Five-star Jafer Chohan spins Yorkshire CCC to superb win

Yorkshire bowled out Durham for 107 after the visitors won the toss, Chohan returning career-best figures of 5-14 from 3.4 overs, the third-best in Yorkshire’s T20 history.

Only Tim Bresnan’s 6-19 against Lancashire at Headingley in 2017, and Jack Shutt’s 5-11 against Durham at Chester-le-Street in 2019, surpassed it, Adam Lyth and Dawid Malan adding 64 for the first wicket before Yorkshire prevailed with 20 balls to spare.

With just a light breeze to nudge along the clouds, before a crowd of 6,023, Chohan, on his 22nd birthday no less, was the one change to the side beaten at Derbyshire last time out, returning from a broken right thumb to replace Matty Revis as the hosts reverted to a three-pronged spin attack.

Dom Bess, the most experienced of that trio, struck the first blow in the second over, drawing Alex Lees out of his ground and some smart glovework from Donovan Ferreira.

Bess turned catcher in the fourth over when Dan Moriarty, the other spinner, had Ollie Robinson caught at mid-on, then Graham Clark perished in the fifth when he picked out Shan Masood at mid-off off pace man Ben Cliff.

Cliff, the 21-year-old, was excellent first up, returning 1-18 from three overs in a powerplay that so nearly brought a fourth wicket from its final ball, Moriarty parrying a fiercely struck return from Bas de Leede as Durham staggered to 35-3.

De Leede did not linger, yorked by a good one from Jordan Thompson, and Chohan struck with his first ball when a delivery just short of a length skidded through to bowl Colin Ackermann, leaving Durham 40-5 in the eighth.

Ashton Turner and Ben Raine added 56 from 41 balls before both went in successive deliveries to halt the revival, Turner driving back a fierce return to Bess, who made it look easy, and Raine playing around his front pad to Chohan and paying the price.

When Chohan had Ben Dwarshuis caught behind for a golden duck, Yorkshire had taken a team hat-trick and it was 96-8 in the 15th. Chohan missed out on a hat-trick of his own but it became four wickets in five balls when he bowled Michael Jones through the gate for another golden duck. The innings ended as it started, with more smart glovework from Ferreira to stump Nathan Sowter to give Chohan his fifth.

As Three Lions (Football’s Coming Home) blurted out over the PA system (by Jove, let’s hope so!), Lyth and Malan walked out for a chase they began in measured manner.

Lyth lofted a brace of leg-side sixes before firing back a return to the diving Sowter, Malan then mowing de Leede to mid-wicket.

James Wharton whacked a couple of sixes too before skying to deep mid-wicket, Ferreira and Masood completing formalities.