Bears Collapse

By Gary Watton
July 8 2016

The home team's score looked to be at least five or ten runs below par, courtesy of some laid back batting from Ballance and Williamson. Indeed when the Bears were proceeding on their merry way towards the target, they seemed well set to confirm that 156 was just a shade too lightweight. However, remarkably the visitors contrived to snatch defeat away from the jaws of a likely triumph. They did so by producing the mother of all collapses. The end of innings demise, not unlike Lancashire in a recent one-day match against the Vikings, was so spectacular that one could be forgiven for thinking that the away team had actually thrown the match in some sinister pre-arranged pact.  

Certainly the Bears will be kicking themselves rather brutally after this bizarre capitulation, but there were some other reasons why Yorkshire prevailed. The hosts had the very effective slow bowling of Rafiq and Rashid to thank for stemming the tide of Birmingham's aggression. Adam Lyth also weighed in with one over that only yielded four runs, all of which atoned for some characteristically erratic bowling from big Plunkett, the big plonker.

In the end it was the excellent Tim Bresnan who again underlined his credentials as one of the very best limited overs bowlers in the country, probably even eclipsing his partner, David Willey who had begun the Bears' demise by taking a wicket with his second ball.

On fine margins do some cricket contests sit, and this narrowest of narrow wins owed an awful lot to Bresnan and Leaning each hitting a six off the first ball that they faced, as they tried to ensure a stiff total for the away team. However, more than anything it was a fine piece of fielding by Lyth off the last ball, when he saved a boundary and his throw resulted in a run out that brought curtians down on a dramatic finale. This was the one that got away for Birmingham. The Phoenix now have an engagement in Derbyshire on Sunday afternoon. If they can actually put together back to back wins, they just might sneak in to the last eight of the Twenty20 Blast, after looking like hopeless also-rans in the first few weeks.

 

Twenty20 Blast: YORKSHIRE VIKINGS versus Birmingham Bears; in Leeds; Friday the eighth of July 2016. YORKSHIRE VIKINGS won the toss.

 

YORKSHIRE VIKINGS: 156 for six (off twenty overs)

Lyth c Javid b Hannon-Dalby 12 (13-1)

Willey c Porterfield b Hannon-Dalby 10 (34-2)

Lees b Poysden 23 (53-3)

Williamson run out (Wade) 48 (147-6)

Ballance b Clarke 33 (131-4)

Bresnan c Porterfield b Gordon 10 (147-5)

Plunkett not out 2

Leaning not out 6

Extras: twelve

 

Birmingham Bears: 154 (off twenty overs)

Hain lbw b Willey 0 (1-1)

Bell st Hodd b Rashid 30 (52-2)

Porterfield c Hodd b Bresnan 48 (141-5)

Wade c Lees b Rashid 6 (60-3)

Evans c Williamson b Rafiq 37 (120-4)

Clarke run out (Willey) 9 (145-6)

Javid run out (Lyth) 8

Patel c Leaning b Willey 0 (146-7)

Gordon c and b Bresnan 0 (146-8)

Poysden run out (Hodd) 0 (147-9)

Hannon-Dalby not out 2

Extras: fourteen

 

YORKSHIRE VIKINGS win by two runs. YORKSHIRE VIKINGS two points, Birmingham Bears nul points.

 

BATTING CHARTS (minimum of one hundred runs):

Jack Leaning: 116 runs; average - 29

Kane Williamson: 105 runs; average - 26.25

Alex Lees: 136 runs; average - 22.67

 

BEST BOWLERS (minimum of ten wickets):

Tim Bresnan: thirteen wickets; average - 14.38