Picture by Bruce Rollinson/SWPix.com. Ben Cliff celebrates dismissing Brooke Guest at Scarborough today.
Yorkshire are nearly there for knockout cricket thanks to an impressive recovery with the ball and then the bat as Derbyshire were beaten by five wickets with four balls to spare at Scarborough.
Derbyshire should have given Yorkshire a stiffer target than 279 but reduced the White Rose to 57-3 chasing, only for a superb Sam Whiteman 94 off 98 balls helped seal a fifth win in seven games
He shared 107 for the fourth wicket with James Wharton, who played nicely for 75 off 92 balls, and then 101 for the fifth in double-quick time with the brilliant George Hill.
Hill hit 63 not out off 49, added to two earlier wickets. With one game remaining, at Essex on Tuesday, it’s difficult to see how Yorkshire can’t qualify. They may even be there by the time they head to Chelmsford.
Anthony McGrath has spoken about the need for players to take responsibility in tough moments if the county are going to get over the line and win a first limited overs trophy since 2002. And that was exactly what Whiteman, Hill, Wharton, Ben Cliff and Jafer Chohan did today.
Derbyshire posted 278-8 on a pitch with the typical Scarborough bounce, but they were 140-0 after 26 overs and motoring after having shared the county’s highest opening partnership in matches against Yorkshire.
Picture by Bruce Rollinson/SWPix.com. Sam Whiteman and James Wharton shared a fourth-wicket 107.
Cliff returned 3-57 from nine overs, while Chohan – released by Welsh Fire in The Hundred to play – removed both openers in an over and Hill struck twice as aforementioned.
As much as Derbyshire openers Andersson and Came were impressive early on after their side had been inserted, Yorkshire battled back superbly.
Cliff’s three wickets will take the headlines, especially with him being the leading wicket-taker in the competition with 18 in seven matches.
But Hill bowled a brilliant last over of the innings, which only cost him three, to give Yorkshire the advantage at the halfway mark when it looked as if they were going to be chasing something very significant.
And Chohan’s double strike on List A debut for Yorkshire was obviously crucial.
Andersson and Came harnessed caution and aggression on a pitch with extra bounce in reaching their fifties off 66 and 69 balls respectively.
Picture by Bruce Rollinson/SWPix.com. Jafer Chohan celebrates the dismissal of Derbyshire’s Harry Came.
But they both fell to Chohan in the 27th over, Came caught at long-off and Andersson at mid-wicket. The Andersson wicket was taken by Dom Bess going low to his right following a well struck pull shot.
From then on, it was pretty much one way traffic, Bess, Cliff and Hill all struck as the Falcons had their wings clipped.
A reverse sweeping Wayne Madsen was brilliantly caught one-handed at backward point by Will Bennison, who had earlier let an Andersson pull burst through his hands for six at deep square-leg.
Cliff then had Brooke Guest caught behind, Ross Whiteley at long-on and Nick Potts at deep mid-wicket.
After a couple of Adam Lyth boundaries in the opening over of the chase against Potts, Yorkshire lost both openers to slip to 22-2 in the fifth over.
Will Luxton edged the seam of Ben Aitchison to first slip before Lyth could only fend off a nasty short ball from Potts to second slip.
Picture by Bruce Rollinson/SWPix.com. Adam Lyth tries to fend off a Nick Potts’ short ball but is caught at second slip.
Wharton settled things down with a trio of boundaries down the ground off Potts in the seventh over, only for Bennison to be caught behind off Aitchison with the score on 57 in the 12th over.
Wharton found a partner in Whiteman, and they first of all picked off the ones and twos before a burst of boundaries took the score to 103-3 after 21 overs.
Wharton went to 50 off 66 balls and later eased Jack Morley’s left-arm spin through the covers for four and pulled him for six almost immediately, taking the score to 154-3 after 32.
Whiteman followed not long afterwards off 62 balls, only for Wharton to cut Potts to point – 164-4 in the 35th, ending a 107 partnership with Whiteman.
Hill came to the crease and soon after the pair were tasked with getting 91 off the last 10 at 188-4.
Whiteman hit two boundaries off Andersson’s seam in the 42nd before Hill ramped and reverse ramped two more off Anuj Dal in the 43rd.
Picture by Bruce Rollinson/SWPix.com. James Wharton drives as a Scarborough seagull gets close to the action.
Forty two runs came from four overs from the end of the 41st to put Yorkshire ahead at 235-4, and thankfully Derbyshire couldn’t drag it back – even if Whiteman fell with the winning post in full view.
Hill reached his fifty off 42 balls before Whiteman was caught behind down leg off Potts with 14 needed off 11.
With two needed off the last over, Fin Bean hit the winning runs through mid-wicket off Andersson.
Picture by Bruce Rollinson/SWPix.com. George Hill had an impressive day with bat and then ball in front of a 4,500 strong crowd.
