Yorkshire Vikings v Lancashire Lightnings T 20 Blast June 8th

Neil Whitaker reports from Headingley

LANCASHIRE Lightning somehow managed to beat the Yorkshire Vikings at Headingley by four runs to maintain their position as leaders of the North group.

With four overs remaining the Vikings needed 32 with six wickets standing but by the end of the 19th over they had only scored 15 runs leaving them to get 17 off the final over to win the match.

The final over was given to Danny Lamb whose first two balls cost him only  four runs.  Matt  Revis picked up the third ball and planted him into the Western Terrace. After a dot ball Lamb bowled a wide, but he managed another dot  ball with the fifth. With five needed off the final ball Dominic  Drakes managed to squeeze the ball out to Tom Hartley on the fine leg boundary. TV  replays showed he had made the catch.

Vikings head coach Otis Gibson said: “That’s the nature of T20 cricket. We are two very good teams who are competing at the highest levels. We bowled 16 overs brilliantly and the last four changed the game. We allowed Tim David to target the straight boundary, we knew what he was going to do and allowed him to dominate, but we did so many good things. When they bowled they executed their bowling plans very well.”

Lightning skipper Dane Vilas said: “To go down to the wire and to be inches away from winning and losing is intense.  You couldn’t script it any better for us, for Hartley to take that catch in front of the Western Terrace under huge pressure, and for Lamb to close it out. To hold their nerve was fantastic, and it was as tight as it comes.

We’re on a great run of form, but equally it could go the other way so we won’t take our foot off the gas. A couple more wins and we’ll be on our way to those quarter-final spots.”

Lightning’s leading run scorer in this year’s Blast David top scored with  66 and shared in a fifth wicket partnership of 97 in seven overs with _

Vilas.  At the end of the 15th over the Lightning were 127 for four and 160 looked a good score but it kick started the partnership.

On four,  David sliced a drive off David Willey to Jordan Thompson on  the point boundary but the man who makes things happen couldn’t take the catch as he fell to the ground proving that he is human.

David drilled Thompson over long on for a six as the Lightning accelerated with 19 coming from the over. In the next over he thrashed Drakes to the long on boundary just evading Wiley’s outstretched hand

The Aussie took a liking to Thompson by driving him straight for a six into the second tier of the north east stand following it with a one bounce four.   He low batted the third ball over extra cover boundary and he brought up his fifty which came from 26 balls with another straight six.  

When he flicked Drakes over backward square leg for a six he looked as if he would bat through the Lightning innings as he went for another six instead of finding the boundaries he found Jonny Tattersall  running in from the long off boundary.

Now Vilas stepped into the breach and took a couple of steps down the pitch to Adil Rashid and launched into the second tier of the Howard stand.  He scooped Willey for a six to bring up the Lightning 200.

After been put in, Croft drove  Revis over long on for the first six of the match and pulled the next ball which hit the floodlight pylon for another six to bring up the lightning fifty in the fifth over.  He drove Rashid over long on and it just had the legs for another six.

Croft’s enterprising 41 from 24 balls ended when he bottom edged Thompson to Drakes at point who took a comfortable chest high catch.

Danger man Liam Livingstone bottom edged a drive off Rashid and Wiley, at mid on waited an age for the ball,  took the catch before falling to the ground.

In their chase the Vikings lost their first wicket to the third ball of their innings when Dawid Malan drove straight to that man David on the long off boundary and an easy victory for the Lightning looked on the cards.

Kohler-Cadmore  joined Adam  Lyth and they added 119 in nine overs. Kohler-Cadmore guided Richard Gleeson over third slip’s head to the boundary after bowling his first over was a maiden.  He repeated the shot later in the over but this time he got a six.  After sprinting to 33 out of  39 he pulled Luke  Wood but luckily for him the ball fell short between Hartley and Steven Croft.

Kohler-Cadmore  hit 22 off Livingstone’s  second over to bring up his fifty off 25 balls and included six fours and three sixes.  He pulled Hartley and the  ball seemed  to be going to Wood on the mid wicket boundary but the bounce deceived Wood and the ball ran to the boundary.

Lyth top edged a sweep off David to the fine leg boundary for a six and he ended the over with another six. He  gently drove Livingstone for a straight six over the long on boundary to bring up the hundred partnership.  The partnership was broken when he tried to slog/sweep the indifferent pace of Lamb and found Hartley running in from the square leg boundary.

Willey clipped Gleeson off his legs for his first six despite the efforts of Livingstone on the boundary.  Later in the over he glanced Gleeson off his hips for another six.  In the next over he flat batted Lamb for a six over mid wicket.

The Lightning got rid off Kohler-Cadmore  when he pulled Hartley on the deep mid wicket boundary.   His 77 came from 43 balls and included three fours and four sixes.

On 164 for four Willey clipped Lamb off his legs through the hands of Wood on the mid wicket boundary.  To rub salt into the Lightning wounds Willey smashed the next ball for another six.

Tattersall swept Hartley and was adjudged leg before. After getting off the mark with a couple, Thompson cut him to Gleeson at short third man but he dropped it.

Willey drove Gleeson the long off boundary.  Gleeson atoned for his drop when he dismissed Willey with a spectacular one handed return catch in his left hand. Two balls later Gleeson bowled Thompson off stump  with a yorker.

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