Taylor cameo secures Leicestershire win
England Lion James Taylor put his name in the frame for the forthcoming one-day series against Sri Lanka with a match-winning cameo for Leicestershire against Derbyshire
18-Jun-2011
England Lion James Taylor put his name in the frame for the forthcoming one-day series against Sri Lanka with a match-winning cameo for Leicestershire against Derbyshire in the Friends Life t20 match at Derby. Taylor scored an unbeaten 15 from seven balls, including an overhead scoop for six off pace bowler Steffan Jones, as the Foxes celebrated a five-wicket victory with five balls to spare.
Australian allrounder Andrew McDonald's 62 off 45 balls and Abdul Razzaq's 40 from 25 set the stage for Taylor to take his side past the Falcons' 160 for 4 - in which Martin Guptill led the scoring with 44.
The Falcons had lost Wes Durston in the second over when he chopped Harry Gurney into his stumps and the Foxes should have removed Guptill cheaply three overs later. Guptill was on 10 when he drove Razzaq to mid-off - but Matthew Hoggard misjudged the catch and the ball went through his hands to the boundary.
The Leicestershire skipper had plenty of time to reflect on that as the New Zealander batted for another 11 overs and, with Chesney Hughes and Wayne Madsen, laid the platform for a late onslaught. Hughes scored 22 off 20 balls before he was stumped charging Claude Henderson and Madsen's 28 from 26 balls included a scoop sweep for six off McDonald.
Guptill hit six fours in his 44 which came off 43 balls before he pulled Hoggard to deep midwicket in the 16th over - and Madsen went in the next when he miscued a pull at White.
With three overs left, Derbyshire were still short of a competitive total but Garry Park and Ross Whiteley plundered 44 from the last 23 balls. Whiteley drove Wayne White over extra cover for six but the pair ran hard between the wickets to set a challenging target which looked even better when Tim Groenewald yorked Josh Cobb with the fourth ball of the Foxes' reply.
Guptill plunged full-length at deep midwicket to send back Jacques du Toit in the fifth over but McDonald kept the Foxes in the hunt, reaching his fifty by cutting Hughes for his sixth four.
McDonald's excellent innings ended when he drove back a return catch in the 16th but Razzaq drove two big sixes before he was bowled by Jon Clare.
However, Taylor silenced the home fans when he drove Jones to the cover boundary and then flipped a full toss over the wicketkeeper for six - leaving White to strike the winning blow against his former county.