Yorkshire Vikings v Leicestershire Foxes at Headingley June16th T20 Blast

Neil Whitaker reports

YORKSHIRE Vikings suffered their second defeat in 48 hours in the Vitality T20 as they lost to Leicestershire Foxes by 20 runs at Headingley.  

Doing the damage for the Foxes were opener Rishi Patel who hit 64 and bowlers Lewis Goldworthy and Scott Currie who both took three wickets. Goldsworthy said: “Our dressing room is buzzing, to come here and beat one of the top sides away with their side that is packed with quality.  I felt pretty good and tried to keep the stumps in play and that is my strength and today I got my rewards. But the important thing is that we got points on the road.  Currie was brilliant.

At the halfway stage we felt that we were light.  When I batted I found it hard to strike the ball from the start.  Patel’s knock was vital for us and he read the conditions very well.”

Vikings head coach Ottis Gibson said: “I thought we bowled really well - the last 10 overs especially when we restricted them to four boundaries. If you’d have said we would be chasing 167 here at Headingley, you would win that more times than not.

But I guess you have to give them a lot of credit. I thought they bowled really well. They used the conditions, bowling to the big side. Their spinner, Goldsworthy, was a little bit skiddy and we just couldn’t get under it. All in all, as I sit here now thinking how did we lose that, the best way to put it would be that we were outfoxed by the Foxes today.”

Deciding to bat after winning the toss Foxes opener Patel top scored with 64 and was the seventh out with the score on 146. After a blistering start with Harry Swindells  when 42 came from the first four overs.  But after Swindells’ departure, Patel could only find two partners to stick with him, former Viking Ben Mike and Wiaan  Mulder.  With Mike they added 50 in six overs.  With  Mulder he added 22 in three overs.

Swindells top edged a cut off Conner McKerr over the third man boundary for a six and two balls later drilled him to the cover boundary but his luck ran out when he backed away to give himself some room and got an outside edge and the ball looped to Joe Root at mid-off.

Patel,  slapped  Jordan Thompson to the point boundary but Rehan  Ahmed didn’t run his first run fast enough and couldn't beat McKerr’s throw as he tried to complete a third run.

Louis Kimber backed away and pulled Matt  Revis to the mid-wicket where Dom Bess took a great catch diving to his left. Foxes captain Peter Handscomb backed away from DanMoriarty to cut him but top edged him to stumper Donavan Ferreira.

Mulder went back to Jafer Chohan and was plumb leg before.  Jafer Chohan got his second leg before victim in his second over when Ben Cox tried to sweep him but missed the ball and was leg before.

Patel, dropped kick Moriarty over the long-on boundary for a six.  Despite the wickets falling around him he reached his 50  from 30 balls with two sixes and three fours. He  was the seventh out in the 18th over when top edged a sweep off Moriarty and found Shan Masood at short mid-wicket.

Mike top edged a pull off Revis and the ball looped to stumper Ferreira, his 28 came from 20 balls. Currie tried to ramp Thompson but was bowled.

The Vikings made a brisk start with both Adam Lyth and Dawid Malan scoring runs at will but in the sixth over Lyth tried to pull Currie but the ball didn’t rise as much as Lyth expected and was bowled.

On six,  Root top edged Mike but stumper Cox couldn’t hold on to it.  After that drop the Foxes got the wicket of Malan in the next over when he took a couple of paces down the pitch and picked out Currie on the long-on boundary off the slow left arm spinner Goldsworthy.

Root pulled Josh Hull over square leg and into the East stand for a six. The Foxes did get Root when after taking a couple of paces down the pitch he dragged Goldsworthy instead of hitting him straight and found Currie on the long on boundary. In the next over Shan Masood tried to place Currie on the legside but got a leading edge and the ball flew to Goldsworthy at cover.

Now there was only one team that could win the match. Thompson gave himself room and clipped Goldsworthy off his legs and found Kimber on the mid wicket boundary edge.  Bess steered  the next ball to Mike at short third man and was late In responding to Ferreira’s call and was run out by a mile at bowlers end.

Revis lofted Mike to Handscomb on the long-on boundary. Ferreira edged a drive off Currie to stumper Cox. Jafer Chohan clipped Hull off his legs and found Mulder on the square leg boundary.

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