Nottinghamshire win sinks Yorkshire
Yorkshire's chances of reaching the quarter-finals of the Friends Life t20 quarter-finals were virtually extinguished at Headingley as they went down by six wickets to North Group leaders Nottinghamshire
03-Jul-2011
Yorkshire's chances of reaching the quarter-finals of the Friends Life t20 quarter-finals were virtually extinguished at Headingley as they went down by six wickets to North Group leaders Nottinghamshire.
The only bright moment for Yorkshire came when 26-year-old debutant fast bowler, Iain Wardlaw, gave them brief hope by getting rid of Riki Wessels and Tamim Iqbal in the space of four balls after the second wicket pair had rattled up 61 together in seven overs as Notts chased a modest 153 target on a good pitch.
Wardlaw, who plays for Bradford League club Cleckheaton, was recommended to Yorkshire by skipper Andrew Gale, and he was a late replacement for Ryan Sidebottom who was suffering from a stomach bug.
He gained his maiden wicket when Wessels skied him to Adam Lyth at deep mid-off after striking 27 from 20 balls with two fours and a six and in the same over he had opener Iqbal also held by Lyth, this time on the long-on boundary, for 47 from 37 deliveries with five fours and two sixes.
Before Wardlaw's double strike, Notts had already been given an encouraging start by Iqbal and Alex Hales who added 41 in six overs before Hales was caught at cover point by Anthony McGrath off Richard Pyrah.
Adam Voges was bowled reverse sweeping at Azeem Rafiq to leave Notts on 105 for four but Chris Read and Scott Elstone knocked off the remaining runs with little trouble, Reed virtually settling the issue by blasting Pyrah for consecutive mid-wicket sixes to finish unbeaten on 26 from 15 balls while Elstone also faced the same number of balls for his 21 not out.
Once again, Yorkshire had their captain to thank for holding the innings together, Gale making 62 off 55 balls with five fours and a six before Jonny Bairstow upped the tempo later on with a four and three sixes in his unbeaten 41 from 26 deliveries.
It was Gale's fourth half-century of the season in the competition and he remains the only batsman in his side to have reached the 50 mark.
Winning the toss, Yorkshire lost a wicket in the second over when Joe Sayers was brilliantly caught left-handed by the diving Wessels at short extra cover but early runs still came at a healthy rate as Lyth took consecutive boundaries off Andre Adams and Gale smacked Darren Pattinson for two fours and a six, the seamer going for 45 off three overs.
Yorkshire's good work in front of a 4,904 crowd was quickly undone as both Lyth and Gary Ballance were run out and the out-of-form, McGrath, recalled to the side at the expense of Joe Root, edged an intended cut at Graeme White into Read's gloves.
Both Lyth and Bairstow were made to work hard for their runs and Bairstow's boundary off Voges was the first to be added in nine overs. Gale completed his 50 off 47 balls but the end came when he scooped Adams round the corner and into the waiting hands of Luke Fletcher.
Bairstow began to hit out and he drove Pattinson for two towering sixes but he enjoyed a life in the same over when Steven Mullaney caught him on the boundary edge off a no-ball. Ajmal Shahzad also weighed in with 15 from ten balls but Yorkshire still finished short of a really competitive total.