Royal London Cup Yorkshire v Lancashire at Headingly April 21st

Royal London Cup Yorkshire Vikings v Lancashire  Lightning at Headingly April 21st

Neil Whitaker reports

AFTER three matches Lancashire Lightning have got a victory in 2019 Royal London one-cup as they beat Yorkshire Vikings by one run at Emerald Headingley.

It was their first List A victory at Emerald Headingley since 2008, but after posting 311 in their 50 overs they nearly lost it.  With the Vikings needing 16 off the last over they scored 14 runs with boundaries from Jonny Tattersall and Duanne Olivier but they also lost two wickets.  With three wanted off the last ball last Josh Poysden could only get a single before he was run out. It was they second run out of the over.  Tattersall was run out one short off his fifth consecutive 50 in the competition. 

Vikings coach Andrew Gale said: “It was a classic game 50 over cricket and it was fantastic for the crowd.  In the last two games we haven’t been at our best after we had put a marker down in the first game but there is still a lot of cricket left in the competition.”

After winning the toss and deciding to bat the  Lightning had to thank a record fifth wicket partnership against the Vikings of 120 in 19 overs by Steven Croft and Rob Jones for getting of 311 for six.  At one stage it looked like they would not get  not much over 250.  The 120 beat the 94 made at Old Trafford by Clive Lloyd and John Abrahams in 1986.

The partnership was broken when Jones pulled Tim Bresnan to David Willey who came in a few yards from the mid wicket boundary. Jones got his innings off to.  A great start by diving Matt Pillans to the boundary. He then reversed swept  Poysden to the cover boundary.  He repeated the shot with the same result in Poysden’s next over.

Jones drove Poysden  back over his head over long into the Emerald stand  to take him into the forties.  He brought up his fifty with an on drive off Olivier to the boundary.

With his second consecutive century beckoning Croft  fell three runs short of his second consecutive century when he got the faintest of edges to Tattersall. Croft became Tattersall’s fourth victim equalling the Vikings record of four victims edge by stumpers David Bairstow and Richard Blakey.  Bairstow did it twice at Leeds in 1974 and at Old Trafford in 1985.  Blakey took took his four catches at Leeds in 2000.

Croft said: “It’s great to get our first win in the competition, we’ve put in another good performance.  We didn’t want to lose three in a row but we’ve had a tough start to the competition.  Hopefully we can build on this.

I felt really good and wanted to take my chance batting at number three. Hopefully I can score more runs and contribute to the team more.  I thought Bohannon and Hurt batted brilliantly and Bohannon looked really comfortable.”

After deciding to bat on a perfect day the Lightning lost their first wicket when Keaton Jennings nibbled at one from Willey that rose and left him to Tattersall.  The Lightning lost their second wicket when Haseeb Hameed tried to hook a bouncer from Olivier but guided it to Tattersall.

Croft and former Vikings player Glenn Maxwell staged a mini recovery  adding 45 in in seven overs but the partnership was broken when Maxwell tried to cut Rashid but it was too close to him giving Tattersall his third catch.

Now the Lightning were hoping that Croft and skipper Dane  Vilas could repeat their 145 partnership of at Trent Bridge on Good Friday. At first the signs were good when Vilas launched Adil Rashid straight into the Emerald stand for the first six of the match.  But this thin they could only add 31 in six overs.

Croft pulled Rashid to Poysden on the square leg boundary, Vilas set off for a single but was sent back by Croft.  As he turned he slipped and couldn’t beat Poysden throw.

With only four wickets left and five overs left  280 looked a reasonable score for the Lightning but Bohannon and Liam Hurt making his List A debut added 68 in five overs.   Bohannon hit his first List A fifty when he bottom edged a drive off Bresnan which went for a straight six.   He pulled the previous ballover square leg but as Pillans moved in for the catch the ball swirled around him and the ball just dropped short of a six and went for a four.  

The Vikings set off at a blistering rate and after five overs they had reached 39, it took the Lightning 10 overs to reach 42.  Saqib Mahmood was replaced by Maxwell at the Kirkstall lane end and he struck with the last ball off his first over when Jennings took a diving catch at backward point to dismiss Lyth.

It could have been even better for the Lightning when Willey, on nought,edged the next ball from Graham Onions to Vilas.  But as he hung his head to walk back to the hutch Vilas dropped the comfortable chance.

It didn’t prove too expensive, Willey only added one when he clipped Mahmood off his legs straight to Haseeb Hameed on the square leg boundary.                                                                                                          

Harry Brooke never looked comfortable against the leg spinner Matt Parkinson and it was a blessing when he played around a straight ball and was adjudged leg before.

On 21 Tom Kohler-Cadmore clipped Onions off his legs just over Croft  at mid wicket and the ball raced to the boundary.  He brought up his fifty and the Vikings hundred with a straight six off Maxwell.

Gary Ballance swept Maxwell just over Parkinson at short leg for a boundary. With these together the Vikings were the favourites.Kohler-Cadmore backed away from Maxwell and swatted him the extra cover boundary.     In the next over he blasted Mahmood just wide of Parkinson’s left to the long on boundary and blasted the next ball wide of Parkinson’s right to the mid wicket boundary.                                                                                                     

Ballance pulled Croft with disdain to the mid wicket boundary and the repeated the shot to the next ball to bring up his fifty. He cut the next ball to the third man boundary. The Vikings got another five runs to end the over.

The Lightning thought they had got rid of Ballance when he clipped Parkinson to Maxwell at mid wicket and just beat Maxwell’s direct. Parkinson must have said something to umpire Robinson who spoke to Vilas who in turn spoke to Parkinson.

Kohler-Cadmore backed away from Mahmood to have a big heave ho missed the ball which clipped his off stump. Ballance squeezed out Mahmood but found Maxwell at short cover.  Bresnan backed away from Parkinson and drove straight to Maxwell on the long on boundary.

Gale added: “I thought Kohler-Cadmore played really well and he and Ballance got us back in the game. But again we wern’t smart enough.  I thought we were quite poor in a few departments  and we didn’t play well under pressure especially in the last few overs when we let them get  30 more than they should have.

The Vikings lost their last for wickets for 45 runs in five overs.  First Rashid went down the pitch to Parkinson and drove him for a six over long on. He tried to repeat the shot with Onions in the next over but picked out Jones coming from the mid wicket boundary.  Pillans went for a big hit over long and was leg before.  

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