Harry Duke orchestrates Yorkshire heist against Surrey
A calculated, unbeaten 93 from Harry Duke was the backbone of Yorkshire's dramatic one-wicket win against Surrey at York Cricket Club, York on Tuesday (August 15). Chasing a modest target of 242, the hosts needed 45 from their last two wickets and when Dominic Leech joined Duke, Yorkshire were still 32 away from the target. However, the opener didn't buckle under the pressure and calmly guided his partner through the crisis as Yorkshire got across the line with nine balls to spare.
On a slightly two-paced surface, the chase went into bumpy terrain as George Hill and Will Fraine were the other batters to get starts as Surrey's spinners squeezed the life out of the chase. Wickets kept falling at regular intervals and it soon became Surrey's game to lose, but they were thwarted by Duke's brilliance in a thrilling finish. Earlier on, the visitors rode on Ben Geddes' 90-ball 92 and a lower-order fightback to get to a respectable total after the top order failed miserably. It didn't seem a threatening score at the halfway mark but it nearly proved enough for Surrey.
Brief scores:Surrey 241 in 47.5 overs (Ben Geddes 92, Conor McKerr 32; Ben Mike 4-40) lost to Yorkshire 243/9 in 48.3 overs (Harry Duke 93*, Will Fraine 32; Cameron Steel 3-49) by one wicket
Another close finish ensued at Old Trafford, Manchester as Hampshire beat Lancashire by 11 runs. Chasing an under-par target of 235, the hosts lost their last six wickets for just 66 runs to end up short. The start to the chase was wobbly for Lancashire as they slipped to 64/4 but George Lavelle and George Balderson stitched a 93-run stand to ease the nerves in the dressing room. However, Brad Wheal, who snared a five-wicket haul, led the turnaround for Hampshire along with Scott Currie to turn the game on its head.
Earlier on, the visitors had a dramatic collapse of their own as they fell from 131/0 to 234 all out. Nick Gubbins and Fletcha Middleton produced fifties to set up the century opening stand but once they were separated, it fell apart for Hampshire. Will Williams and Jack Morley shared three-fers apiece to do the damage for Lancashire. The target appeared to be a gettable one for Lancashire but they made a hash of it.
Brief scores: Hampshire 234 in 47.4 overs (Nick Gubbins 66, Fletcha Middleton 58; Will Williams 3-30, Jack Morley 3-40) beat Lancashire 223 in 49 overs (George Lavelle 57, George Balderson 44; Brad Wheal 5-47) by 11 runs
A blistering hundred from Martin Andersson and an all-round show from Ryan Higgins set the platform for Middlesex's thumping 134-run win over Nottinghamshire at Radlett. The pair added 129 off just 78 balls after the hosts were 136/4 at one stage. The run rate was never an issue for Middlesex as their batters showed intent from the get-go, making full use of the short boundaries at the ground. Nottinghamshire were able to hang in there with timely breakthroughs but they had no answers to the Anderrson-Higgins stand as boundaries and sixes were plundered at will.
The Notts did make a comeback after the stand was broken but Luke Hollman's cameo ensured that the score went past the 350-run mark. The target of 366 seemed daunting even by Radlett standards and the chase never got going for the Notts as they lost wickets from the outset. Matthew Montgomery, Calvin Harrison and Tom Loten all got 40s but all that did was to reduce the margin of defeat. The result was never in doubt once Middlesex posted the big score.
Brief scores:Middlesex 365 in 50 overs (Martin Andersson 100, Ryan Higgins 88; Lyndon James 3-82) beat Nottinghamshire 231 in 40.1 overs (Tom Loten 44, Calvin Harrison 41; Ethan Bamber 3-32, Ryan Higgins 3-40) by 134 runs.
Warwickshire registered a comfortable four-wicket win over Derbyshire at Edgbaston although the game did get a lot closer than the hosts would have liked. Their bowlers led by Oliver Hannon-Dalby's four-fer and Henry Brookes' three-wicket haul set things up as the visitors were restricted to a below-par score on a sluggish surface at Edgbaston.
David Lloyd and Brooke Guest conjured fifties but there wasn't much apart from the duo's efforts as Derbyshire lost wickets at regular intervals. It meant that they weren't able to time their charge for that final assault for a strong total. Warwickshire's bowlers held their nerve and executed their plans to perfection. Skipper Will Rhodes then led the hosts' chase with a matured fifty and he found support from most of the other batters as the target was scaled down with 14 balls to spare. There wasn't a big partnership but what Warwickshire did well was to stitch handy medium-sized stands all the way. There was a mini-collapse of sorts towards the end but by then, the result was virtually sealed.
Brief scores: Derbyshire 247/9 in 50 overs (David Lloyd 65, Brooke Guest 57; Oliver Hannon-Dalby 4-49, Henry Brookes 3-44) lost to Warwickshire 248/6 in 47.4 overs (Will Rhodes 75, Michael Burgess 46; Luis Reece 4-43) by four wickets
Leicestershire almost made heavy weather of a simple chase but eventually scrapped to a thrilling two-wicket win over Essex at Kibworth. A cracking ton from Soloman Budinger and a sparkling fifty from Peter Handscomb had gotten their team cruising at 161/2 in chase of 252. But once the partnership was broken, Essex found ways to hang in there with timely strikes as the Leicestershire batters threw their wickets away. The game came to life all of a sudden and it seemed like Essex may snare a heist out of nowhere. Louis Kimber and Chris Wright held their nerve to see their team through. Earlier on, Essex got to a respectable total on the back of fifties from Charlie Allison and Noah Thain who resurrected the innings from a shaky 20/3. William Buttleman weighed in with a cameo at the back end to get the score to the 250-run mark. Essex were about 20-25 short of a par score and it proved to be the case.
Brief scores: Essex 250/8 in 50 overs (Charlie Allison 85, Noah Thain 75*; Tom Scriven 2-52) lost to Leicestershire 251/8 in 48.3 overs (Soloman Budinger 102, Peter Handscomb 69; Aron Nijjar 3-34) by two wickets
| Share | Tweet |
