Malan the magnificent leads Yorkshire CCC to third straight T20 win

The question as to who would continue their new-found good form was answered on a fine day at Headingley, where Yorkshire triumphed by seven wickets.

Derbyshire’s 166-8, spearheaded by 74 from Haider Ali and 44 from Wayne Madsen, the latter just missing out on a world record sixth consecutive T20 half-century, never looked like being sufficient, and so it proved.

The chase had an air of predictability about it as Yorkshire won with 10 balls left, Dawid Malan marshalling matters with an unbeaten 81 from 58 balls, his third successive T20 half-century, and David Wiese (30) supplying some heft at the end.

After the victories against Nottinghamshire and Lancashire that kickstarted their tournament, and which ended a run of three straight T20 defeats, Yorkshire now have the platform and impetus to reach the quarter-finals.

What a difference a week makes, to coin the old phrase.

After winning the toss for the sixth time in seven attempts since joining Yorkshire as captain, Shan Masood decided to insert his former club beneath an initially sun-washed sky of fluffy white clouds, although it later clouded over somewhat once the game started.

There was a decent-sized crowd in - lured, no doubt, by the clement conditions and the prospect of the Northern Diamonds women’s match later in the day too, this the latest of the Headingley double-headers that are proving popular.

Those spectators saw Yorkshire make a strong start as Derbyshire limped to 38-1 in the powerplay, one that contained only three boundaries and the wicket of Luis Reece, who tried to ramp Ben Mike over short fine-leg only to dolly up a catch for Jafer Chohan.

Only a nice pick-up for six by Ali over deep backward-square off Wiese released the early pressure as Yorkshire gave precious little away.

Ali crunched a second six when he pulled Mike towards the East Stand, but Derbyshire slipped to 59-2 in the ninth when Chohan struck with his first delivery from The Howard Stand end.

Tom Wood tried a premeditated reverse-sweep against the leg-spinner and then wished he had not done so as Will Luxton flew to his right at backward-point to take a good catch.

Ali, the 22-year-old Pakistan right-hander, strikes a long ball as he showed again when pinging Chohan into the stands over long-off.

The overseas man went to his fifty from 35 balls and celebrated with a fourth six when Mike was pulled towards the East Stand, where Vinny the Viking, the Yorkshire mascot, was busy patrolling the boundary and entertaining children.

Madsen, who turns 40 in January, came into this match on the back of successive T20 scores of 50, 61, 57, 109 not out and 71 not out.

The South African-born right-hander looks as though he could carry on forever and a day - bad news for bowlers up and down the country, but handy for a Derbyshire side with which his name is synonymous.

The record-breaking sixth straight T20 fifty eluded him, though, when he flat-batted Wiese to Malan at cover in the 17th over.

Ali went in the next over, lofting Mike to Wiese running in from long-on as Derbyshire ran out of steam badly towards the finish, losing six wickets in the last four overs.

Ali’s departure for 74 from 47 was followed, three balls later, by that of Leus du Plooy for a single, the Derbyshire captain bowled trying to reverse-sweep a yorker as Mike ended with 3-39 from four overs.

It was a good effort from Mike, who took some punishment at times but came back strongly and showed plenty of character.

Jordan Thompson bowled Mattie McKiernan with a full toss that hit the top off middle stump and knocked it to the ground as the all-rounder tried to swat through the offside, and Derbyshire lost two wickets in the last over when Matty Revis had Zak Chappell edging a drive to the wicketkeeper before completing the run-out of Mark Watt off the final ball.

Yorkshire’s reply began solidly as Adam Lyth and Malan shared an unbroken 54 in the powerplay, Malan pulling Zak Chappell for six and cover-driving George Scrimshaw with familiar flourish.

Malan has not quite been in Madsen-esque form in this year’s Blast but not far off; the left-hander’s scores in the tournament going into this fixture were 43, 0, 26, 95 not out and 83. Another fifty followed from 35 balls, and then a third six as McKiernan’s leg-spin was launched firmly towards The Howard Stand.

Malan lost Lyth with the score on 83, bowled by Wood as he aimed across the line, and then Luxton with the total on 110, when the young man got under a pull off Scrimshaw and was caught at mid-wicket.

Wiese contributed a useful cameo, sharing 48 with Malan, before pulling Chappell to deep mid-wicket.

Mike won the match – fittingly and emphatically – with a crunching straight six off Zaman Khan as Yorkshire marched on.