Yorkshire recover as Harry Brook sparkles in victory at Northants

One could perhaps think of more intrepid excursions than to a T20 Blast match between Northants and Yorkshire, but who is this correspondent to judge how best to while away those final hours before senility sinks in.

As it turned out, our banner-bearers – an elderly couple sat near the pavilion – were rewarded with some exciting cricket from Yorkshire especially.

The visitors scored 190-7 after being sent into bat, recovering from 11-3 in the powerplay, and then produced their best bowling performance of the tournament to dismiss Northants for 128 with 22 balls of their innings left, victory lifting Yorkshire to fourth with two games to play.

The remarkable Harry Brook top-scored again, striking 67 from 31 balls with four fours and six sixes – his 13th score of 50-plus in 20 innings in all cricket this season. His innings ended controversially when he was given out caught behind trying to slog-sweep Graeme White, the left-arm spinner, Brook standing his ground for some time in disbelief at umpire Tom Lungley’s decision.

Perhaps the England and Wales Cricket Board, good eggs that they are, will be so sick of penalising Yorkshire that they will turn a blind eye this time. In fairness, there was a strong suspicion that Brook was “sawn off”.

Matthew Waite produced a career-best, unbeaten 35 from No 8, made from 20 balls, and David Willey hit 31 from 24 and Jordan Thompson 30 from 22 to ensure a competitive total.

Waite then returned a career-best 3-18 as Northants’ reply never really got going, Willey, Shadab Khan and Dominic Bess chipping in with two wickets each.

A special mention for Shadab: he has had a poor tournament in general but he bowled well in the powerplay and did a good job. James Neesham top-scored for the hosts with 26, which rather said it all.

The elderly couple with the humourous banner were part of what looked, to the naked eye at least, to be a near-capacity crowd, something of a rarity in this year’s Blast.

As high cloud gave way to occasional sunshine, with a stiff breeze preventing a warm day from feeling uncomfortably so, Yorkshire showed one change to the side that won at Worcester the previous evening, Willey returning from England’s one-day international series in Holland – although Dawid Malan (Achilles) and Adil Rashid (pilgrimage to Mecca) were unable to make it a hat-trick of returning England internationals.

Willey barely had time to pad up before he was into the action at No 4, Yorkshire having slipped to 2-2 after seven balls.

Finn Allen, eyeing an extremely short boundary to the cow corner area at the Wantage Road side, got a leading edge into the covers off spinner Josh Cobb, and Adam Lyth pulled Ben Sanderson’s first ball to deep square-leg.

When Tom Taylor also struck with his first ball, Tom Kohler-Cadmore skying to mid-on, Yorkshire were 11-3 inside four overs.

Willey and Brook repaired matters to the extent that Yorkshire were 50-3 at the end of the powerplay, the fourth-wicket pair going on to share 90 in 46 balls.

Brook contributed 61 to the stand and took a particular liking to the leg-side boundary, which he five times cleared in addition to planting a six over long-off.

White clawed things back for the hosts in mid-innings, having Willey held at long-off before removing Brook and Shadab, who was pouched at long-on.

Waite and Thompson ensured a strong finish, though, Thompson seventh out in the penultimate over when White this time took a good diving catch at long-off off Neesham.

Northants’ reply was soon in trouble. Willey struck in the first over when Ben Curran chopped on. Cobb sliced Shadab to point and, in the process, lost grip of his bat, which sailed out to square-leg – not that the home fans saw the funny side. Chris Lynn, who had hit two hundreds and three fifties in this year’s Blast, scored only five before tamely lobbing Waite to mid-on, and Waite struck again when Saif Zaib, another man in form, fell in similar fashion.

A team hat-trick effectively settled it around the 10-over mark.

Shadab had Neesham taken at backward-point before Bess had Rob Keogh stumped and 
Lewis McManus caught behind.

Willey had Taylor caught at deep mid-wicket, Waite yorked White, and action man Waite sealed it with a catch at backward-point to remove Nathan Buck off Matty Revis – “one last wicket,” you might say, “before the end of the cricket.”