Tied Roses second XI T20 game.

Posted by Tony Hutton

This afternoon saw the last of this season's second eleven T20 games in the Northern Division, with Yorkshire taking on Lancashire at the Leeds University ground, Weetwood, Leeds. A good contingent of Lancashire followers turned up yet again to swell the modest crowd. The semi-finals and final of this competition take place at Arundel Castle, Sussex a week today on the 24th June. As I understand the rather complicated three division structure, the three group leaders Warwickshire, Durham and Sussex have already qualified for finals day. If Yorkshire had won today they would have been the best runner up. However as the game ended in a tie, Yorkshire only managed one point and if Middlesex beat Hampshire tomorrow they will be level on points with Yorkshire but with a superior run rate. I hope my interpretation is correct but no doubt all will be revealed later tomorrow.

Today's game started in hot sunshine and remained pleasant until the last few overs when heavy cloud contributed to a gloomy atmosphere which cannot have been easy for the players. Many of the games in this competition have been low scoring affairs and it soon looked as if this one might be another. Lancashire lost two early wickets but then a stand of forty between Bohannon and Jones took it on to 67-2 before things started to go wrong again.

Josh Sullivan (Yorkshire)

Bohannon went for 39 and was soon followed by the experienced Luke Wells, formerly with Sussex. Both batsmen dismissed by the tidy leg spin of Josh Sullivan who finished his four overs with excellent figures of 4-0-15-2. The procession continued with the Scotsman Shah, the young Academy player Bell and Cornall, who plays his cricket on this ground for Leeds/Bradford University, all falling for a total of nine runs between them. Two wickets for off spinner Shutt helping them on their way. Skipper Jones, who had been watching all this from the other end, went for top score of 41, caught behind by Tattersall off Coad. leaving Lancashire in a parlous state on106-8.

Yorkshire failed to press home their advantage and Liam Hurt, who likes to swing the bat, hit a rapid 19, including three valuable fours, to add 24 more runs in the final three overs with an end result of 130-8. Those few last runs might just have put the game beyond Yorkshire's rather fragile batting line up.

In no time at all (the third over to be precise) the Yorkshire innings looked to be in tatters with a score of 15-3, Birkhead, the newly promoted Luxton and Hill all being dismissed by the bowling of Balderson and Burrows. Luxton was somewhat unlucky after a confident start he square cut a ball from Balderson which travelled at great pace but straight to young Bell who had to hold on to it in self protection. Tattersall along with opener Revis brought some sanity to proceedings, but when he was bowled by Wells for 22 the writing was on the wall again.

Dominic Leech (Yorkshire)

Wharton and Sullivan supported Revis for a while but both fell to the slow left armer Morley, so that the game looked as good as over at 72-6. But enter Dominic Leech who decided on attack to quite some effect, hitting two huge leg side sixes and a four in an innings of 25. Yorkshire now needed thirty runs to win from the last three overs. Revis who had batted through the innings was the main hope but seemed to lose the strike at vital times. However the runs kept coming, mainly in singles but in the end two to win were required from the last ball of the match, following a rather generous wide in the last over.

Matthew Revis (Yorkshire)

Revis managed a single which took him to his fifty to tie the scores, but perhaps if he and Olivier had turned for an impossible second run, somebody might have dropped the ball or even conceded an overthrow. So easy to be wise after the event I know but a little more positive thinking might have seen Yorkshire through to the finals.

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