“I kept trying to guess what the bowlers would do so I could stay one step ahead of them and give myself the chance to hit boundaries.”
WATCH: Video interview with Calum MacLeod
He drove three successive balls from Willey through or over the covers, then began to step across his stumps and flip to fine leg as Stone’s second over yielded five fours.
There were 11 fours in MacLeod’s half-century and even Afridi’s leg breaks held no fears for him as as he expertly bisected backward point and deep gully for another boundary.
But when another leg-spinner, ex-Leicestershire player Josh Cobb, came on for the ninth over MacLeod spooned one round the corner and was brilliantly caught by Kleinveldt.
Mustard had been reduced to the role of sleeping partner, but with the score on 92 at the halfway stage he drove Cobb for a straight six.
He went to his 50 off 34 balls by reverse-sweeping left-arm spinner Graeme White neatly between two men posted to stop the shot, but then drove a catch to long-off to give Cobb a second wicket.
Paul Collingwood was dropped twice in making 27, including his final scoring shot, which flew for six through Stone’s hands on the mid-wicket boundary.
That denied Cobb a third wicket, but Willey and Afridi picked up two each as they stifled the tail-end of the innings.
Richard Levi struck the only telling blows for Northants as Willey sliced Chris Rushworth to backward point, Cobb drove the same bowler to mid-off and Usman Arshad nipped one back to bowl Alex Wakeley.
Levi fell for 26 when he tried to pull Arshad and was bowled. Finally, Adam Rossington drove Collingwood to deep cover just before the rain arrived.