Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Moeen Ali hits out against Durham last night.
Moeen Ali believes playing in – and prevailing in some – tight games during the ongoing Vitality Blast will stand title-chasing Yorkshire in good stead as the competition reaches its business end.
The White Rose are on track for the quarter-finals. Still work to do with three group games remaining, but very nicely placed.
Sat second, they have a six-point buffer to third-placed Lancashire, one of their remaining opponents. There are 12 points left to play for.
Win tomorrow against Leicestershire at Headingley, 2.30pm, and that will leave the Red Rose needing to be perfect to have any chance of overhauling them.
The top two in each of the three groups advance to the quarter-finals, added to the two best third-placed finishers.
Five tight finishes stand out for Yorkshire so far, two of which they have won and one which they have tied, added to defeats at Leicestershire and Hampshire.
The wins came at home to Derbyshire in May and at home to Durham last night, while they dragged a tie out of the fire against Derbyshire at Chesterfield last Sunday afternoon.
Last night’s saw them get 12 off the last over chasing 206 to win off the penultimate ball. Matthew Revis hit a winning straight six, the same man who played the lead role in achieving the Derbyshire tie.
At Chesterfield, he finished 69 not out, last night 34 not out off 15 balls.
Moeen smashed seven sixes in a brilliant, brutal 60 off 32 against Durham last night.
He said: “We had a few tight ones at the start of the tournament, where we we just won, and it’s great to have tight games for everybody.
“But you don’t want too many tight ones – you want to win comfortably.
“We’re hoping for a good performance and just try and get better every time we play.”
Yorkshire lock horns with a Leicestershire side who prevailed in one of those tight games at Grace Road last month. Chasing 148, Yorkshire fell from 44-0 to 135 all out.
Moeen said: “They’re a good side, they’re a dangerous team, and we’re going to have to play well to beat them.
“We’ve just got to keep winning now.
“I always said, you know, it’s good to lose a game in between or a couple of games in a tournament but not too many now. I think we’ve got them out the way.
“Now we’ve got to get on a bit of a run to hopefully qualify and then see what happens from there.”
Leicestershire need a miracle if they’re to qualify for the quarter-finals having won three of their eight games so far. They do have a game in hand on third-placed Lancashire and Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire above. But they realistically need to be perfect from here. Even that may not be enough.
Captained by ex-Somerset Blast-winning all-rounder Ben Green, they are coached by Alfonso Thomas. They have Trans-Tasman batters Nick Kelly and Ashton Turner as their two Blast overseas players.
They were beaten last time out at home to group leaders Notts’ last Sunday by 74 runs – 135 all out chasing 210.
