Yorkshire v Northamptonshire T20 Blast North Group at Headingley May 30th

Neil Whitaker reports

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE Steelbacks beat Yorkshire by 13 runs  in a thrilling opening Vitality Blast T20 match at Headingley.

Put into bat the Northamptonshire Steelbacks made their highest Vitality Blast T20 score against Yorkshire of 237 for four, reaching  200 for the first time in T20 cricket. 

Justin Broad top scored for Northamptonshire Steelbacks with 67.  He cut Will  Sutherland  to the point boundary to bring up his 50 from 23 balls including  five fours  and three sixes. Broad sublimely uppercut Sutherland over point for a six.  He tried to sweep Matt  Milnes over the fine leg boundary but found Will  Luxton coming in from the boundary. He was dismissed in the last over with five balls to go when he swept Milnes looking for another over fine leg but he found Will  Luxton coming in from the boundary edge.

Forner Yorkshire player David  Willey hit 54 from 24 balls with six sixes and a couple of fours. He  swept Will O’Rourke over fine leg for a huge six and planted the next ball for a six in the North East stand.  He blasted Sutherland  flamingo style to the cover boundary and swept the next ball for a six. He reached his 50 with a flat batted straight six off Jaffer Chohan. His 50 came from 20 balls with three fours and five sixes.  He toe ended  a drive off Sutherland and Milnes running from long-off took the catch. 

The Northamptonshire Steelbacks  openers Ricardo Vasconcelos and Matthew Breetzke blitzed the Yorkshire pace trio and  put on 73 for the first wicket in the power play  with 60 of them coming  in boundaries until Breetzke had a big swing at Dom Bess and was bowled.  Bess got his second wicket when Vasconelos had a big swing across the line and was bowled.  He hit six fours and a six and was very much the silent partner in his partnership with Broad. Bess two wickets cost 29 runs in his four overs. 

Yorkshire had an eventful first over losing three wickets.  First skipper Dawid Malan pulled the third ball of the innings looking for a six but found Breetzke running round the boundary and diving forward to take the catch inches from the boundary edge. Luxton  tried to play Willey to leg but got a leading edge and Vasconcelos took the catch.  Adam Lyth was run out going for  a third after both he and James Wharton hesitated about going for it. Harry Duke clipped Willey off his toes for a six over fine leg and he  ramped the next ball for a six.

Despite losing those  three early wickets Yorkshire’s score after their first power play was 88 for three, 13 ahead of the Steelbacks.  On 35 Wharton got too far under a shot ball but the chance was put down at square leg. Duke tried to sweep the next ball but played over the ball and was bowled.

Wharton scooped Willey  over stumper Lewis McManus head for a six to bring up his 50 from 27 ball with three sixes and five fours. But he was soon back in the hutch when he tried to cross bat Willey and was bowled. 

Sutherland pulled Lloyd Pope straight for a six to bring up the Yorkshire hundred up in the ninth over. In the next over he easily toe poked George Scrimshaw over the long-on boundary for another six. He flat batted Liam Guthrie  for a six over long-off and smashed the next ball over mid-wicket. He hit another two sixes in the over the second which brought up his 50 with six sixes.  Going for another six he found Vasconcelos coming round the long-off boundary. 

Sutherland said : “It was nice to get a few runs  but we would have preferred a win but there are plenty of positives to come out of this defeat but we were sloppy with the ball. When we turned to using the slower balls we had a hold on them.  I thought that Bess pulled the momentum our way the best that he could. We kept trying to grab the opportunities when we could.  We let them get 25 too many but we nearly chased them down.

I got a bit greedy but if it had gone for a six we would have got the rate down to nine an over. But I was happy to spend some time in the middle.”

Broad said: “It was  a great start by Willey but it was one of those games where if someone gets hold of you the ball will ball will fly. I thought the lads did well and there are a lot of positives to take from the game.”

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