Yorkshire's season on verge of collapse

AFTER the fevered atmosphere of the Roses game fewer than 24 hours earlier, there was a sedate air to events at Grace Road on Saturday.
In form: Yorkshire's Tom Kohler-Cadmore enjoyed his first half-century against Leicestershire.In form: Yorkshire's Tom Kohler-Cadmore enjoyed his first half-century against Leicestershire.
In form: Yorkshire's Tom Kohler-Cadmore enjoyed his first half-century against Leicestershire.

A sell-out crowd of 15,750 had watched Yorkshire beat Lancashire by 19 runs at Headingley as the hosts reignited their hopes of reaching the quarter-finals.

But a crowd of 3,108 saw them lose by four wickets to Leicestershire, plunging those hopes back in the balance as Yorkshire came down from their Friday night high.

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Yorkshire must now beat Northants in their final group game at Headingley on Thursday and hope that other results go their way.

Otherwise, with their County Championship title hopes effectively over, there will be nothing left to play for but pride.

There was something of a Sod’s Law feel about this result after Yorkshire performed so well against Lancashire.

They scored the same amount of runs, posting 182-5 after being invited to bat on a dry pitch in largely sunny conditions.

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Tom Kohler-Cadmore made his highest score for the club since joining from Worcestershire, leading the way with a fine 75 from 40 balls with 12 fours and two sixes.

Shaun Marsh, the Australian overseas batsman, equalled his highest score for the county, striking 60 from 44 deliveries with eight fours.

Adil Rashid chipped in with 26 not out from 17 balls, Yorkshire maintaining an impressive record which has seen them post more than 150 in all 10 of their completed T20 innings this year.

Unchanged from their win over Lancashire, Yorkshire lost their first wicket to the penultimate ball of the first over when Adam Lyth hit the former Yorkshire pace bowler Clint McKay to backward-point, where Cameron Delport palmed the ball up and grabbed the rebound, making a meal of a straightforward chance.

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Tall and powerful, Kohler-Cadmore timed the ball superbly from the start, making full use of a true pitch and a fast outfield.

Yorkshire had reached 45 in the sixth over when David Willey was second out, the England man having struggled to find fluency, a fact betrayed when he aimed a wild yahoo at Gavin Griffiths’s first ball and was bowled.

But Kohler-Cadmore and Marsh gave the innings a strong look, adding 82 for the third wicket in 8.2 overs with boundaries all around the ground.

Kohler-Cadmore advanced to his first half-century for Yorkshire from 30 balls with 10 fours and celebrated by lofting the off-spin of Colin Ackerman for six over long-on.

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His second six came when he flat-batted a pull off pace bowler Mathew Pillans over long-on, a stroke of brute power.

Kohler-Cadmore was three-quarters of the way to a hundred when he tried one big hit too many, trying to hammer the left-arm spin of Callum Parkinson through the leg-side only to hear the death rattle.

This left Yorkshire 127-3 in the 14th, which became 132-4 in the 15th when Sarfaraz Ahmed was bowled aiming an ugly shot at Aadil Ali’s occasional off-spin.

Leicestershire missed a chance to get rid of Rashid on 10 when Delport dropped him at long-off off Ali.

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Stylish and serene, Marsh advanced to his half-century from 37 balls with seven fours before being run-out off the final ball of the innings, having added 50 with Rashid in 5.2 overs.

Luke Ronchi, the New Zealand wicketkeeper/batsman, got Leicestershire’s reply off to a great start when he creamed 20 off the second over from Azeem Rafiq.

He swept the off-spinner’s first ball for six over mid-wicket, pulled the second for a one-bounce four, lofted the third for six over long-off and pummelled the fourth for four through mid-on.

Ronchi then turned his attention to Liam Plunkett, upper-cutting him for six before Delport sliced Plunkett to Jack Leaning at cover, giving Yorkshire their first wicket with the score on 54 in the fourth over.

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In an eye-blink, Ronchi had 50 from 19 balls, but Leicestershire lost their second wicket on 60 when the dangerous Mark Cosgrove went for a golden duck, getting a leading edge off Willey to Kohler-Cadmore at mid-off.

Ronchi fell with the total on 84 in the eighth over, caught sweeping at deep backward square-leg by Leaning off Rafiq, who came back well from the earlier assault.

After 21 runs arrived in total from his first over, Rafiq’s last three went for 13, Ronchi playing splendidly for 57 from 27 deliveries.

Ackermann picked up the baton as he pulled Steve Patterson for six, the South African shepherding the chase to finish unbeaten on 58 from 47 balls.

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Not that Leicestershire breasted the tape without a few wobbles.

Ali was caught behind off Plunkett, Lewis Hill holed out to Willey at mid-off off Bresnan, and Tom Wells skied Plunkett to Kohler-Cadmore running in from mid-on.

Bresnan had only seven runs to work with in the last over, Pillans striking the winning boundary past him down the ground.