Yorkshire v Surrey July 22nd Royal London One Day Cup

Neil Whitaker reports

MARK Stoneman who spent a month on loan for the  Yorkshire Vikings in the Vitality blast returned to Yorkshire with Surrey and hit an unbeaten 73 as Surrey beat them by five wickets with 65 balls to spare at Scarborough.
 
 The Yorkshire fans turned up at the North Marine Road wanting to see a victory after being deprived of cricket for two years but it was not to be, the result was never in any doubt after Surrey had won the toss and put the Vikings in and in the 10 over they were struggling at 44 for four.
 
 Doing the damage for Surrey was 23 year old Gus Atkinson who on his List A debut for Surrey took four 43 in  his ten overs to dismiss Yorkshire Vikings for 165 in 34.1 overs.
 
 Atkinson struck in his first over when Will Fraine played on to him.  He got his second wicket when George  Hill top edged a pull off him and Stoneman at mid wicket took an easy catch.  In the previous over Hill had driven Matt  Dunn straight back and despite getting his finger tips to it Dunn couldn’t hold on to it.  The Surrey man got his third wicket when he found the edge of  Jonny Tattersall’s bat with a rising ball.

 That was in the 10th over and Atkinson was taken out of the attack and didn’t get his fourth wicket until the 30th over when he came back into the attack and broke a stubborn Vikings eighth wicket  partnership between Matthew Waite and former Surrey man Matt Pillans.  In the circumstances the pair only added 21 in five overs as they tried to give themselves and the other Vikings bowlers a total to defend.   After Pillans had hit a few lusty blows he top edged a pull of Atkinson and stumper Jamie  Smith ran 20 yards and took a diving catch.
 
 Atkinson said: “We  just tried to keep it simple and we knew there was enough in the wicket. Everyone did their bit. To bowl them out for 165 we’ll take that. I am very happy, to be able to contribute and win games with the lads.”

 The one major partnership of the Vikings innings was the fifth wicket partnership of 81 in 12 overs between Garry Ballance and Matt Revis.  The pair came together with the Vikings struggling on 40 for four inside 10 overs and a very early finish was on the cards.
 
 After being put into bat by Surrey the Vikings lost their second wicket in the third over 
 when Harry Duke guided Dunn to Ryan Patel at first slip.
 
 After slog/sweeping  Dan Moriarty to the mid wicket boundary Revis pulled Coner  McKerr over the square leg boundary for a six to overtake Ballance.  Watching the wickets fall at the other end Ballance had  set his stall out to blunt the Surrey attack.  Gradually Revis became more confident as seen in those two shots and the Vikings’ followers were now  confident of getting a big score but the  partnership was broken when Ballance fended off a short ball to Patel at square leg.

 Two overs later Revis was following Ballance back into the hutch when McKerr threw up a wide ball to Revis who scooped it up to Patel at point to end Revis’ run a ball 43 knock.
 
 Vikings skipper Dom Bess went down the wicket to Moriarty but didn’t get inside it and gave Tim  David  at long off an easy catch to give Moriarty his first Surrey list A wicket. He should have got his second when  Pillans, on one, drilled him straight back and despite getting both hands to it above his head couldn’t hold on to it.

 Waite gave a simple return catch to Moriarty. Five overs later and after adding another nine runs Coad slapped Patel to David at mid off.
 
In their chase or crawl Stoneman and Hashim Amla took third time taking the occasional single but suddenly Stone uppercut Coad to the third man boundary.
 
 Getting in on the act Amla gently lofted Waite to the long on boundary and then in the next over without any power he clipped Pillans off his legs to the mid wicket boundary but Pillans soon had his revenge when he dismissed Amla.  Amla top edged a pull and found Jack Shutt at mid on.  Two balls later he beat Ben  Geddes, on his List A debut,  for pace and comprehensively bowled him.
 
 The Vikings thought they had got a third wicket when Coad squared Smith up and thought he had got an edge but umpire Neil Mallender didn’t. In the next over Smith played Revis with soft hands and was lucky he did when the ball fell short of Fraine at slip.
 
 After his month's loan with Yorkshire,Stoneman thought he would go after Bess, one over went four, four and six. That over gave him more confidence which he has been lacking this season, his fifty came from 70 balls with five fours and a six.
 
 Atkinson added: “I thought he batted very well, we needed someone to step up and bat through the innings which is what he did. It’s a great start to the competition.”
 
 On 54 he edged Hill and stumper Duke couldn’t hold on to it and palmed the ball away for a single.  Smith lofted the next ball for a straight six and two balls later lofted Hill over long-on for a one bounce four to bring the target below 50.
 
 Pillans was brought back into the attack and struck with his first ball. Smith top edged a short ball to Ballance at mid off.  Three balls later after a short delay while a helmet was brought on.  Bess set an attacking field, Pillans bowled a short ball to Patel who got a leading edge and Tattersall took a diving catch at backward point.
 
 Nico Reifer got off the mark and his first runs for Surrey with a beautiful cut off Pillans to the cover boundary. Reifer hit two more boundaries to finish the over as Yorkshire attacked with a slip, leg slip and short leg.  The first of the two again went to the cover boundary and the latter to long off boundary.
 
 Reifer quickly moved to 25 from 25 balls he got a bit over confident, he had despatched Bess to the boundary but he played down the wrong line to the next ball and was bowled by the arm ball.
 
 Pillans said: “Conditions suited fast bowling, and you have to make the most of it when they’re like that. One of the biggest things for me is to get over the 90 mph mark as frequently as possible. When you get these wickets, it’s a pleasure to bowl on. I’ve been feeling like I’ve got a bit of pace behind me in the nets. Hopefully I can keeping working with that and put in some more performances during the next few weeks.
 
 He added: “You have to go hard at any team you come up against. But when you’ve played for the club, it’s good to see some of the guys at the other end. There was a good bit of banter out of there.”
 

 
 
 
 

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