Yorkshire were unable to contain an impressive Nottinghamshire fightback during a bowler-dominated day at Welbeck as the Vikings were beaten by 83-runs in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup.
In the picturesque village of Sookholme, on the outskirts of Sherwood Forest, seam bowlers Ben Coad and Brett Hutton stood out for their respective sides. But an innings of 76 off 80 balls from all-rounder Lyndon James proved just as important – the only fifty of this fixture.
The Outlaws recovered from 60-5 to 209 all out, with Coad taking the new ball and returning a career best 4-14 from 10 overs bowled unchanged. James hit 10 fours and a six.
Unfortunately, Yorkshire’s innings started in similar fashion as Hutton – a skilful operator like Coad – got in amongst the wickets. He claimed six of the first seven wickets to fall, the Vikings 53-7, and no one was able to do what James did.
In bowling the visitors out for 126 inside 31 overs, Hutton claimed 6-38 from 10 overs bowled unchanged with the new ball – the second best List A figures against Yorkshire this century. Coad, from number nine, was actually the top-scorer with 31 off 24 balls.
The Vikings have now won one, lost one at the start of their Group B campaign. They face Sussex at York on Wednesday.
Picture by Jack Bird. Yorkshire team-mates celebrate with wicket-taker Dom Leech.
Yorkshire made a dream start as Coad vindicated Shan Masood’s decision to bowl first on a pitch offering decent pace, extra bounce and a bit of nibble.
Coad is the ideal man to make use of such assistance, and he struck twice in the opening five balls, getting Ben Slater caught behind one-handed by Harry Duke going to his left and bowling Jack Haynes off his glove as he tried to leave alone.
At 1-2 with two senior batters having falling for ducks, Nottinghamshire were under early pressure, and it wasn’t long before the Vikings tightened the screw.
After a trio of Haseeb Hameed boundaries, Yorkshire’s new ball seamer struck again when he bowled Freddie McCann for eight, leaving the Outlaws 24-3 in the seventh over.
Captain Masood has become partial to bowling Coad straight through his 10 overs unchanged, totally understandable given his quality with the new ball in hand.
He added a fourth when Matt Montgomery, who took 23 balls to get off the mark – quite the rarity in modern one-day cricket, edged to Fin Bean at second slip, falling for four as the score slipped to 40-4 after 15 overs. Bean took the catch diving in front of first slip.
Picture by Jack Bird. Nottinghamshire batter Matt Montgomery faces up to Ben Coad as Fin Bean and Dom Bess await in the slips.
Only once in his previous 39 List A appearances had Coad taken four wickets and never before had he conceded fewer runs, even when not bowling his 10-over allocation.
Dom Leech replaced Coad to bowl the 21st over of the innings from the Spion Kop End here at the vast and open John Fretwell Complex, and he maintained the pressure.
The ex-England Under 19s seamer had Hameed caught behind for 32 – 60-5 in the 23rd over – continuing a good record in personal duels with the former Test opener.
On his first-team debut at Trent Bridge in 2020, a Bob Willis Trophy game which Yorkshire won, Leech removed Hameed twice in the match.
But then the fightback began, led by James. He shared 73 inside 11 overs for the sixth wicket with wicketkeeper Tom Moores (23).
James pulled Leech for six to give the Vikings some food for thought and reached his fifty off 47 balls. But moments later, he lost Moores caught low down by Bess at long-on off Dan Moriarty’s left-arm spin – 133-6 in the 33rd.
Picture by Jack Bird. Dom Leech is congratulated after dismissing Haseeb Hameed.
Bess was about to get into the wickets himself, with his first the important one of James well caught low down by a tumbling Matthew Revis at long-on as Notts fell to 162-7 in the 42nd.
Nottinghamshire did very well to post 200 plus from where they were early doors, and Liam Patterson-White contributed to that with an unbeaten run-a-ball 38. And, in the final reckoning, the efforts of James and Patterson-White were up there alongside Brett Hutton’s efforts with the ball.
Patterson-White’s contribution included two pulled sixes off George Hill as 22 came off the 47th over, taking the score to 204-7.
Bess then struck twice in the 48th over, getting Hutton and Luke Fletcher caught in the deep, before Hill bowled Toby Pettman to wrap the innings up with eight balls unused.
Wickets continued to fall, however, as Nottinghamshire gave themselves hope, reducing the Vikings to 13-2 in the fourth over.
Seamer Hutton, who did his damage from the Charlie French End, had Will Luxton caught behind off a top-edged pull in the second over before bowling Masood, for a golden duck, off his pad as he played to leg.
Picture by Jack Bird. Nottinghamshire’s match-winner Brett Hutton bowls to James Wharton.
Bean was then run out trying to pinch a quick single to mid-off, from where Hameed threw down the stumps at the non-striker’s end.
And when Hutton struck twice in the space of three balls in the 10th over, trapping both Hill and Duke lbw, the Vikings were in serious trouble at 39-5.
Things didn’t get better as Revis and then Bess were bowled by Hutton before James Wharton, for 21, heaved Fletcher to mid-on as he searched for quick runs as partners came and went – 53-8 in the 17th.
By now, defeat was inevitable, though Coad continued his good day by adding some respectability to Yorkshire’s innings in company with Leech.
Their ninth-wicket 53 doubled the visiting score before the former was caught behind off the seam of James in the 27th over.
James, a Stuart Broad-esque figure in stature, then wrapped things up when he forced Leech to chop on for 21.
Picture by YCCC. The scene at the John Fretwell Centre Complex today.
