweeney reached his half-century for Northampton off just 27 deliveriesA wonderful second-wicket partnership of 99 between Northamptonshire's Willey and McSweeney helped the Steelbacks cruise past Gloucestershire.After winning the toss and deciding to bat, Gloucestershire made a decent start to their innings and were 44-1 at the end of the powerplay.The 38-year-old Dawid Malan - finally making his debut for Gloucestershire after signing in March - fired an unbeaten 91, which included six fours and four sixes as the hosts put on w...