Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Dom Bess was excellent with the ball today as Yorkshire breezed into the knockouts.
Yorkshire claimed a seven-wicket victory over Essex Eagles in a fascinating, bowler-dominated clash at Chelmsford today, securing a home quarter-final in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup later this week.
A tricky track at the Ambassador Cruise Line Ground meant this game was done by 4.15pm, and the players and coaches started their journey back up North with other games still going on and, thus, not knowing who their opponents would be at York on Friday.
Both spin and seam did the trick here, with Essex slipping to 99-5 in the 26th over. Dom Bess, Jafer Chohan and Adam Lyth all helped to put the skids under the already-eliminated hosts after George Hill had made the initial breakthrough.
Not that seam didn’t prosper, because it did. Ben Coad later struck twice in an over as Essex were bowled out for just 151. He and Bess finished with 3-22 from eight overs and 3-32 from nine respectively.
Yorkshire’s chase then encountered choppy waters at 15-2 before Will Bennison led the way with a very impressive and skilful 60 off 59 balls, including two sixes – his best first-team score to date. James Wharton also finished 51 not out off 77 balls as Yorkshire won with more than 18 overs to spare.
Fin Bean, meanwhile, was superb behind the stumps and became only the fifth man in Yorkshire history to claim five dismissals in a List A innings. Harry Duke, who was with the squad today, still holds the record with six – at Middlesex last summer.
Essex elected to bat. The outfield was parched, the boundary pavilion side of this venue very short and the pitch took obvious spin.
In-form Noah Thain – the leading run-scorer in this competition – pulled an early six against Jack White, back in the side in place of the rested Ben Cliff. But, in truth, the pickings were thankfully slim from there on for Essex. Matt Critchley top-scored with a non-threatening 45 not out.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Four catches and a stumping for Fin Bean today as Yorkshire secured a home quarter-final in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup.
Thain miscued a pull at George Hill to mid-wicket before Bess struck with the first ball of each of his first two overs. Luc Benkenstein was bowled and Tom Westley caught behind.
Then, the wicket of Grant Roelofsen really caught the eye.
Advancing at Chohan’s leg-spin, he was bowled down the leg-side by a delivery which turned sharply.
When Simon Hamer advanced half-heartedly at Lyth’s third ball and was stumped, Essex were five down.
Matt Critchley tried in vain to rescue things and pulled a couple of sixes off Chohan.
But wickets continued to fall at the other end.
Bess bowled Ali Zeb before Coad had Zaman Akhter and Mackenzie Jones caught behind in the 33rd over – 125-8. Jones was brilliantly taken one-handed going to his right by Bean.
In Coad’s next over, Bean took an even better one-hander to get rid of Mitch Killeen.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Will Bennison was the standout batter on show across both teams today.
Critchley and Charlie Bennett added 22 for the last wicket before the latter was bowled by Hill to wrap things up inside 41 overs.
Given the help on offer from the pitch, it was always unlikely that Yorkshire would race to this target, a view strengthened when Scottish seamer Jones had Will Luxton lbw and Adam Lyth caught at cover inside five overs.
Thankfully, though, in Bennison and third-wicket partner James Wharton, Yorkshire had a pair who settled things down calmly yet confidently with an 85-stand.
Bennison picked up a rare all-run four to the cover boundary off the seam of Bennett, who he later pulled for six twice into the pavilion.
The latter brought him a 49-ball fifty, with Yorkshire now 84-2 in the 16th over.
Bennison had also reached his maiden first-team fifty, against Middlesex at Lord’s the weekend before last, with a six.
Yorkshire will have been absolutely thrilled that Tom Westley didn’t introduce his key bowling weapon, the South African off-spinner Harmer, into the attack until the 18th over.
He did get Bennison caught and bowled in his second over, but Yorkshire only needed 52 by then.
Picture by YCCC. The sunny scene at as Yorkshire chased at Chelmsford today.
Wharton had played the supporting role for Bennison, but then led a fourth-wicket stand of 55 unbroken with Sam Whiteman (26 not out).
Wharton reached his fifty with the winning boundary, over mid-off’s head against Harmer’s spin.
