Yorkshire Vikings v Derbyshire Falcons
Vitality Blast, North Group
Sunday June 9, 2024, 3pm
Headingley
Toss: Vikings won it and elected to bowl.
Vikings: Adam Lyth, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Shan Masood c, James Wharton, Harry Duke w, Dom Bess, Jordan Thompson, Matthew Revis, Ben Cliff, Dan Moriarty.
Falcons: David Lloyd, Aneurin Donald, Cam Fletcher, Wayne Madsen, Samit Patel c, Brooke Guest w, Ross Whiteley, Alex Thomson, Zak Chappell, Pat Brown, Daryn Dupavillon.
Match Summary: Adam Lyth starred with a stunning 51-ball opening 84 and became the first player to reach 4,000 T20 runs for Yorkshire as the county dismantled Derbyshire at Headingley, chasing 180 to win by nine wickets.
Lyth and fellow half-centurion Dawid Malan shared 137 inside 15 overs for the first wicket, effectively sealing a contest dominated by two century opening stands.
Derbyshire’s Aneurin Donald, like Lyth made 84 and shared 114 inside 11 overs with David Lloyd. From there, the Falcons should have got many more than they did. 220 plus, maybe.
They didn’t, as Yorkshire fought back expertly to limit them to 179-6. Joe Root returned an impressive 2-20 from three overs in front of a 5,611 crowd.
Yorkshire’s progression to a third win in four North Group games was then serene in excellent batting conditions thanks to milestone man Lyth and wing man extraordinaire Malan, who finished with an excellent 79 not out off 48 balls.
Picture by John Clifton/SWpix.com. Dawid Malan celebrates getting to his fifty today.
Report: Derbyshire’s innings was a strange old affair, in excellent batting conditions.
Play was delayed by 15 minutes, to 3.15pm, because of rain and started under floodlights. The fixture was preceded by an impeccably observed minute’s silence in memory of Rugby League legend Rob Burrow, a hero with Leeds Rhinos across the Howard Stand at this venue.
The Falcons flew out of the blocks thanks to Welshman Aneurin Donald, who put Yorkshire’s bowlers under a siege of fours and sixes, including taking two of each off Matthew Revis as the fifth over went for 22.
That contributed to a six-over powerplay score of 70-0.
Donald continued to dominate in a 114 opening partnership with compatriot David Lloyd, who contributed 41.
But he was first to go in the 11th over when he was caught at deep mid-wicket off Jordan Thompson, who was also excellent with 1-27 from four overs.
Picture by John Clifton/SWpix.com. Ben Cliff celebrates taking the debut wicket of Derbyshire’s Aneurin Donald.
Derbyshire then stumbled badly. From 114-0 after 10 overs, they only scored another 65 for the loss of six wickets.
Two of those went to Joe Root in three excellent overs of off-spin, while Thompson, Dom Bess, Revis and debutant seamer Ben Cliff struck. The majority were caught in the deep, including Donald at deep cover off Cliff – 142-4 in the 15th over.
Root had Ross Whiteley caught at deep backward square-leg and, in the last over, Brooke Guest caught at deep mid-wicket.
Yorkshire’s attack was minus new loan signing Conor McKerr, the Surrey fast bowler who has had to remain patient for his debut. It would have been a choice between him and fledging quick Cliff, who finished with 1-31 from three overs.
Derbyshire included New Zealander Cam Fletcher, their overseas batter who has been playing Bradford League cricket as a professional with New Farnley. He made 19 not out. But, for the Falcons, it just wasn’t quite enough.
Like Donald had been earlier, Lyth was similarly dominant against the new ball.
Picture by John Clifton/SWpix.com. Joe Root is delighted with his wicket of Ross Whiteley
Upon reaching his fifty off 33 balls with three sixes, his 28th for Yorkshire, the Vikings were well on course at 82-0 in the ninth over.
One of those sixes was handsomely hoisted over cover off Daryn Dupavillon’s seam. The rest of Lyth’s four sixes were slog-swept or pulled leg-side, just as Malan did with two en-route to a fine fifty off 37 balls.
By the time Lyth was caught at long-off off Dupavillon, Yorkshire needed 43 and Derbyshire’s chance had gone.
Magic moment: There were many. But Lyth, 36-years-old, reaching 4,000 for Yorkshire is a significant thing, in his 164th appearance for the county. He achieved it upon reaching 11.
It’s amazing to think that no other player has gone beyond 2,500 runs in a Yorkshire shirt.
With a few more years ahead of him yet, Lyth is going to set a pretty daunting target when he does retire.
Picture by John Clifton/SWpix.com. Six more for Adam Lyth.
Turning point: Derbyshire slipping from 114-0 after 11.1 overs of their innings to 179-6. They needed many more runs on this batter-friendly ground.
Stat of the match: Derbyshire found the boundary, or cleared it 16 times in the first half of the innings in reaching 114-0. In the second half, they only found it four times to finish well short of 200.
What they said – Adam Lyth: “The powerplay with the ball didn’t quite go to plan, but to restrict them to 179 was an incredible effort.
“It’s testament to the bowling plans. Shan (Masood) using quite a strong wind and getting the right bowlers at the right ends. I thought Jordan Thompson was outstanding, and Rooty bowling the tough overs at the end.
“Chasing, we got off to a fantastic start with myself and Mala (Malan) at the top.
“We got off to a good start – not quite as well as them. But we knew we didn’t have to go as hard as they did in the powerplay. I thought we managed it fantastically.
Picture by John Clifton/SWpix.com.
The players stand for a minute’s silence for Rob Burrow.
“It was a fantastic win.
“I was very disappointed coming off. You don’t often get chance to get hundreds, be not out and see your side home. I wanted to get a hundred, but I’d have taken 84 at the start of the day.
“Four thousand runs, no one’s done it at the club. So I’m really pleased, and hopefully there’s many more to come. As long as I’m enjoying it and keep scoring runs, I want to play as long as possible. As long as the club wants to have me, I’ll be staying.
“Momentum’s key in this competition. We have another game on Friday, and hopefully we can keep on playing the brand of cricket we are now, which is serving us well.”
What’s next: Yorkshire face Birmingham Bears at Edgbaston on Friday night, starting at 7.05pm.
