Foxes lose for first time on the road
Tue 31 Jul 2018
RESULT | Vitality Blast game 8: Leicestershire Foxes 127 for 9 lost to Yorkshire Vikings 187 for 5 by 60 runs
SCORECARD | Available through ESPN Cricinfo
REACTION | Callum Parkinson spoke to BBC Radio Leicester’s Ian Stringer after the game
HIGHLIGHTS | In-play highlights are available throughout the 2018 season
POINTS | Yorkshire Vikings 2, Leicestershire Foxes 0
REPORT | Leicestershire Foxes suffered their first away defeat in this year’s Vitality Blast as international duo Kane Williamson and David Willey inspired Yorkshire Vikings at Emerald Headingley.
New Zealand star Williamson’s masterly 77 (41b, 5x4, 5x6) underpinned a Vikings total of 187 for five, while five Foxes bowlers took a wicket apiece. Spinners Callum Parkinson and Colin Ackermann claimed two for 44 from their combined six overs.
Willey scored a quickfire 31 (17b, 1x4, 3x6) batting at No.3 before taking two key wickets in the third over as he picked up two for 20 from four overs of quality left arm seam bowling.
The Foxes ended at 127 for nine with Parkinson top-scoring with an unbeaten 27 from as many deliveries to go alongside his fine bowling performance (4-0-30-1).
Steven Patterson won the toss and elected to bat first with the Foxes unchanged from Friday night’s narrow defeat to Derbyshire Falcons.
Although the first ball of the game ran away for five wides, the Foxes’ overseas duo generally kept things tight, and Mohammad Nabi was rewarded as Adam Lyth (4, 7b) chipped a drive to Delport at cover in the second over.
Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Willey each found the ropes at cover and mid-wicket respectively in the third, but the former nearly became Nabi’s second victim on 9 - a chance went down at deep mid-wicket.
The opener went on to hit a six and two fours down the ground in the fifth over, while Willey powered a trio of maximums over straight mid-wicket, the second of which registered the 50 partnership off 28 deliveries.
Their alliance came to an end as Willey (31, 17b) top-edged Ackermann’s off-spin to Mark Cosgrove, who did well to hold on to a skier at short fine-leg.
Williamson played a classy sweep to open his boundary account, and the score progressed to 87 for two at the midway point.
However, that was a rare boundary between overs eight and 12. The Foxes only conceded 34 runs, predominantly by taking the pace off through Ackermann and Parkinson.
New Zealand captain Williamson broke the shackles by playing some innovative strokes, including a brace of sixes behind square on the leg-side.
Kohler-Cadmore (53, 44b) then brought up his half-century (41b, 4x4, 1x6) at the start of the 15th over before the third wicket stand of 67 was ended as the opener struck the slow left arm of Parkinson to Gavin Griffiths at deep cover.
Another half-century was recorded by Williamson (30b, 4x4, 2x6) with one of his cheeky flicks over short fine-leg before the batsman really upped the ante. A total of 21 runs came from the antepenultimate over, including two pulled sixes into the East Stand.
Griffiths then bowled an outstanding 19th over that cost only three runs, produced the wicket of Gary Ballance (6, 7b), and kept Williamson off strike at the start of the final over.
When the Kiwi got back to the danger end, he launched his fifth maximum to mid-wicket and lofted over mid-off to collect another four before losing his leg stump to an Abbas yorker.
The Foxes got off to a flying start as 19 runs came off the second over from Azeem Rafiq, with Delport (20, 8b) playing a superb reverse-sweep for four and pulling two sixes.
But Leicestershire CCC then went from 24 without loss to 30 for four in the space of 12 deliveries as consecutive overs produced double-wicket bursts.
Delport’s cameo came to an end as he drove Willey to mid-on, while Cosgrove (4, 3b) fell to a stunning one-handed catch by ‘keeper Jonny Tattersall, who dived away to his left.
Jack Brooks (4-0-23-3) then got in on the action as Raine (0, 3b) skied to Jordan Thompson at backward point, and Ackermann (0, 2b) was bowled by a jaffa.
Opener Neil Dexter (20, 17b) struck two fours and six but he too was dismissed by Brooks before the powerplay finished, edging to Tattersall.
County was at 49 for five at that stage and although Ned Eckersley (6, 8b) and Nabi (18, 22b) tried to get themselves in, Rafiq dismissed the duo in consecutive overs.
There was some lusty blows from Wells (17, 16b) before he holed out to long-on off the bowling of Patterson, and Abbas (2, 5b) nicked Thompson to Tattersall.
Parkinson ensured the Foxes batted their overs out, the spinner sharing an unbroken 23 for the last wicket with Griffiths (3*, 9b), but the Vikings collected two points after their excellent all-round performance.
TEAM | Dexter, Delport, Cosgrove, Raine, Ackermann (capt), Nabi, Eckersley (wk), Wells, Parkinson, Griffiths, Abbas
FIGURES | Abbas 4-0-42-1, Nabi 4-0-39-1, Raine 3-0-35-0, Griffiths 3-0-27-1, Parkinson 4-0-30-1, Ackermann 2-0-14-1
PHOTO | Thanks to John Mallett for the photo of the David Willey dismissal
* See the Foxes in our next Vitality Blast home game against Birmingham Bears on Thursday! The best value tickets are available in advance – a family ticket for 2 adults and 3 under 16s is available for £37 before 11.59pm tonight. Secure your seat today HERE
