Disjointed batting has Yorkshire hanging on to fading T20 hopes

Yorkshire lost a game of cricket.

They played well in patches.

They played poorly in patches.

The poor periods narrowly outweighed the good periods.

The day ended with much head-scratching and talk of what might have been.

On reflection, as Nottinghamshire won by six wickets with 11 balls to spare, this was a tale of what should have been.

Yorkshire should have beaten the league leaders but blew their chance with a disjointed batting display.

There was nothing particularly wrong about their progress to 50-2 in the six overs of power play after they opted to bat beneath sunwashed skies.

Both those wickets had an air of misfortune: Joe Sayers was brilliantly caught by a diving Riki Wessels at cover off Luke Fletcher in the second over after connecting with a sweet drive, and Adam Lyth was run-out after Andrew Gale patted a ball from Darren Pattinson back down the pitch, the bowler pirouetting in an eye-blink to hurl down the stumps at the non-striker’s end.

And there was certainly nothing wrong about Yorkshire’s progress during the last five overs from which 58 runs materialised, the majority from the dashing blade of Jonny Bairstow, who blazed an unbeaten 41 from 26 balls.

The problem was the 36 runs accrued between overs six and 14, which was simply not sufficient on the same run-filled pitch used for Friday’s one-day international between England and Sri Lanka.

That inability to negotiate the middle period cost Yorkshire as a final total of 152-5 – although competitive – was fatally light in prime conditions.

Nottinghamshire, it must be said, did not play outstandingly well as they too displayed inconsistency.

Pattinson had a bit of a shocker, conceding 45 from his three overs – including two straight sixes by Bairstow into the Rugby Stand.

The visitors also wobbled during their chase – 102-1 becoming 105-4 as 26-year-old debutant Iain Wardlaw, a right-arm pace bowler who plays club cricket for Cleckheaton, struck twice in only four balls.

But Yorkshire failed to capitalise on a chance to build on Friday’s victory at bottom club Northamptonshire, which rekindled hopes of a quarter-final place.

As it is, Yorkshire must now realistically win their last four games to reach the last eight.

Another eminently predictable aspect of yesterday’s contest was that Gale led Yorkshire’s efforts with the bat.

The captain has a particular taste and talent for this competition, his 62 from 55 balls representing his fourth half-century in this year’s tournament.

Gale set the tone for another fine personal display by leg-glancing the first ball of the match from Pattinson for four towards the Rugby Stand.

Pattinson’s next two deliveries were wides as he made a dreadful start at the ground where he made his solitary Test appearance for England against South Africa in 2008.

Luke Fletcher afforded better control from the opposite end, but Pattinson’s profligacy could have been damaging.

Gale highlighted the true nature of the surface by dancing down the track to strike Pattinson over long-on for six just wide of the Perspex dug-outs in front of the pavilion.

Pattinson redeemed himself a touch with his run-out of Lyth, but Yorkshire steadily lost their way.

Anthony McGrath fell cheaply when he was caught behind trying to cut the spin of Graeme White, Yorkshire slipping to 74-4 in the 11th over when Gale dropped a delivery from White on to the off-side and called Gary Ballance for a quick single, Ballance failing to beat White’s throw to the wicketkeeper.

Yorkshire’s inability to pace an innings was further highlighted by the fact they did not score a boundary between the sixth and 15th over, Bairstow finally breaking the shackles by crashing Adam Voges through mid-off.

Gale reached fifty from 47 balls but Yorkshire were stymied by White, who conceded only eight runs from his first three overs.

Gale’s innings ended tamely when he flicked a ball from Andre Adams down to short fine-leg, leaving Yorkshire 107-5 in the 17th over.

Much-needed impetus was provided by Bairstow, who also struck Fletcher for a straight six in a sparkling cameo.

Tamim Iqbal and Alex Hales raised an opening stand of 41 in six overs for Nottinghamshire before Hales was caught at point by McGrath off Rich Pyrah.

Iqbal, when on 19, was dropped by McGrath at backward square-leg off Adil Rashid, the batsman celebrating his good fortune by sending the leg-spinner’s next ball over mid-wicket into the East Stand.

Iqbal played the shot of the day when he lofted Azeem Rafiq over extra cover for another maximum, Rafiq’s day ending painfully when he injured his hamstring trying to stop a boundary.

Rafiq could be out for a month and Yorkshire may be forced to recall left-arm spinner David Wainwright from his loan spell at Derbyshire which has not long started.

Wardlaw, who replaced the ill Ryan Sidebottom, had Wessels and Iqbal caught on the straight boundary by Lyth, while Voges was bowled aiming a dreadful reverse-sweep.

But Chris Read and Scott Elstone saw the visitors home with an unbeaten 51 stand in five overs, Read crashing Pyrah for successive leg-side sixes as Yorkshire slipped to their sixth defeat in 12 Twenty20 games.

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