Dom Bess and Dom Leech shared seven wickets in Cheshire’s 268-9 as rain limited the National Counties Showcase friendly to just 50-overs of play at Nantwich.
Off-spinner Bess claimed 4-41 from eight overs, while new ball seamer Leech returned 3-32 from nine as the Vikings were tested against a Cheshire team led by former Leicestershire batter Harry Dearden, who top-scored with 76.
Dearden was one of three half-centurions in the Cheshire innings, with opener Sam Perry making 50 and Chris Sanders a late 61.
Both sides enjoyed success after George Hill had won the toss and elected to bowl, with Yorkshire warming up for the start of the Metro Bank One-Day Cup against champions Kent Spitfires at Scarborough on Tuesday.
Leech struck twice with the new ball as the hosts fell to 33-2 in the ninth over, getting left-handed Ben Kohler-Cadmore – Tom’s brother – caught at mid-on low down by Bess before having Henry Dobson caught behind.
Dearden and Perry then shared 90 for the third wicket to give the hosts a platform to build from, but Fin Bean took an excellent tumbling catch at deep mid-wicket off Hill’s seam to oust Perry – 123-3 in the 27th over.
Bess, like Leech, has spent time away from the county on loan for Championship cricket over the last month. But he returned with success.
He claimed each of the next four wickets to fall as Cheshire slipped from 130-3 in the 29th over to 182-7 in the 39th.
He had Will Evans caught at slip via a deflection off wicketkeeper Harry Duke’s pad with his second ball, Alex Money lbw and Nick Anderson and Luke Young both bowled.
However, Bess’s most important act of the day came at the mid-innings interval when he introduced an 11-year-old Yorkshire fan with autism, Leon from Telford, to his team-mates in the dressing room, posed for photos and gave him one of his shirts.
While Dearden was Cheshire’s standout batter, hitting a trio of sixes in his meaty 82-ball innings, tail-ender Chris Sanders crashed four sixes in an entertaining 40-ball knock.
Ben Cliff had Dearden caught at long-on off Ben Cliff’s seam 194-8 in the 42nd over.
But Sanders – a former Lancashire youngster – was the key figure as 75 runs came off the last 8.2 overs, helped by Steve Green’s 18. Like Dearden had, he took advantage of short straight boundaries.
Leech had Green caught at deep mid-wicket in the penultimate over before rain came at the mid-innings interval.
Umpires Steve O’Shaughnessy and Jason Pitcher abandoned the match at 4.10pm.
PHOTOS: Cheshire CCC.
