Leach's emergency pinch-hitting role goes down like a storm

Yorkshire Vikings opened their Royal London One-Day Cup programme with a severe thrashing at the hands of Worcestershire Rapids at Headingley.

Batting first after winning the toss, Yorkshire were bowled out for a listless 170 and Worcestershire charged to their target for the loss of three wickets with 24.3 overs remaining after openers Joe Leach and Tom Kohler-Cadmore hasd blasted 107 together off a mere 12.4 overs.

Yorkshire's director of cricket, Martyn Moxon, said: "We have just got to bat better, that is the bottom line. Our batsmen have not got that confidence at the moment. They are hoping rather than expecting and are not in their best form. There is a bit of fear of getting out as opposed to scoring runs.

Moxon also confirmed that Jack Brooks could be out for up to a month. He sustained a leg injury while bowling in the T20 Roses match at Old Trafford.

It was a doubly satisfying result for Royals' Bradford-born director of cricket, Steve Rhodes, whose 23-year-old son, George, made his first team debut for the county and pegged Yorkshire back with ten overs of well-controlled off-spin that brought him two wickets.

George's grandfather, Billy, was a wicketkeeper-batsman with Nottinghamshire from 1961-64 which meant that George and his team-mate, Brett D'Oliveira, were each the third generation of county cricketers.

Concerned about a nearby storm, Worcestershire sent in Leach to partner Kohler-Cadmore and, although it never materialised, there was no shortage of thunderous strokes on the field.

Kohler-Cadmore took three boundaries in David Willey's first over but Leach was immediately more severe on Tim Bresnan, following up a towering six with four consecutive boundaries.

The 50 was reached in 4.5 overs and when Steve Patterson joined the attack Leach picked him up for six over square leg and cover drove his next ball for four.

Leach dashed to his half-century from 25 balls with seven fours and three sixes, bringing up his 50 by driving Liam Plunkett over the rope at long on, but the carnage was halted when Kohler-Cadmore was lbw to Plunkett for a run-a-ball 42 with seven fours and a six.

In the next over from Rashid, Leach was caught at long off for 63 from 35 deliveries with eight fours and three sixes and Daryl Mitchell and Joe Clarke added a further 37 before gave Rashid a return catch, Mitchell and Alexei Kervezee finishing the job for their side.

Yorkshire had never got to grips with a pitch on which the ball tended to stick and although seven of their batsmen made it into the teens none of them managed to move beyond the 30 mark.

Several got out to hesitant shots and Yorkshire remained pegged back in the middle overs by the accurate spin of Rhodes and D'Oliveira.

Jack Shantry, bowled a mean opening spell of seven overs for ten runs and the wicket of Adam Lyth and he returned to end the innings with his second ball by getting Bresnan caught at short fine leg.

Jack Leaning helped Alex Lees bring up the 50 in the 17th over but Yorkshire were unable to capitalise on their slow but solid start, Leaning then edging Ed Barnard to Ben Cox and Lees being trapped lbw to become Rhodes' first scalp for his county.

Worcestershire never relaxed their stranglehold and just when Gary Ballance was threatening to break loose he was lbw sweeping at D'Oliveira for 30 from 32 balls with three fours.

D'Oliveira also accounted for Rashid who miscued to short extra cover and in the following over it became 109 for 6 when Will Rhodes drove his namesake to Daryl Mitchell who was stood almost next to the bowler at mid-off.

Yorkshire's situation would have been more critical had Mitchell not dropped Bresnan at short cover when he had made only a single and Bresnan and David Willey briefly cheered up the crowd with a six apiece off D'Oliveira and Mitchell respectively.

A couple of balls after his big hit, however, Willey chipped back a catch to Mitchell and shortly afterwards Plunkett dragged Leach into his stumps, the last three wickets toppling for four runs.