MATTHEW CASSAR, born in Australia but English qualified, laid the foundations for Derbyshire's first AXA League win since May with a polished and powerful 134 from 108 balls on a pitch he would surely like to carry around with him.
The 25-year-old joined forces with Phillip de Freitas, who contributed a brutal 69 including five sixes and six fours off 42 deliveries, to build a formidable total and Northants fell comfortably short despite Tony Penberthy's gallant 71.
Choosing to bat first on the same strip used for the Championship contest between the sides which ended on Friday and featured two resilient innings from Cassar, Derbyshire recovered strongly from the early loss of Kim Barnett, edging David Follett behind, and Robin Weston, forced to retire after a blow on the left hand from Franklyn Rose.
Cassar and Michael Slater posted 92 in 16 overs but the innings seemed to move up at least two gears with the arrival of de Freitas. Still a ferocious striker of the ball, he inflicted severe damage on Graeme Swann's figures, hitting 22 off four balls from the young spinner with three sixes which threatened to knock a freshly-painted fitting or two off the new Indoor Cricket Centre.
With a previous best of only 33 in the competition, Cassar was soon in uncharted territory. His first 50 came from 49 balls and his second from 43 as he drove crisply and picked the gaps with a sharp eye.
He finally holed out to long off in the final over two runs short of the highest Sunday League innings at Wantage Road, Paul Johnson's unbeaten 136 for Nottinghamshire in 1995.
It was a chastening experience for Northants who, having won three and tied one of the last four matches, felt the season was looking up. With an impressive depth of batting they might still have mounted a serious challenge but for the loss of Mal Loye for four, flicking a leg side catch to the wicket keeper.
Penberthy's 70-ball innings, together with robust efforts from Kevin Curran and the enigmatic David Sales, offered some hope of a successful assault although the requirement was a daunting 102 going into the final 10 overs. That had been reduced by only 20 when Penberthy departed, and the task proved too much for the remainder.