Yorkshire CCC come up short against the old enemy
IS there such a thing as a dead Roses game to a Yorkshire supporter? Is there ‘eckers like.
Even though Yorkshire had already been eliminated from the Vitality Blast, the presence of the “Lankys” in town was sufficient motivation for fans from the Broad Acres.
Around 14,000 of them flocked to Headingley on a sultry summer’s night, hoping to see their side complete the double over the old enemy after victory at Old Trafford six days earlier.
It was not to be.
Lancashire won by 21 runs, bowled out for 174 after winning the toss (Jos Buttler top-scoring with 77 from 46 balls) before Yorkshire were ejected for 153 (Abdullah Shafique 54 from 34) as the visitors sealed a quarter-final place for an eighth successive season.
What Yorkshire would give for such levels of consistency.
They have never quite cracked the 20-over format.
Unchanged following defeat on Sunday to bottom club Derbyshire, a result that mathematically ended their hopes of reaching the last eight, Yorkshire were nonetheless seeking a hat-trick of T20 Roses triumphs at Headingley.
The match begun unpromisingly for them with a demonstration of Phil Salt’s timing and power, the opener deftly driving the first ball of the contest from Matt Milnes to the boundary at the Kirkstall Lane end before cutting the second ball savagely to the East Stand rope.
As light rain fell, disappearing almost as soon as it had arrived, the skies predominantly overcast and gloomy, Keaton Jennings fell to the final delivery of the third over, lofting Dan Moriarty to deep mid-wicket.
Salt hoisted Will Sutherland over long-on in an expensive first over from the Australian that cost 17, and then he lofted Moriarty for a leg-side six as Lancashire reached 58-1 at the end of the powerplay.
Enter Jafer Chohan.
The leg-spinner, still to make his County Championship debut, struck with his first and third balls from The Howard Stand end, Salt slog-sweeping to backward square-leg to end an innings of 42 from 29 balls before Ashton Turner chopped on.
The visitors were 93-3 at halfway, with Buttler now motoring; a six over long-on off Bess took him past 13,000 T20 runs, only the seventh man to get there. He followed up by launching Chohan for two sixes - one over mid-wicket, the other down the ground, but Yorkshire, to their credit, kept plugging away.
Jordan Thompson had Luke Wells caught at deep mid-wicket and when Milnes, the pick of the attack, had Matty Hurst pulling to mid-on, Lancashire were 132-5 at the end of the 15th.
Sutherland took some tap but got in the wickets column when Chris Green cut to deep point, and then he turned catcher when Jack Blatherwick skied Milnes to long-off.
Luke Wood was run out in the last over in an effort to get Buttler back on strike, who was then run-out himself before Thompson bowled James Anderson, who received a standing ovation on his way to the crease.
After Jonny Bairstow played on to Wood in the second over of the chase, Anderson got somewhat less of a favourable reception from the crowd when he had Will Luxton caught at deep mid-wicket.
Yorkshire were 49-3 at the end of the powerplay, Dawid Malan having become Anderson’s second scalp when he skied high to Jennings at mid-off.
James Wharton was bowled trying to reverse-sweep off-spinner Green, and Yorkshire slipped to 97-5 in the 11th when Dom Bess was caught behind off Wood, who had earlier in the over seen him dropped by Green from a firmly-hit pull in front of the West Stand – never a place where a Lancashire fielder wants to drop a catch.
Much now depended on Shafique, the 25-year-old whose three previous scores for the county were 5, 21 and 26. The incremental improvement continued as he hit superbly down the ground in particular, reaching his fifty from 29 balls, but he was unable to see his side over the line.
Lancashire brought back Anderson to bowl his final over in what was very much a last throw of the dice, and it did the trick when Shafique holed out to deep square-leg.
There was little in it still: Yorkshire were 134-6 after 15 overs – just two runs better off, and one wicket worse off – but the momentum had shifted with Shafique’s departure, prior to which Yorkshire had control of the chase.
Green struck again when Thompson patted back a return, and then picked up his third wicket when Milnes was pinned in front. It left Yorkshire wanting 24 from the last two overs with two wickets left, but then came the dismissal of Sutherland, their last realistic hope.
The Australian tried to launch a low full toss from Tom Aspinwall over the cover boundary but succeeded only in picking out Blatherwick, then Blatherwick sealed the deal when Chohan lofted the first delivery of the final over to deep backward-square.
A match that Yorkshire should have won had slipped from their grasp, dead game or not.