Cliff and Bennison shine in defeat for Yorkshire CCC
BEN CLIFF became the leading wicket-taker in this year’s One-Day Cup and Will Bennison achieved his maiden first-team fifty but there endeth the good news for Yorkshire at Lord’s, the cathedral of cricket.
On this first Sunday in August, they lost by 35 runs to Middlesex, who replaced them on net run-rate at the top of Group B.
Yorkshire, now second, remain well-placed to secure the top-three finish that would guarantee progress to the knockout stages.
They have two matches left, against Derbyshire at Scarborough on Friday and then Essex at Chelmsford on Tuesday week, neither of whom have pulled up trees in the tournament to date.
Yorkshire, who did pull them up en route to four successive wins going into this game, played well in patches but not well enough, this proving to be a stern test of their qualities.
After a poor start, which saw Middlesex motor to 74-0 inside 11 overs after winning the toss, they hit back well to reduce them to 77-3 and then 121-5 just before the halfway stage.
Jack Nelson, an 18-year-old playing just his second first-team game, which perhaps explained the lack of a name or number on his back, hit 76 from No 6 in a decisive intervention, his 69-ball innings containing 10 fours and a six.
Cliff was the pick of the bowlers with 4-39 from eight overs - including the first three wickets that stunted the home side’s progress - and was well supported by George Hill, who took 3-40 from nine.
Apart from Bennison, the 19-year-old right-hander whose performance should do him the power of good, Yorkshire’s run-chase was not quite the ticket, well though Dom Bess played for a consolation 59 from 75 balls and James Wharton for 40 from 62, left-arm spinner Zafar Gohar doing much of the damage with 4-24.
On a lovely summer’s day, with the cloud high and the breeze refreshing, Middlesex made hay in the morning sunshine.
Josh de Caires, the 24-year-old former Leeds-Bradford all-rounder, injected much of the impetus, building on his maiden professional hundred against Worcestershire two days earlier - 130 in defeat to Worcestershire, which ended Middlesex’s perfect start after three wins from three.
De Caires paid little respect to seamer Jack White, who was clubbed for four boundaries in the day’s third over - through mid-off, mid-wicket, the covers and mid-on. Not many do that to Mr White.
At the other end, Nathan Fernandes got off the mark with a six over mid-wicket off Hill to the short Mound Stand side, the ball nonchalantly caught by a man in the crowd.
White was withdrawn after three overs for 25, then briefly changed ends to no avail as Yorkshire’s bowlers were put under pressure.
Cliff, the 23-year-old who now has 15 wickets in the tournament in five outings, dragged them back into it, though, in a fine spell from the Pavilion end. De Caires played on as he tried to whip to leg, ending a good innings of 42 from 34 balls with nine fours.
Fernandes was held at point off a delivery that slanted across him, then Aaryan Sawant bowled through the gate by a ball that came back down the slope.
When White hit back to have Ben Geddes caught behind and Joe Cracknell taken at deep backward-square, Middlesex had squandered their earlier platform.
Nelson, however was a thorn in Yorkshire’s side. The teenager used his feet well to attack the spinners, coming down the track to strike Kuldeep Yadav and Bess for offside boundaries, and, like all youngsters now, was inventive of stroke.
He reached his fifty from 55 balls with seven fours and received staunch support from Gohar during a sixth-wicket stand of 94 from 100 balls, ended when Gohar holed out on the long-off boundary off Yadav.
Hill trapped Toby Roland-Jones and then had Nelson caught at short-third, the youngster getting a little too funky with an attempted reverse-hit. Cliff returned to bowl Noah Cornwell as he made room to hit to leg but was denied the chance of a five-fer when Hill yorked last man Naavya Sharma.
Yorkshire fell to 15-2, Adam Lyth caught behind seemingly off his back leg and Will Luxton bowled by one that kept low. Bennison and Wharton added 85 before the loss of three wickets in six balls damaged the chase.
Wharton was drawn out of his ground and stumped off Gohar, who ripped one back to bowl Sam Whiteman for a golden duck. Hill went lbw to Cornwall, and Yorkshire slipped to 106-6 when Fin Bean played back to Gohar and was caught behind.
Bennison pulled Cornwell for six to reach a 70-ball half-century then also played back to Gohar with fatal results. Yadav got a leading edge to mid-off off Cornwell, who then bowled Cliff, but Bess kept Yorkshire just about in it.
The match finished when he pulled to young Nelson on the mid-wicket boundary, Yorkshire all out for 211.