Clinical Yorkshire CCC finally break duck on T20 opening night
ARE you sitting comfortably?
More importantly, are you sitting down?
Yorkshire won a game of cricket.
I repeat, Yorkshire won a game of cricket.
This remarkable development occurred at Headingley on Thursday night in the opening match in the Vitality Blast.
After dismissing Worcestershire for 101 with 4.2 overs of their innings unused, Dan Moriarty returning a T20 career-best 4-25 and only Ethan Brookes (42) and Gareth Roderick (25) reaching double figures, Yorkshire won by eight wickets with 50 balls remaining, Adam Lyth finishing unbeaten on 55.
It was their first victory of the season at the eighth attempt, following a winless start in the opening half of the County Championship campaign.
The relief among the players and coaches and supporters was palpable, and mascot Vinny the Viking danced a jig of delight; there have not been too many easier wins in Yorkshire’s T20 history.
In overcast conditions before a crowd of 8,231, who watched a clinical performance by the hosts in all departments, Worcestershire won the toss and chose to bat.
Dom Leech struck with the fourth ball of the game from the Kirkstall Lane end, bowling Brett D’Oliveira as he tried to ramp, then Donovan Ferreira was straight into the action on his Yorkshire debut, whipping off the bails when Matthew Waite, once of this parish, charged Moriarty and was stumped as the visitors slipped to 10-2 just 10 balls in.
Their plight deepened when Josh Cobb was well caught at deep mid-wicket by Matty Revis off Morarity’s left-arm spin in the fourth over, the all-rounder judging a steepling opportunity in front of the East Stand, before the dangerous Adam Hose clipped Leech to Adam Lyth at mid-wicket to leave Worcestershire 21-4 in the fifth.
After limping to 33-4 at the end of the six-over powerplay, Worcestershire lost their fifth wicket to the first delivery of the next over, Moriarty switching from The Howard Stand end to have Tom Taylor caught behind as he attempted to cut.
In his next and final over of the evening, Moriarty claimed his fourth when Nathan Smith was bowled making room to play him through the offside to leave the scoreboard a sorry 49-6.
The innings was in danger of becoming a total non-event but Ethan Brookes and Gareth Roderick at least afforded a semblance of respectability with a seventh-wicket partnership of 43.
Both fell in the space of five balls to Dom Bess in the 14th over, Dawid Malan the catcher at cover on both occasions as Yorkshire ruthlessly turned the screw.
On a night when the hosts fielded three specialist spinners, Jafer Chohan, the 21-year-old leggie, captured the ninth wicket when Hayden Walsh picked out Joe Root at long-on in front of the dug-out.
Ed Pollock was last out when Adam Finch pushed Bess into the leg-side, Shan Masood swooping to hurl down the stumps as the batsmen tried to sneak a quick single.
A paltry target was hardly likely to detain and inconvenience a powerful Yorkshire top-order, and so it proved.
Lyth and Malan added 43 for the first wicket inside five overs, Malan stroking 25 before slicing Finch to short third-man.
Yorkshire were 51-1 at the end of the powerplay and had not added to their score when Masood lofted spinner Cobb into the hands of long-on.
That brought Root to the crease and he shared an unbroken partnership of 53 with Lyth to lead Yorkshire home, Lyth’s 55 coming from 33 balls with nine fours and Root contributing a run-a-ball 13.