T20 North Group leaders Yorkshire throw away winning position to lose in Leicester
ONE believes that the term is “snatched defeat from the jaws of victory”.
That is certainly how it felt at Grace Road on Sunday, when Yorkshire contrived to lose a match that they had in their back pocket.
After restricting Leicestershire to 147-8, Hassan Ali taking 4-18, Yorkshire were 72-2 in the 10th over of their chase, then 100-3 in the 13th.
It should have been comfortable but T20 can change in an eye-blink and change it did as Leicestershire hit back in improbable style, Rehan Ahmed taking 3-28 to go with two catches plus a hand in a run-out as Yorkshire lost their final seven wickets for 35 runs to be bowled out for 135.
“Bitterly disappointing - that just wasn’t good enough,” said Jonny Bairstow, the Yorkshire captain.
“We bowled nicely and took wickets, so credit to the guys, but there’s no hiding from the batting - it wasn’t up to scratch.
“If you'd said at the start of the competition that we’d have won four from six, we'd have taken that, but we'll look back on this one as one that we should have been on the other end of.
“Yes, we can say it’s T20 cricket and that these things happen, but we should be chasing that down and winning that game.”
Honest words from the captain, then, who chose to bowl on a used pitch, the crowd numbering perhaps 1,500 on a pleasant day, one of watery sunshine and a lively breeze.
Hassan Ali struck with the game’s fifth ball, Rehan hoicking to mid-on to give the Pakistani his 350th T20 wicket.
It might have been 7-2 but Will Luxton, running in from deep-backward square-leg, spilled a difficult low chance when Nick Kelly, the New Zealand left-hander, attacked Faheem Ashraf, the Pakistani all-rounder.
Rishi Patel launched the first six of the match over mid-wicket in the direction of the main car park from the second delivery of the sixth over, but Moeen Ali had his revenge next ball when the opener tried to cross-bat him over mid-off and picked out the fielder.
Leicestershire were 46-2 at the end of the powerplay with a familiar figure now at the crease - Jonny Tattersall, the former Yorkshire wicketkeeper, who was playing for the first time against his former county.
Tattersall could only watch and admire along with the home fans when Kelly lofted Ashraf over long-off for six, which drew an appreciative blast on the trumpet from one of the Barmy Army members in situ, with a contingent of them stationed beside the old main scoreboard.
Said gentleman was blowing the instrument again when Tattersall, on six, was fortunate not to be caught at deep mid-wicket by James Wharton off A.J. Tye, the fielder losing his footing at the key moment.
Dom Bess made no mistake in the same area when Kelly pulled Hassan, ending a good innings of 44 from 31 balls with seven boundaries.
Leicestershire fell to 91-4 in the 12th when Ashton Turner tried to launch leg-spinner Jafer Chohan through the off-side and was comprehensively cleaned up for a second-ball duck.
That became 95-5 in the next over when Tattersall tried to pull a slower delivery from Ashraf and heard the death rattle.
The innings was falling away when Chohan trapped a sweeping Ben Green, a fourth wicket for Yorkshire in the space of 15 deliveries, but Ben Cox and Liam Trevaskis shared 42 in 32 balls, a useful seventh-wicket stand ended when Trevaskis lofted Hassan to Luxton at deep backward-square.
Hassan claimed his fourth when Ian Holland scooped to Chohan at short fine-leg, the icing on the cake of another good display by the overseas bowler.
Leicestershire’s total looked even lighter when Bairstow creamed 14 runs off the first over of the chase, including three fours off Turner’s off-spin. Bairstow then hit the left-arm spinner Trevaskis for three fours in four balls, the skipper plundering 39 of the first 42 runs scored off the bat.
But after he pulled seamer Holland to short fine-leg, Adam Lyth went four balls later, lofting the same man to deep backward-square.
Yorkshire slipped to 72-3 in the 10th over when Wharton tried to flick Green behind square on the leg-side and was bowled, only for Luxton to once again show his liking for the leg-side boundary, pulling a huge six off seamer Josh Davey.
The 23-year-old looked in control but then he played around one from Rehan and was lbw for 38, made from 27 balls. Rehan then helped to run-out Moeen at the non-striker’s end when Matty Revis played Green out to deep mid-wicket and the batsmen attempted a third run, before Revis was caught behind trying to cut Rehan as Yorkshire slid to 107-6.
Faheem sliced Rehan to short third-man, then Tye pulled to Rehan on the square-leg boundary off Trevaskis, who then castled Hassan for a golden duck.
Green wrapped things up when he caught-and-bowled Chohan at the second attempt, sparking home celebrations.