Yorkshire v Northamptonshire June 26th

Yorks v N’hants at Headingly T20 Blast June 26th

Neil Whitaker reports

YORKSHIRE Vikings bounced back from their defeat on Friday to beat Northamptonshire Steelbacks by 82 runs and go top of the Northern group.

For the second time in three days Jordan Thompson blasted the visiting team’s bowlers to all parts of Emerald Headingley.  He beat by eight runs his 66 against Worcestershire Rapids with 74. Thompson was promoted up the order to number three  after his batting exploits on Wednesday night and flat batted  Brandon Glover for a straight six.  He clipped Rob Keogh off his toes for a straight six out of the ground.  The next ball went for a straight six this over long off and stayed in the ground.

He rocked back to Graeme  White and launched him over square leg for a six to take hi. Into the forties. He top edged a flat batted shot off Glover and looked odds on to be caught but  it crept to the boundary to bring up his fifty off 27 balls with four sixes and three fours.

Thompson’s fifth six sailed over the boundary off Tom Taylor. The next ball was bigger and went into the middle tier of the Emerald stand. He ended the over with another six when he swung around and helped it over the fine leg boundary.

He got too far under his last ball from Glover and it went miles in the air and eventually fell to Taylor at long off.  His 74 came  from 35 balls and included seven sixes and three fours.

Harry Brook ramped  Wayne Parnell for a six over fine leg.  Garry Ballance slogged Ben Sanderson for a six into the East stand and hit a woman on her head.  The pair added 27 off the last over and they both hit two sixes. The Vikings innings three fifty plus partnerships.  The only Viking player to miss out was stand-in skipper Adam  Lyth who made 25.  He was the first man out when he had a big swing at Taylor and was bowled for 25 off 15 balls.

Adam Rossington pulled Matthew Waite for the first six of the Steelbacks innings.  Three balls his innings was over when Ricardo Vasconcelos played Waite out to the covers but Rossington couldn’t beat Dom Bess’ direct hit.

Two overs later Vasconcelos drove Bess straight to Lyth at short cover.  Parnell despatched Lockie Ferguson’s first ball fir a six over mid wicket.  Mohammed Nabi danced down the wicket to Bess but cue ended it to Brook coming in from long on.  Bess ended the over with his third wicket when Parnell pulled him to Lockie Ferguson who dove full length on the fine leg boundary.

Next to go was Saif Zaib who pulled Thompson but got too far underneath it and the ball went high in the sky and Mark Stoneman took the catch running in from mid wicket.  Keogh turned Ferguson off his legs and set off for a single but Thurston couldn’t beat Ballance’s direct hit.

Taylor cut Matthew Fisher to Thompson on the point boundary.  White tried to hit Fisher out of the ground but again got underneath it to give Stoneman another catch.  Waite got his first wicket of the  match when he trapped Steebacks top scorer Keogh leg before. 

For the second time in six days Bess took best Vitality Blast T20 figures, this time three for 21.

Before the match the Vikings announced they had signed Stoneman from Surrey on a six match Vitality Blast T20 loan to replace Dawid Malan who  has been called into the One-day squad to be one of the five  Vikings players in the squad. England First XI Coach Andrew Gale said: “With the number of players we are now missing due to England commitments and injury, we felt we needed to add a top order batsmen to our squad for the latter stages of the group. We have made a great start to this year’s Vitality Blast and seen some great contributions from some of our younger players, but feel like the addition of an experienced batsman at the top of the order is important to help keep up the momentum.

“Stoneman certainly fits the bill for what we were looking for; an experienced player who will fit in at the top of the order. His quality is well known and we are looking forward to welcoming him into the squad.”

He is available for five of the final six group games, missing the Notts Outlaws game on Friday 9 July as he returns to Surrey to prepare for their LV= Insurance County Championship game against Somerset that starts on Sunday 11 July.

Stoneman said: “I got to know about the loan yesterday afternoon and I come here with Alec Stewart’s blessing.  I am grateful for the opportunity to play some T20 cricket.  When you don't make the cut at Surrey you’ve got to take it on the chin and when an opportunity like this arises to get some runs in this format you’ve got to take it.  I am grateful to come here to get a few runs on the board.

I’ve played against and know most of the older lads,so it was an easy decision to come here.  I really enjoyed tonight.”

In the match he made 50 and laid the foundations for what was to come.Stoneman swept White’s first ball to the square leg boundary and repeated the shot with the same result to his next ball.  He reached his fifty of 30 with 10 fours.  But he tried to sweep Naib’s first ball of the next over and was adjudged leg before on the back leg.

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