Yorkshire v Warwickshire T20 Blast at Headingley June 22nd

Neil Whitaker reports

BIRMINGHAM Bears’ Dan Mousley took Vitality Blast T20 career best figures of four for 28 in his four overs as the Bears maintained top place in the North group with a four run victory over Yorkshire Vikings who lost their third match in four days.

Defending a target of 181 the Bears used four slow bowler, only Danny Briggs was wicketless.  Mousley’s first victim was Adam Lyth in the Vikings 10th over when he backed backed away from Mousley to drive him through the covers but top edged it to Chris Woakes at  short third man.

Vikings stumper Jonny Tattersall missed a straight ball from Mousley and was leg before.   Then he took two wickets in four balls in the vital 19th over.  First to go was Jordan Thompson who made 34 and fell to an outstanding catch when he   pulled Mousley for  a certain  six when Jacob  Bethel  leapt to his left to take a magnificent catch coming in from the long on boundary.  Robinson added: “Bethel’s  catch was outstanding.” After hitting Mousley for a six over cow corner Dom Bess played over the next ball and was bowled.

The  Bears got an early breakthrough when they got rid of dangerman Dawid Malan who   got too far under a drive off Glenn  Maxwell.  But that Mousley coming from the boundary seemed to lose the ball looking in the sun but then dove forward and took the catch.

Josh Wharton got a thick outside edge to Chris Woakes and Rob Yates at slip pouched the catch in his midriff.  Before they eventually got rid of Lyth they gave him two lives. On one he was dropped by Ed Barnard at point off Woakes.  Off the first ball of the next over he drilled Henry Brookes and again he was dropped by Barnard at point. To rub salt into Bears’ wounds he clipped Brookes for a six over fine leg to finish the over.

Vikings captain Shan Masood needed a score and looked to be in good form when he  pulled a short ball from Briggs and two balls later drilled him to the cover boundary.  But again he failed when he  was bowled by a chinaman from Jake  Lintott.

A 53 run partnership between Thompson and  att Revis kept the Vikings in the hunt but surely the match was beyond them. Thompson pulled Lintott over the long-on boundary for consecutive sixes.  Revis punched Brookes for consecutive boundaries to bring up the Vikings hundred. 

Thompson top edged a pull off Maxwell and the ball just beat the fielder for a six. Needing 58 to win from five overs, Revis drilled the first ball from Brookes to the mid off boundary just evading Barnard on its way. He  powered the first ball Mousley’s third over straight to the boundary.

Thompson drilled Mousley to the cover boundary to bring up their  fifty partnership. The partnership ended when Revis got under a pull off Woakes and Bethel running in from the square boundary called for it and took the catch with two other fielders closing in on him.

With 24 needed off two balls David Weisse hit two consecutive sixes off Brookes followed  by a wide. The next ball was a dot.  Weisse finished the match with a straight six over long on.

Robinson added: “We’ve had two hard away games on the bounce and tonight’s win was important and it gets us one step closer to the quarter finals.  We were disappointed to get only 23 runs from the last five overs. I thought Woakes bowled a vital over and closed the game out for us.  He is a quality player and it was great to have in this game

Jones top scored for the Bears with 66 before he was run out on the last ball of their innings going g for a second.  He dominated opening partner with Alex Davies of 37 in five overs.

The Birmingham Bears won the toss and decided to bat on a green tinge pitch. Yates hit nine off the first over by Matthew Fisher.

On nine Davies top edged a pull off Fisher and Bess at short third man looked  certain to take the catch but dropped the ball and it ran across the boundary .Revis struck with his first ball when Davies cut him straight to Bess at short third man.

After Yates had dominated the partnership with Davies he was soon overtaken by Chris Benjamin.  This partnership threatened and should have taken the game out of the Vikings reach.  But  Benjamin perished when he thrashed Thompson and Weisse at mid off took the simple catch.

Former Vikings Maxwell clipped his second ball from Thompson for a six into the East stand but he should have been back on his to hutch when drove the next ball back to Thompson who could only parry and couldn’t take the rebound.  He drove Jafer Chohan over deep mid wicket for another six. After a dot he pulled Chohan over square for another six.  His end came when he tried to reverse scoop and was bowled.

Yates pulled Revis over square leg into the East stand for another six.  In the next over he pulled Bess to Wharton at  square leg, Mousley tried for a second but was sent back by Yates and Mousley was easily beaten by the throw.  Yates flat batted Thompson to the cover boundary despite Chohan getting his fingertips to it.

Barnard spooned Bess up in the air to Malan at cover,  the ball after Barnard survived a mis stumping by Tattersall.  

SCORECARD