Surrey v Yorkshire Vikings
Vitality Blast, Quarter-Final
Wednesday July 6, 2022, 6.30pm
The Kia Oval
Toss: Surrey won it and elected to bowl first.
Teams: Surrey – Jacks c, Burns, Pope w, Evans, Narine, Overton, Hardie, T Curran, Atkinson, Worrall, Moriarty.
Yorkshire – Lyth, Allen, Kohler-Cadmore w, Willey c, Tattersall, Khan, Fraine, Thompson, Hill, Revis, Bess.
Match summary: Yorkshire are through to Finals Day at Edgbaston on July 16 after a heart-stopping one-run win over Surrey.
Surrey were on course for victory, needing only five to win off the last over from Jordan Thompson as they chased 161. But Thompson bowled a final over for the ages.
He conceded only two runs off the last, plus a leg bye, forced a run out and took a wicket – the former of key man Jamie Overton for 40 after dragging Surrey back into things from 91-5 in the 14th.
Sunil Narine was brilliantly caught at deep backward square-leg by a diving Will Fraine off the penultimate ball and Gus Atkinson missed the last to spark jubilant celebrations as Surrey finished on 159-7.
Fraine had a brilliant night with 32 not out off 14 balls at the end of Yorkshire’s 160-5, of which player of the match Tom Kohler-Cadmore’s 62 off 48 was the cornerstone as he led the recovery from 9-2.
There were so many heroes, but this team is a special one. Drink it in, we’re off to Finals Day for the third time!
Lancashire or Essex are our Finals Day opponents in the semi-finals.
Report: Yorkshire were plunged into early trouble with the loss of openers Adam Lyth and Finn Allen inside nine balls, leaving the score at 9-2.
Lyth cut his first ball to cover, off the off-spin of Surrey captain Will Jacks in the first over, before Allen miscued Australian seamer Dan Worrall high to mid-wicket in the second.
From there, Tom Kohler-Cadmore and David Willey, a late inclusion from England T20I duty, set about the recovery with a 93-run partnership inside 14 overs.
It wasn’t all plain-sailing. The two had to work hard on a slow pitch as they navigated a path back into this quarter-finals.
Willey’s 30 off 37 balls suggested that. It wasn’t his usual aggression, though he assessed the situation expertly.
Kohler-Cadmore led the way, hitting sixes down the ground and over cover either side of reaching his fifty off 41 balls. Willey’s only six came over long-on, a huge blow off the left-arm spin of Dan Moriarty.
Both then fell in successive overs, caught at wide long-on – Willey off West Indian spinner Sunil Narine and Kohler-Cadmore off the seam of Gus Atkinson, leaving the score at 108-4 in the 16th.
Atkinson, the pick of Surrey’s bowlers with 2-28. also got Shadab Khan caught behind down leg, but not before the Pakistan man had hit a breezy 21 – 140-5 in the 19th over.
Will Fraine ended the innings with a flourish. Having pulled Worrall high and handsome over mid-wicket, he muscled him down the ground for a six second in the final over, which went for 15.
Yorkshire’s 160-5 felt competitive on a slowish pitch.
Willey then struck six balls into the Surrey chase, getting captain Jacks caught at third (2-1) to fortify Yorkshire’s optimism after 52 runs had come from the last five overs with the bat.
However, Tom Curran, playing as a batter after six months out with a back injury, and Rory Burns hit a six apiece as 22 came off Matthew Revis in the fourth over, taking the score to 33-1.
The pair shared 55 for the second wicket before Khan’s leg-spinners accounted for Burns, who was bowled pulling for 28 as the score fell to 57-2 in the ninth over.
Surrey reached the 10-over mark at 70-2, with Curran and England Test batter Ollie Pope at the crease.
Pope (11) didn’t last long, caught just in front of deep square-leg sweeping at Khan – 77-3 in the 11th, 83 more needed for the hosts.
And when Curran top-edged a pull at Willey’s first ball back in the 13th to long-leg, falling for 36, Surrey were 84-4 and in a spot of bother.
That spot of bother became real trouble in the 14th over when Aaron Hardie picked out deep square-leg off Dom Bess, leaving the score at 91-5.
With five overs remaining, Surrey needed 58 at 103-5.
The work of Bess will go largely unheralded. It shouldn’t. He was mightily impressive for 1-16 from three overs.
Jamie Overton, who didn’t bowl, and Laurie Evans then revived their side’s chances. Overton clattered back-to-back sixes over long-on off Revis and Evans hoisted Willey over mid-wicket before being dropped on 18 by Jonny Tattersall at wide third.
At the end of the 17th over, Surrey were 132-5 needing 29 more.
Unfortunately, the assault continued, and the game looked to have turned decisively.
Overton and Evans, 40 and 35 not out, shared 67 and, on the way, took the target down to five off the last, which Thompson amazingly defended.
But, not forgetting Revis, who conceded only eight runs off the penultimate over, including a six off its last ball. Not quite Thompson levels, but it was still a sensational over.
Turning point: That over went; dot, dot, single, Overton run out by keeper Kohler-Cadmore as he tried to sneak a bye, Narine brilliantly caught at deep backward square-leg by Fraine and then, with three needed, a bye to Kohler-Cadmore with Atkinson on strike.
Stat of the match: Yorkshire are through to their third Finals Day, the previous two in 2012 and 2016. In the first, they were beaten by Hampshire in the final at Cardiff. In the second, they were beaten by Durham in the semi-finals at Edgbaston.
What they said: Jordan Thompson – “I was stood at the top of my mark with Dave (Willey), and we were having a discussion. It was about trying to out-think the batter.
“That’s why I went bouncer. I brought mid-off up and tried to get into the over with a dot. Then, it was about seeing if we could do something.
“This is definitely the highlight of my career.
“By my standards, the last few games I haven’t been great with the ball.
“To stand up in a big moment like that is great, and we’re excited for Finals Day.
“When it’s your day, it’s your day. Hopefully next Saturday is our day as well.”
What’s next: Yorkshire are back to LV= Insurance County Championship from Monday, when these two sides meet again at Scarborough’s North Marine Road.
Surrey are top of the Division One table with four wins from eight games and 143 points, while Yorkshire have won from seven and are fifth on 96 points.
Yorkshire will then travel to Finals Day at Edgbaston on July 16. Their opponents, the winners of this Friday’s quarter-final between Lancashire and Essex at Emirates Old Trafford.
