Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Will O’Rourke in full flight.
Yorkshire v Bears
Vitality Blast, North Group
Friday June 13, 2025, 6.30pm
Headingley
Toss: Bears won it and elected to bat.
Teams – Yorkshire: Dawid Malan c, Adam Lyth, Will Luxton w, James Wharton, George Hill, Will Sutherland, Matthew Revis, Dom Bess, Jafer Chohan, Will O’Rourke, Jack White.
Bears: Alex Davies c&w, Tom Latham, Dan Mousley, Moeen Ali, Sam Hain, Ed Barnard, Kai Smith, George Garton, Hassan Ali. Danny Briggs, Jake Lintott.
Summary: Yorkshire lost their fourth game in six in the Blast North Group, failing to chase down a target of 206 against the Bears, who won by 32 runs.
The Bears’ 205-8 was fashioned on the back of Ed Barnard’s middle order career best 67 off 40 balls and a blistering end from the lower order, which saw 76 runs come from the last five overs.
Pakistan overseas quick Hassan Ali blasted 22 not out off eight balls and later struck twice with his seam. Yorkshire’s own overseas fast bowler Will O’Rourke impressed for three wickets.
Dawid Malan continued his excellent form, the captain’s 65 off 34 balls representing his fourth successive fifty. Unfortunately, though, it wasn’t enough as Yorkshire finished on 173-5.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Ed Barnard was excellent with the bat for the Bears.
Match Report: This was an action-packed fixture, with wickets and runs galore in the Bears’ innings on another excellent Headingley surface.
Alex Davies steered George Hill’s new-ball seam to short third – 20-1 in the second over – having pulled a six the ball before which had been caught by Matthew Revis before he stepped on the boundary rope.
Dom Bess, with his first ball, and O’Rourke then removed Dan Mousley bowled and Sam Hain caught at point as the Bears ended the powerplay at 51-3.
That became 85-3 after 10 overs, with Ed Barnard now at the crease.
New Zealand opener Tom Latham then fell on 24 at the start of the 12th when he top-edged Hill to long-leg, where Jafer Chohan took an excellent catch.
And that was the first of three wickets in successive overs as the Bears slipped to 123-6 in the 14th over. Moeen Ali was lbw to Jack White for nine and Kai Smith caught behind off O’Rourke’s pace.
From there, you would have found long odds on the Bears to reach 200. But they did.
Their batters just went for it, knowing that they needed a big total to work with on a ground where the pitches are a batter’s dream.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. George Hill celebrates taking the wicket of Alex Davies with his captain Dawid Malan.
George Garton walloped two sixes over long-on as 21 came off Bess in the 16th before he sliced the impressive O’Rourke to deep cover in the 18th – 160-7. Sandwiched in between, Barnard reached a 32-ball fifty.
Barnard fell caught in the deep off Jack White in the penultimate, which ended with two Hassan Ali sixes to help the Bears get above 200 as 76 runs came from the last five overs.
This was the fourth total above 200 in five innings of Blast cricket at Headingley this summer.
Unfortunately, though, Yorkshire couldn’t make it six as the Bears won their third game in six.
Will Luxton kept wicket for the first time in first-team cricket as Anthony McGrath looked to the balance of his side, bringing Hill in for Harry Duke.
Luxton opened the batting and skewed Hassan’s pace high to mid-off in the second over of a chase which advanced nicely early on.
Malan hit two slog-swept sixes over mid-wicket off Danny Briggs’ spin in the fifth over and the score reached 56-1 after six.
Garton dropped Malan at deep mid-wicket on 29 off Briggs in the seventh over, though there was success for the Bears when Moeen’s second ball bowled Adam Lyth – 66-2 in the eighth.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Dom Bess celebrates the wicket of Dan Mousley with wicketkeeper Will Luxton.
By the time Malan reached his latest fifty, off 29 balls, the hosts were 100-2 early in the 12th over.
James Wharton provided impressive third-wicket support in sharing 55 with his skipper, though left-armer Briggs struck a key blow in the 13th when he had Malan caught at short fine-leg off a skied top-edged sweep – 121-3.
Yorkshire needed 65 off the last five overs before Mousley’s off-spin removed powerful Australian Will Sutherland, the target becoming a much, much tougher 47 off three overs at 159-4.
Wharton fell for 37 in the penultimate over before Barnard’s seam – 0-18 from three overs – closed out the last, defending 39.
Turning Point: Dawid Malan’s departure – 121-3 in the 13th over – gave Yorkshire a mountain to climb. And it was a task they couldn’t achieve.
Magic Moment: A Dawid Malan six over mid-wicket off the spin of Danny Briggs in the fifth over was hoisted high over mid-wicket into the North East corner, taking Yorkshire to 40-1. And it was caught by a gentleman in the crowd.
Stat of the match: This was only the second time in senior cricket, and the first in first-team cricket, that Will Luxton had kept wicket.
What they said – Yorkshire fast bowler Will O’Rourke: “It’s obviously a pretty fast track, and the outfield’s lightning. We obviously didn’t close out how we would have wanted to at the end (with the ball). Our last three overs went for plenty.
Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. James Wharton hit 37 this evening, but it wasn’t enough.
“I know that’s something we’ve got to look at as a bowling unit and try to close out games better out here.
“We know through T20 cricket that the run-rate gets up, the bowlers bowl well and the pressure mounts. It didn’t really fall our way at the end there.
“All the scores in the first innings have been over 200 (in this season’s Blast). So we knew it was definitely chaseable. But every time you’re over 200, it’s a tough challenge.
“I think I went alright. It was a fresh wicket, and I tried to run in hard and bowl hard. In T20 cricket, some days it comes off and some days it doesn’t. It was nice to get a few wickets, but disappointed not to be able to get over the line.
“Hassan Ali is world-class. He’s been around for a long time now, and he’s played a few seasons over here. He’s a classy operator, and it went really well for him today.”
What’s next: Yorkshire head to a sold out Clifton Park in York on Sunday (2.30pm) to face Durham. It will be the venue’s first ever T20 first-team fixture, and it’s a 4,500 sold out.
Yorkshire are hopeful Jonny Bairstow (calf) and Jordan Thompson (side) will be fit to play.
