Laughable, Pitiful Vikings

The hapless Yorkshire puddings have now followed up three consecutive Twenty20 wins with three defeats inside a miserable week. All three losses could have been avoided, and yet the Tykes (boasting about half a dozen internationals in their ranks) will insist on losing close matches. Tonight by the narrowest of margins, the visitors broke their supporters' hearts with an inept run chase that landed them one run pitifully short of Durham's own total.

Credit has to go overwhelmingly to the redoubtable Paul Collingwood who rescued his team after a poor start. In fact it was possibly Yorkshire's failure to pick up more than a measly three wickets that proved to be their undoing, as a couple more wickets would probably have equated to a couple more dot balls and theoretically a couple less runs in this tightest of tight contests. Of course the away team by contrast proceeded to lose wickets regularly thereby sabotaging much prospect of momentum. Kohler-Cadmore again underperformed, while the run out of Lees (playing very well at the time) pretty much summed up Yorkshire's luckless adventures of late. The Vikings have descended from top of the charts to fifth in their group with only three matches remaining. They surely need at least two wins out of three, but seem not to be sufficiently streetwise to win close matches. This will be the lethal symptom in another potentially ill-fated Twenty20 campaign.

Durham Jets versus YORKSHIRE VIKINGS; in Chester-le-Street; Friday the fourth of August. Durham Jets won the toss.

DURHAM JETS: 157 for three (off twenty overs)

Latham c and b Bresnan 9 (11-1)

Clark b Willey 3 (30-2)

Collingwood not out 88

Arshad b Willey 19 (71-3)

Richardson not out 32

Extras: six

YORKSHIRE VIKINGS: 156 for seven (off twenty overs)

Lyth c Arshad b McCarthy 21 (36-1)

Kohler-Cadmore c Weighell b McCarthy 14 (36-2)

Willey c Clark b Coughlin 40 (115-5)

Lees run out [Collingwood] 29 (83-3)

Sarfraz c Latham b McCarthy 6 (98-4)

Leaning c Latham b Coughlin 19 (148-7)

Bresnan c Weighell b Coughlin 10 (138-6)

Rashid not out 2

Rafiq not out 3

Extras: twelve

McCarthy 4-0-33-3; Coughlin 4-0-34-3

Durham Jets win by one run!

BATSMEN 'CHART' (minimum requirement: one hundred runs and average in excess of forty):

Willey: average - 47.38; 379 runs; highest score - 118

Marsh: average - 43.20; 216 runs; highest score - 60

BOWLERS' 'CHART' (minimum requirement: ten wickets and average less than forty):

Rashid: eleven wickets; average - 22.91

Patterson: eleven wickets; average - 23.27

Bresnan: ten wickets; average - 25.30

Rafiq: eleven wickets; average - 26.27

Willey: ten wickets; average - 30