Yorkshire Carnegie v Derbyshire Falcons: Yorkshire facing tall order after further CB40 loss

YORKSHIRE’s disappointing start to the season continued as they slipped to a fourth successive defeat in all competitions.

Andrew Gale’s men went down by 52 runs to Derbyshire – making it two defeats out of two in the CB40 tournament.

After Derbyshire scored 245-8 once winning the toss, Yorkshire were dismissed for 193.

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Even with 10 CB games to play, it leaves them with a tricky task to reach the semi-finals.

Only the top team from each of the three groups progress to the last four, along with the best second-placed side.

Last year, Yorkshire won 10 games to book their place in the semi-finals before losing to eventual winners Warwickshire.

Somerset also qualified with 10 wins, Warwickshire with nine, while Essex needed nine victories to make it as the best second-placed side. In short, Yorkshire have little margin for error.

“It’s going to be an uphill task from here,” conceded Gale.

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“If you lose a couple of games you’re up against it in this competition, but you never know.

“It’s not quite happening for us at the moment, but stranger things have happened and we have to keep going.

“We clearly need to put a big run together.”

After the abject two-run defeat against the Netherlands in their opening match, this was another below-par effort by Yorkshire.

The bowling was the proverbial curate’s egg (good in parts, less so in others), while the batting again failed to fire as only Gale (74) and Joe Root (45) managed a notable score.

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Yorkshire lost their last nine wickets for 68 runs in 14 overs.

Although that statistic was magnified by the fact batsmen were trying to hit out as the required run-rate shot above 10, it highlighted how the side are struggling.

On a sunny afternoon blown along by a swirling wind, Yorkshire began the brighter.

Derbyshire lost openers Chesney Hughes and Usman Khawaja inside the first 11 overs to identically poor strokes.

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Hughes aimed an airy leg-side drive at Ryan Sidebottom and was comprehensively bowled, Khawaja following suit when he played all round a ball from Ajmal Shahzad.

Yorkshire’s fielding was keener than a teenager on a first date as the visitors were restricted to just four boundaries in the opening 10 overs. But Wes Durston and Greg Smith got Derbyshire back on track with a sensible stand that laid the platform for victory.

The pair expertly rotated the strike to lift their side to 96-2 at the halfway stage, working the ball nicely into gaps and putting away the bad deliveries.

Durston was the more aggressive, pulling an Adil Rashid long-hop into the West Stand and then advancing down the track to plonk the leg-spinner for a one-bounce four to the foot of the Carnegie Pavilion.

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Smith was the perfect foil before he, too, gave away his wicket through a rush of blood.

The South African was bowled for 30 by Sidebottom making room to strike through the off-side, ending a stand of 96 with Durston in 18 overs.

Durston reached his half-century from 63 balls and celebrated by hoisting Rashid for another six over mid-wicket.

It was a tough afternoon for Rashid, who did not enjoy the same mastery over Derbyshire as he had over the Netherlands.

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Durston found another willing ally in Wayne Madsen, who played the shot of the day when he struck David Wainwright for a straight six that cleared the Rugby Stand.

The pair added 65 in eight overs before Durston fell in unfortunate fashion five runs short of his century.

The former Somerset man cut a ball from Rich Pyrah to short third-man, where Shahzad took a brilliant one-handed catch, diving to his right. Pyrah cleaned up Jonathan Clare lbw in the same over before Madsen went to a sparkling fifty from just 32 balls.

Pyrah claimed his third wicket when he had Steffan Jones caught behind, Madsen going on to 66 before he was one of two late wickets that somewhat massaged Rashid’s figures.

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Yorkshire’s reply was given a breezy start by Gale and Adam Lyth, who added 35 in seven overs before the latter was brilliantly held in the gully by a diving Garry Park. Gale and Root added 90 in 19 overs but Yorkshire fell behind the required rate as Derbyshire gradually turned the screw.

After Root fell lbw reverse-sweeping, the innings subsided.

Jonathan Bairstow holed out to wide long-off, while Gale was caught-and-bowled. Gerard Brophy was brilliantly caught at cover by Madsen before Pyrah was caught behind.

Shahzad then went leg before, while Joe Sayers – in for the injured Anthony McGrath – was held at wide long-off. Wainwright holed out to mid-off before Sidebottom was caught at mid-wicket.

Durston capped a brilliant all-round display with 3-25 from seven overs, ably supported by Jones (3-28).