Birmingham Bears v Yorkshire Vikings
Vitality Blast, North Group
Wednesday June 30 2021, 6.30pm
Edgbaston
Toss: Yorkshire won it and opted to bat first
Teams:
Birmingham – Pollock, Hose, Rhodes c, Hain, Lamb, Burgess w, Brathwaite, Bresnan, Lintott, Briggs, Miles.
Yorkshire – Lyth c, Stoneman, Thompson, Ballance, Brook, Tattersall w, Hill, Waite, Fisher, Bess, Ferguson.
Match summary: There is no getting away from this. Yorkshire were hammered in this evening Vitality Blast game against Birmingham, bowled out for 81 at Edgbaston – their lowest ever total – before the Bears chased with no alarms to win by 10 wickets with 69 balls remaining.
Report: Looking at this with a glass half full approach, Yorkshire remain well placed to qualify for the quarter-finals after winning six of their opening 10 games.
But they have lost top spot in the North Group to Nottinghamshire this evening courtesy of net run-rate.
This was their third defeat, and came on the back of a batting performance littered with miscued shots as they were bowled out for 81 in 15.5 overs.
Having won the toss on a used hybrid pitch, Adam Lyth raced out of the blocks and took 15 runs off the first five balls from Tim Bresnan, including two fours and a six over cover.
Unfortunately, things went downhill very quickly.
Four batsmen were out to miscued pull shots, while two were out stumped. One of those was last man Lockie Ferguson.
Only Harry Brook with 28 not out reached 20, with Lyth’s 19 the next best.
Lyth hit three boundaries and a six in 19 off eight balls. The rest of the team combined only hit three fours and a six.
The seam of West Indian all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite returned 3-7 from two overs, while fellow seamer Craig Miles claimed 3-21 from four. Tim Bresnan and Jake Lintott struck once apiece and Danny Briggs twice.
Birmingham started the match – the 10th of the competition – in fifth place, one point outside the top four quarter-final qualifying places.
So it was no surprise to see them go all guns blazing after the target in a bid to improve their net run-rate as well as their points tally.
Openers Ed Pollock and Adam Hose dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s on the home win. Pollock finished 33 not out off 23 balls and Hose 46 unbeaten from 31.
They have leapt over locals rivals Worcestershire into the top four.
Turning point: Three wickets in the final three overs of the power play – Jordan Thompson, Gary Ballance and Mark Stoneman falling – left Yorkshire 36-4 in the sixth. Big West Indian Carlos Brathwaite got Ballance and Stoneman in the space of three balls in the sixth. The Vikings were not able to recover.
Magic moment: Not magic from Yorkshire’s point of view, but Matt Lamb took a stunning catch over his shoulder running back from short fine-leg to help Carlos Brathwaite get rid of Gary Ballance (36-3 in the sixth over) after a top-edged pull.
Stat: Not only was this Yorkshire’s lowest ever total in Vitality Blast history, beating the 90-9 they posted in defeat to Durham at Emirates Riverside in 2009, it was also the lowest ever Blast total at Edgbaston. Also, there has only ever been nine lower totals anywhere in the competition’s history.
What they said: Adam Lyth – “We didn’t adapt to the wicket quick enough.
“Five or six lads getting out the same way. That can happen in T20, but we just didn’t adapt quick enough and build partnerships.
“The score won’t reflect that, but I thought it was a pretty good wicket – a bit of pace and extra bounce.
“To get bowled out for 81, we left our bowlers no chance.
“It’s not good enough, but we’ve got another game coming up on Friday night. Hopefully we can bounce back.
“We have to keep trusting the way we’re playing. Hopefully against Lancs we can put up a good fight and get some more points on the board.
“The lads are disappointed in the changing room understandably, but we’re still up near the top of the table.”
What’s next: It’s the big one, and a win would be the perfect remedy!
Lancashire are Friday’s visitors to Emerald Headingley (6.30pm) for the first of two Roses Blast clashes.
While Yorkshire are on course for the quarter-finals, the Lightning’s hopes hang in the balance following only three wins in nine games.
They are outside the top four qualifying places, though play against Worcestershire at home tomorrow.
