Yorkshire Carnegie v Leicestershire Foxes: Rashid on song but Yorkshire still fall to defeat

The Yorkshire leg-spinner lost his place in England's one-day team and was overlooked for the tour of Bangladesh, where James Tredwell was preferred as Graeme Swann's understudy.

Rashid was told to return to Yorkshire to gain more experience in county cricket.

He has done everything that could have been asked of him up to now as he seeks to enhance his international ambitions.

Rashid's career-best 4-20 at Headingley yesterday – the highlight of a surprise six-run defeat to lowly Leicestershire – made him the country's leading wicket-taker in Twenty20.

Rashid, who captured all the wickets as Leicestershire totalled 175-4 after winning the toss, has now taken 20 in 10 games at 14.60.

His figures yesterday equalled Yorkshire's best in the competition by Richard Pyrah against Durham at Headingley in 2008 and continued his good form in all competitions.

For Rashid is also Yorkshire's leading wicket-taker in the County Championship, with 25 victims at 34.36 – a tournament in which he has scored 353 runs at 44.12 from the lower middle-order.

Twenty20 is supposed to be a spin bowler's graveyard, but for Rashid it is something of a happy hunting ground.

With a combination of guile and clever variations, the 22-year-old has prospered by not allowing batsmen to settle and by forcing them to take unnecessary risks.

Such was the case against a Leicestershire team who got into a tizzy trying to accelerate when Rashid was introduced to the attack with the total on 43-0 after six overs.

Brad Hodge, having struggled to find his timing on a pitch where the ball did not come on the bat as it has done of late, fell in Rashid's second over when he attempted to loft him out of the ground at the Kirkstall Lane end.

The Australian got slightly under the stroke and succeeded only in spooning to long-off, where Adam Lyth took a spectacular catch as he initially palmed the ball up in the air to prevent himself carrying it over the boundary before clutching it on the rebound.

From 55-1 in the ninth over, Leicestershire slipped to 77-2 in the 11th when Will Jefferson – having dented Rashid's figures by thumping him for a flat six over mid-wicket – was trapped lbw trying a hazardous sweep.

Rashid then struck twice in his fourth over – the 13th of the innings – to leave Leicestershire 94-4 and in a spot of trouble.

First he removed James Benning for 41, bowled trying a wild mow towards long-on, before sending back Paul Nixon lbw.

Having made unconvincing progress to 106-4 from 15 overs, Leicestershire turned the game on its head by thrashing 69 from the last five overs as Yorkshire's bowling grew unusually ragged.

James Taylor, who top-scored with 60 in Leicestershire's nine-wicket defeat against Yorkshire at Grace Road the previous Sunday, was again impressive and found a willing partner in Wayne White.

The pair took a particular liking to Ajmal Shahzad and Steve Patterson, relishing the extra pace of the quicker bowlers.

White uppercut Shahzad for a brutal six over cover before Taylor stole the show by hitting four maximums.

He pulled successive full tosses from Patterson towards the East Stand, hooked Shahzad into the West Stand and then lofted Pyrah over long-off, the ball landing on top of the Leicestershire dug-out.

Taylor went to a half-century from 22 balls – Leicestershire's fastest in the competition – and finished unbeaten on 62 from 28 deliveries in what proved a match-winning hand.

White ended undefeated on 23 from 19 deliveries, the fifth-wicket pair adding 81 in 43 balls to raise a score that, from Yorkshire's point of view, was at least 20 more than it should have been.

In need of a good start, Yorkshire did not get it as they slipped to 25-3 inside just four overs.

Lyth sliced high into the covers, Herschelle Gibbs was caught behind and Anthony McGrath lbw – all falling to 19-year-old seamer Nathan Buck.

A fine innings from Andrew Gale kept Yorkshire in the hunt, the captain reaching a 38-ball half-century before being run-out at the non-striker's end for 52.

Jacques Rudolph – back after a shoulder injury – chipped in with 21 before falling lbw to Benning, but Yorkshire were always narrowly behind the eight-ball.

Hopes were raised by Jonathan Bairstow, who smashed 40 from 23 deliveries with four fours and two sixes before falling to a catch at mid-wicket.

With 44 wanted from the last three overs, Shahzad struck two of his first three balls from Joshua Cobb for six before falling to a superb catch by Taylor at long-off as he attempted to hit a third.

Rashid (21 from 17 balls) and Pyrah (14 from eight) nearly brought off the win, but Matthew Hoggard restricted his former club to 12 off the last over as Leicestershire prevailed in front of 3,250 spectators.

DISPLAY OF THE DAY

James Taylor

Thumped 62 from 28 balls and took a fine catch as Leicestershire dented Yorkshire's quarter-final hopes. Yorkshire have won five and lost five with six group games to play.

Yorkshire v Leicestershire

Headingley Carnegie: Leicestershire beat Yorkshire by 6 runs

Leicestershire Innings

B J Hodge c Lyth b A U Rashid 18

J G E Benning b A U Rashid 41

W I Jefferson lbw b A U Rashid 19

J W A Taylor not out 62

P A Nixon lbw b A U Rashid 5

W A White not out 23

Extras lb4 w3 7

Total 4 wkts (20 overs) 175

Fall: 1-55 2-77 3-88 4-94

Did Not Bat: J J Cobb, C W Henderson, M N Malik, M J Hoggard, N L Buck.

Bowling: Shahzad 4 0 35 0; Patterson 3 0 35 0; Best 3 0 23 0; A U Rashid 4 0 20 4; Pyrah 4 0 33 0; Rudolph 1 0 13 0; McGrath 1 0 12 0;

Yorkshire Innings

A W Gale run out 52

A Lyth c White b Buck 4

H H Gibbs c Nixon b Buck 0

A McGrath lbw b Buck 5

J A Rudolph lbw b Benning 21

J M Bairstow c Hodge b Cobb 40

A U Rashid not out 21

A Shahzad c Taylor b Cobb 12

R M Pyrah c Benning b Hoggard 14

Extras 0

Total 8 wkts (20 overs) 169

Fall: 1-6 2-7 3-25 4-78 5-88 6-136 7-148 8-169

Did Not Bat: T L Best, S A Patterson.

Bowling: Malik 4 0 34 0; Buck 4 0 20 3; Hoggard 4 0 36 1; Henderson 4 0 35 0; Benning 3 0 28 1; Cobb 1 0 16 2

Fixtures (11.00 unless stated)

Third Test (day 3 of 5), Barbados: West Indies v South Africa (15.00)

Friends Provident T20, South Division – Taunton: Somerset v Glamorgan (5.40).

LV County Championship, Division One – Emirates Durham ICG: Durham v Warwickshire; Old Trafford: Lancashire v Yorkshire. Division Two – Chesterfield: Derbyshire v Surrey; Bristol: Gloucs v Middlesex; New Road: Worcs v Leics.

Tour matches (1 day) Northampton: India A v West Indies A (10.45) Tour Match (day 1 of 3) Canterbury: Kent v Pakistan (10.30)