Yorkshire v Worcestershire T20 Blast

Yorkshire v Worcestershire Vitality T20 at Headingly June 23rd

Neil Whitaker reports

A RECORD sixth wicket partnership of 141, the highest sixth wicket partnership in Vitality Blast history, by Harry Brook and Jordan Thompson in nine overs rescued the Vikings innings from 50 for five in the eleventh over to 191 for five.

Brook hit an unbeaten 83, made the Rapids pay for dropping him on two, and  Thompson was not out on 66. The pair came together when George Hill who had added 35 with Brook but he departed when he made room to cut  Ed Barnard and lost his off bail.

Thompson said: “At 15-4,you’re staring down the barrel of only getting 100, but myself and Brook just kept going. Every shot we tried to play came off, and we found ourselves with 190. It was very enjoyable.

I’ am quite annoyed our stand wasn’t the world record! No, seriously, we can’t complain.  Having come off at half-time, we were desperate to win the game. Had we lost, it would have been a bit of an anti-climax. That’s the best innings I’ve ever played. Everything seemed like slow motion. To do it in front of this crowd was good, and to win even better.
Credit to Hill and Brook they took the sting out of it.  They were still on top when Hill got out at 50-5, but he slowed things down a bit and allowed me to come in and bat alongside Brook, whose innings was critical in getting us to that score.  He said to me, ‘You’re making me look slow!’. I said, ‘If you’re not doing this, I couldn’t have come in and played how I have’. Massive credit to him.”

Brook pulled Dillon  Pennington to Rikki Wessels at mid wicket but he dropped it and Brook got a single, the first run off the bat conceded by Pennington.  He had another life when he swept Ish Sodhi to Barnard on the deep mid wicket boundary but dropped it.

That sparked Brook into boundary mode, he cue ended a drive off Barnard for the first six of the Vikings innings.  He got his second six  in the next over when he used his feet and drove Sodhi straight into the Emerald stand.

Thompson got into the six act when he pulled Barnard over deep backward square leg.  In the next over he pulled Brett D'Oliveira  for a six over square leg.  Pennington was brought back into the attack and Thompson blasted him over extra cover for a flat six.  He hit the next ball for a straight boundary to bring up the fifty partnership in 22 balls.

Then he flicked Ben  Dwarshus off his legs for a huge six over the mid wicket boundary.  His fifty came from 21 balls in 24 minutes including four sixes and three fours.

Brook tried to scoop Barnard but missed the ball and Rapids  stumper and  captain Ben Cox got hit in the face.  He top edged the next ball over Sodhi at short third man for another boundary and hit the next ball for another straight six. 

Brook turned Charlie Morris off his legs to bring up his second T20 fifty from 43 balls with three sixes and two fours. He scooped Ben Dwarshus for a four to the fine leg boundary to bring up the hundred partnership and followed that with a huge six into the Western Terrace.

It could have been so different for the Rapids after they had the Vikings at 18 for four in their power play.  Pennington’s  first over was a triple wicket maiden.  The Vikings lost their first wicket when Adam Lyth sliced a drive of Pennington’s first ball to Morris at third man.  Jonny Tattersall pulled the next ball to Jake  Libby at straight mid wicket. Pennington got his third wicket of the over when Garry  Ballance got underneath a pull straight to Barnyard on the deep mid wicket boundary. With the second ball off his second over Pennington got his fourth wicket when he trapped Joe Root leg before.  He should have had a fifth  but for that drop by Wessels.

Pennington said: “I was looking forward to playing against Joe Root. It was awesome just to play against and bowl at him, never mind to get him out.  My performance sums up what I’ve been trying to do all season to build up pressure. We started pretty well, but they both batted really well and our batters gave it their best shot.  We are a bunch of guys who are trying to do our best.  I think that we’ve had a good game and I didn’t think that we would get that close.”

After his third over Pennington was taken out of the attack and returned to have 21 hit off his last over and finished with four for 24 in his four overs.

The Rapids lost their first wicket in the second over when Wessels drove Root straight who got a finger tip on it to run out D’Oliveria backing up.  Lockie Ferguson came on as first change and struck with his fifth ball when Tom  Fell bottom edged a drive to Tattersall.

After the explosive batting by Brook and Thompson the Rapids  batting was sedate but still they reached fifty in the seventh over. When Wessels gently placed Thompson to the third man boundary  he  was nearing the forties.  But when he thought that he and Libby would get the Rapids near their target Libby launched Dom  Bess to Brook at long off.  

Wessels reached his fifty off 32 balls with a single off Ferguson. He dropped kicked Bess over cow corner for the first six of the Rapids innings.  In the next over  he drove Matthew Waite’s first ball for a straight six despite the efforts of Lyth at long on who ended up tipping it over the the line. Wessels innings ended when Matthew  Fisher yorked him.

Thompson fired in a a full toss to Cox who helped it on its way to the boundary.  From the last five overs the Rapids needed 68 to win, a fumble by Ferguson on the square leg boundary allowed Cox to get another boundary off Bess.  In the next over he drove Ferguson to the long on boundary to take the required run rate over 16.

With 43 needed from two overs Cox dabbed Ferguson to the third man boundary to bring up his fifty.  Cox managed to get the next two balls to the boundary.  Off the 19th over the Rapids scored 20 leaving them to get 23 from the last over. Russ Whiteley, who once hit 36 off a Vikings’ over,  drove the first ball from Fisher to the extra cover boundary but got an outside edge to the next ball to find Brook coming in from the long on boundary. With Cox he added 55 in five overs.  The Rapids could only add another 10 to their score.

Tattersall returned from his loan spell at Gloucestershire and replaced Tom Kohler-Cadmore who broke his finger against Derbyshire Falcons on Sunday and Hill replaced Will Fraine out with a side injury while the Rapids were unchanged from the the team that were  thrashed by Nottinghamshire Outlaws last night.  



FULL SCORECARD

June 24, 2021 8:42 am

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