Yorkshire v Warwickshire, Vitality T20 Blast North Group June 13th

Neil Whitaker reports

SOMEHOW Yorkshire managed to lose to the Bears by 32 runs at Headingley with six overs to go you would have got long odds on a  Bears win.

It was the last five overs of both side’s innings that turned the match. The Bears managed to score 75 only losing two wickets while Yorkshire could only score 32 and lost five wickets.

Ed Barnard top scored for the Bears with 67 from 40 balls with five fours and two sixes and it was Barnard’s highest score in T20 cricket.

He  reached his 50 when he reversed scoop George Hill wide off stumper Will Luxton to the third man boundary.  His 50  came from 32 balls with five fours and a six.  He shared in the two big partnerships that got the Bears past 200: Tom Latham and George Garton

With Latham they added 48 in six overs.  The partnership was broken when Latham tried to help a legside ball from  Hill but got an outside edge to it the  ball went straight up in the air. Just when you thought that  the ball would drop between three Yorkshire players Jafer Chohan dived forward to take the catch.

Barnard reversed swept Dom Bess into the West stand for a six. He flat batted Jafer Chohan to the mid wicket boundary. After getting hit in the midships Barnard was clearly out of sorts  but still managed to  flat bat the next ball over long-off for a six. But his end came when he  drove Jack aWhite one handed but found Bess in the long-off boundary.

Garton threw everything at Bess to get him to the long-on boundary then he  drilled the next ball over the mid-wicket boundary for a six.  He late cut the next ball to the third man boundary and he finished the over with a big six into the Howard stand.Garton miscued a drive off Will O’Rourke and the ball went straight to James Wharton on the point boundary.

With 10 balls left in the innings Hassan Ali and Briggs couldn’t get the Bears to 200 but they did by adding 30 in 10 balls.

Barnard said: “It was a great game of cricket and we did well to get 200, at the start we said we would need 200. We lost a few more wickets early and through the middle than we’d have liked. But it shows that we bat all the way down  and Hassan Ali and Briggs got us over 200. To get 76 in the last five overs showed how quick the outfield was.

I never had a chance of getting up the order but I’ve enjoyed batting. Tonight I feel that I left a few out there.  

Tonight we have won and that will give us momentum going into the next few matches.”

After winning the toss and deciding to bat Bears captain Alex Davies clipped George  Hill off his toes but found Matt Revis but fortunately for Davies, Revis had stepped over the line.  It didn’t make any difference because Davies uppercut the next ball to Jafer Chohan at short third man.

Fresh from his two wickets against Nottinghamshire two days ago Bess struck  his first ball.  Dan Mousley took a couple of paces down the pitch to drive him, missed the ball and was easily bowled.

Sam Hain trademark lofted drive off O’Rourke to the extra cover boundary.  Three balls he meekly chipped O’Rourke to Adam  Lyth at short cover.

Moeen Ali was leg before to a yorker from White. Kai Smith tried inject some urgency into the Bears innings and he drilled Jafer Chohan to the long-off boundary and edged him through stumper Luxton’s legs to the third man boundary.  In the next over he top edged a cut off O’Rourke to stumper Luxton.

Yorkshire made a great start to their reply scoring 21 in nine balls until Luxton edged a drive off Hassan Ali and after an eternity the ball finally dropped into Moeen Al’s hands at mid-off.

Yorkshire captain Dawid Malan swept Briggs’ first ball into the top deck of the north east stand. Three balls later he repeated the shot with the same result. In Briggs’  next over Malan  swept him again this time a little finer and Garton ran round the boundary looking into the sun and dropped the running chance.

He  flicked Jake Lintott to the fine leg boundary and drilled the next over long-on for another six. He late cut Moeen Ali to the point boundary to bring up not only his 50 but the Yorkshire hundred. His 50 came from29 balls with four fours and three sixes.

He swept Moeen Ali over the mid-wicket for  another six into the West stand and cheekily scooped Briggs to the fine leg boundary. The Bears got rid off him when top edged a sweep off Briggs and Hassan Ali took the catch at short fine leg.

Lyth was out-gunned  by Malan apart from when he drove Hassan Ali to the cover boundary.  Wanting to get in on the act he had a big swing at Moeen Ali and was bowled.

Sutherland rocked back to Mousley and smashed over the long-off for a six.  He clipped Hassan Ali  off his ties to the fine leg boundary.

With  65 needed from five overs,  Sutherland drilled Briggs over long-off for a six. Sutherland went for another straight six but Hain ran round the long-off boundary and took the catch.  And that was the match for the Bears.  Hill and Revis tried their best but they couldn’t find the boundary and the more they couldn’t find the boundary the more they found the Bears fielders.

Yorkshire’ s Will O’Rourke said: “We  didn't close out how we would have wanted to at the end (with the ball). Our last three overs went for plenty.

and I  know that's something we've got to look at as a bowling unit and try to close out games better out here.

We know through T20 cricket that the run-rate gets up, the bowlers bowl well and the pressure mounts. It didn’t really fall our way at the end there. All the scores in the first innings have been over 200 (in this season’s Blast). So we knew it was definitely chaseable. But every time you're over 200, it's a tough challenge.

I think I went alright. It was a fresh wicket, and I tried to run in hard and bowl hard. In T20 cricket, some days it comes off and some days it doesn’t. It was nice to get a few wickets, but disappointed not to be able to get over the line.

Hassan Ali is world-class. He's been around for a long time now, and he's played a few seasons over here. He's a classy operator, and it went really well for him today.”

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