Neil Whitaker reports
WILL Luxton hit his second List A century in four days as Yorkshire beat Worcestershire Rapids by six wickets with 7.3 overs to spare at York.
On Sunday at Hove he hit 117 today he made 126 as he made the Rapids pay for dropping on nine. He edged a drive off Ben Swanepoel, bowling with pace, and the flew to Henry Cullen at slip above his head but the ball burst through his hands. With five runs needed he drove Swanepoel to Rapids captain Jake Libby at mid-off.
He said: “On Sunday it was about setting up a game today it was about chasing a total. There is nothing better than winning games so it was nice to get over the line. It’s nice to contribute. I thought that it was a decent wicket and we did well to restrict them to 230 and I thought Ben Coad bowled well. We got off to a decent start in our chase. I had a bit of luck at the start, I just played my shots and they came off.”
Luxton eased Ben Gibbon off his legs over the mid-wicket boundary for a six to take him into the nineties. He cut Fateh Singh to the cover boundary and played Matthew Waite in the leg side for a single to take him to three figures.
He drove Tom Taylor to the cover boundary. In Taylor’s next over he steared him to the cover boundary, pulled him mid-wicket for a one bounce four and drove him over long-on for a six.
He hammered Gibbon to the mid-wicket boundary, in Gibbon’s next he brutally pulled him to the mid-wicket boundary. Luxton’s fifty came from 40 balls with eight fours and a six.
Luxton brutally hit consecutive fours off Waite: the first to the square leg boundary and the second to the cover boundary which brought up the fifty partnership with Whiteman. Then he bludgeoned him for a massive six over mid-wicket.
The opening partnership was broken when Adam Lyth drove the left armer straight and Gibbon took a low catch in his follow through. Will Bennison came and went for one when he got an inside edge to a drive off Waite.
James Wharton drove Taylor to the extra cover boundary with Luxton, the pair looked in control and taking Yorkshire to victory until Wharton edged Gibbon to stumper Gareth Roderick after adding 72.
Put into bat the Rapids struggled against the bowling of Coad who looked like taking a wicket with every ball as he bowled like he did on Sunday. Dan Lategan top scored for the Rapids with 67, his fourth List A fifty and his second in this year’s competition. The 20-year-old South African reached his fifty from 70 balls with five fours and a six. And he must have wondered what his teammates were playing at.
He edged George Hill inches wide of Dom Bess at first slip to the third man boundary. He reversed swept Kuldeep Yadav to the third man boundary and he drove Jack White straight and low for a six over long-off.
After losing early wickets the Rapids innings only got going with a fifth wicket partnership of 74 between Lategan and Cullen. Lategan went down the pitch to Bess and hit him straight but didn’t get enough power in his and he knew when he hit and the ball went down Hill’s throat at long off.
Cullen went down the pitch to Lyth and drove him to the extra cover boundary. Three overs later he used his feet to Bess and blasted him for a one bounce four to the long-off boundary. He swept Bess to the fine leg boundary to bring up his fifty from 75 balls with three fours. It was the 23 year-old’s second fifty in this year’s competition and his second in total. Looking to equal or better Lategan’s score he drove Hill to the extra cover boundary. Then he top edged a scoop off the next ball to Bean.
Former Yorkshire player Waite viciously hit Hill to the mid-wicket boundary. He clipped Coad off his legs to the mid-wicket boundary. He hit Coad for consecutive fours: the first through extra cover and the second to mid-wicket. He reached his fifty in the grand manor with six over long-on off Hill.
Yorkshire won the toss and put the Rapids into bat and they lost an early wicket when Brett D’Oliveira edged Coad to stumper Finlay Bean in the second over of their innings. Coad got his second wicket in his next over when he dismissed Roderick identical to the way he got rid of D’Oliveira giving Bean another catch.
Libby edged a slower ball from Hill to Bean. Roderick pushed at Coad and edged him to Bean. Kashif Ali was beaten by one that nipped back at White and was bowled for a duck.
Taylor got too far under a drive off and hit the ball up the chimney and down Bess’ throat at mid-off. Then Kuldeep took two wickets in five balls when he bowled Swanepoel and Singh both with googlies. The first knocked the leg stump out of the ground and the later hit Singh’s middle stump.
Yorkshire now face Durham at York on Friday and then travel to Lord’s on Sunday to play Middlesex.
