Netherlands hold nerve to clinch thriller

Netherlands 190 for 8 (Mott 50*, Rashid 2-20, Sidebottom 2-29) beat Yorkshire 188 for 9 (Pyrah 69, Bukhari 3-26, Borren 2-39) by two runs
Scorecard

Yorkshire opened their CB40 League programme with a shock two-run defeat against the Netherlands at Headingley when Ryan Sidebottom was run out while attempting to hit the last ball of the match for a winning boundary. It was the second embarrassment on the ground in two days for Yorkshire, who were skittled out for 86 on Friday as Nottinghamshire pulled off a dramatic County Championship victory.

At least Yorkshire were involved in a thrilling finish on this occasion and some of their blushes were spared after they had slumped to 79 for 7 in their chase of a 191 target. A recovery left them requiring 19 off the final over from Brad Kruger which began with Adil Rashid dashing a single and Sidebottom hitting the next ball over long-on for six. He failed to score off the next delivery but sprinting through for two runs off the next and lashed the penultimate ball onto the top of the football stand for a colossal six.

Another boundary from the last ball would have clinched it for Yorkshire but Sidebottom's shot could not evade Tom Heggelman on the edge and he returned to wicketkeeper Wesley Barresi with the batsman just short of his crease.

Yorkshire made a disastrous start to their reply, with the first half of their order being removed for 27 to keen bowling on a pitch on which some deliveries seemed to stop on the batsmen. It took an eighth-wicket stand of 68 in 12 overs between the in-form Rich Pyrah and Rashid to give Yorkshire a half-chance of a substantial recovery, but the task became even more difficult when Pyrah departed for a career-best one-day score of 69 from 82 balls with six fours.

That left them wanting 44 from four overs and the task was just beyond them, despite Sidebottom's brave blast and Rashid's unbeaten 42.

Put in to bat, the Netherlands struggled early on as Sidebottom bowled Barresi in his first over and Eric Scwarczynski was caught behind off Ajmal Shahzad, who bowled a good opening spell in his first match since recovering from a hamstring injury picked up in the World Cup. Western Australia's Michael Swart, playing on a Dutch passport, had his leg stump removed by Pyrah and when Rashid struck with his first ball to send back Tom Cooper for a confident 32, the visitors were 68 for 4.

Four runs later, Rashid's fine piece of work off his own bowling ran out Tom de Grooth and at 101 the legspinner trapped Peter Borren lbw before Kruger drove Joe Root into the waiting hands of Adam Lyth at long-on.

At 112 for 7 the Dutch were in danger of finishing with an uncompetitive score but they were boosted by an eighth-wicket stand of 61 in eight overs between Mott and Bukhari, whose straight six off Root was followed by Mott clearing the line with a pull against Shahzad, less effective in his second spell.

Bukhari cut Sidebottom to Rashid at backward point and there was just time for Mott to complete his unbeaten 50 off 46 balls with five fours and a six. Rashid was the pick of the Yorkshire bowlers with 2 for 20 but paceman Steven Patterson struggled, his four overs costing him 34 runs.