Hopelessly Outfoxed

Yorkshire may have excelled in four-day cricket and to a lesser extent in fifty-overs tussles in recent years, but the Tykes remain thoroughly undercooked when it comes to the Twenty20 circus. The Phoenix typically began their 2016 campaign in feeble fashion with a comprehensive defeat at the hands of visiting Leicestershire. Not only did the hosts fail to restrict our opponents when they batted first, but to make a bad situation even worse, our own batting response was simply inadequate.

The white rose could do with watching the dynamic batting displays from the Indian Premier League where they might learn a thing or two. Otherwise their supporters will presumably be treated to more of the same mediocre fare. Chief culprits in the bowling department were the expensive Coad and Rhodes who conceded between them 45 runs off four pitiful overs, while special mention should go to Leicestershire's Ben Raine and our own Tim Bresnan who each managed to bowl a maiden over.

To say that a massive improvement is required this Thursday and Friday would itself be a massive understatement.

YORKSHIRE PHOENIX versus Leicestershire Foxes; in Leeds; Friday the 27th of May. YORKSHIRE PHOENIX won the toss.

Leicestershire Foxes: 174 for seven (off twenty overs)

Pettini c Rhodes b Bresnan 0 (0-1)

Cosgrove c Coad b Wainman 20 (25-2)

O'Brien.K c Rashid b Plunkett 21 (51-3)

Raine c Lyth b Rhodes 48 (121-5)

Akmal c Ballance b Plunkett 8 (72-4)

O'Brien.N c Bresnan b Coad 39 (145-6)

Wells c Coad b Bresnan 3 (145-7)

Hill not out 24

Dexter not out 5

Extras: six

YORKSHIRE PHOENIX: 120 (off 18.4 overs)

Lyth c Pettini b Raine 11 (13-1)

Lees c McKay b O'Brien 3 (16-2)

Rashid c O'Brien b Raine 2 (20-3)

Leaning c Raine b Wells 9 (32-4)

Ballance c Naik b O'Brien 17 (62-5)

Rhodes c Wells b Dexter 45 (109-9)

Bresnan c Dexter b Naik 10 (89-6)

Plunkett c O'Brien b Dexter 0 (89-7)

Hodd b O'Brien 1 (98-8)

Wainman not out 12

Coad b Raine 1

Extras: nine

Raine 3 for 7; O'Brien 3 for 27

Leicestershire Foxes won by fifty-four runs. YORKSHIRE PHOENIX nul points, Leicestershire Foxes two points.