Head & Leaning in astonishing form
Sun 24 Jul 2016
Royal London One-Day Cup Matchday 5: Leicestershire Foxes v Yorkshire Vikings
REPORT | By Sam Chambers
An astonishing third-wicket stand from Travis Head and Jack Leaning led Yorkshire Vikings to their third successive Royal London One-Day Cup win, this time by a 191-run margin over Leicestershire Foxes at the Fischer County Ground.
Overseas star Head (175, 139b) and talented young batsman Leaning (131*, 110b) came together with the Vikings 51-2 in the 10th over and would go on to add 274 to record Yorkshire's highest one-day partnership for any wicket.
Useful contributions from captain Alex Lees (32, 30b) and Tim Bresnan (24*, 13b) added more runs to the board, and the final tally of 376-3 was also their largest List A score against a first-class county, beating the 352-6 made against Northants at Scarborough in 2001. Their biggest total, 411-4, came against Devon in 2004.
Chasing a daunting 377, the home side scored 185 all out in reply, a well-crafted half-century from Lewis Hill being the highlight of the day.
In team news, Angus Robson and Paul Horton - fresh from making crucial half-centuries in the Specsavers County Championship win against Gloucestershire - came into the Foxes side for the first time in the 50-over format this season.
The Vikings were boosted by the availability of Adil Rashid and he would later claim three wickets as part of a quality display of leg-spin bowling.
Yorkshire skipper Lees won the toss and chose to bat first, getting straight into the action to open with Adam Lyth, and it was he who struck the first boundary of the game, cracking a Ben Raine delivery through mid-off in the second over.
Yorkshire were a wicket down in the third, a result of a mix-up between the White Rose openers that saw Lyth, who was in search of his third successive century, scramble back into his crease, though not before his bails were taken off by Foxes 'keeper Niall O'Brien. Steve Garratt raised the finger and Lyth (2) was making his way back to the changing rooms to leave the visitors 13-1 at the over's end.
Lees, however, looked to be in good nick, striking three Raine deliveries through the ropes in the next over, and continued to score freely with an array of fine shots in the overs that followed.
Young off-spinner Rob Sayer (10-1-52-1) came into the attack from the Pavilion End in the eighth over, his first half-a-dozen deliveries yielding a single run. He would get his reward for a bright start when Lees, who had looked in great shape up until this point, came down the track to play and miss before being promptly stumped by O'Brien in the 10th over.
Leaning introduced himself in devastating fashion later in that over, though, smashing its final ball for the game's first six to leave the Vikings 57-2 after 10 overs.
He and Head looked to be building a solid partnership and, when pulling Raine for four, Head pushed the Vikings past 100 in the 20th over before moving to a milestone of his own when passing 50 from 60 deliveries two balls later.
The duo, looking composed and controlled, brought up the 50 partnership soon after and would then begin to kick on. Head, in particular, appeared to be racing towards his century.
The young Australian pulled Kevin O'Brien for six in the 25th over before hitting the same bowler back down the ground for four a couple of balls after.
A single taken from the bowling of Mark Cosgrove in the 28th over took the alliance's worth to 100 runs and Yorkshire looked set to post a big score if the Foxes couldn't break up the pair.
In a bid to do so, Leicestershire turned to the ever-impressive Clint McKay, who had been so miserly in his first five-over spell (5-1-13-0) from the Bennett End, but Yorkshire continued their progress.
A single from Leaning taken off McKay in the 33rd over saw him record his 50 and, from 61 balls, did so in one more ball than his partner Head, who, with a single of his own later in the over, moved to his ton from 99 balls.
In amongst the individual landmarks, the pair also took the Vikings past the 200 mark an over later.
Leicestershire almost got their breakthrough when Head hoisted Cosgrove to long-off, but the awaiting Sayer was desperately unlucky not to take when brilliantly accepting the chance one-handed, only to have to release the ball when carrying over the boundary.
Cosgrove then put down a Leaning chance off his own bowling, and the Vikings No.4 would go on to punish the Foxes' red ball captain soon after when hitting a huge maximum over mid-wicket in the 38th over.
Head would hit a six of his own over long-on in the same over, before pulling to the fine leg boundary to bring up the 200 partnership at a rate of exactly seven an over. The tandem had really started to open up and, with 10 overs left, their dominance had seen the Vikings move to 267-2.
Leaning, on 83, was given a reprieve when dropped by Robson at deep mid-wicket off Sayer. Unperturbed, he continued in the same vein, pulling Neil Dexter to edge closer to joining his partner in the ton-up club.
Head's imperious innings passed 150 from 130 balls in the 44th over, and in doing so he and Leaning recorded the highest stand in List A cricket for the Vikings.
A further chance came and went for Leicestershire, when Kevin O'Brien put down Head off Dexter at long-off before Leaning proceeded to his century, nudging Raine away to reach the score from 97 balls.
Head's wonderful innings would eventually come to an end when top-edging Kevin O'Brien (6-0-48-1) into the hands of brother Niall. Bresnan would join Leaning for the remaining four overs and the pair added another 51 runs to set the home side the imposing target of 377.
The Foxes' response got off to a difficult start with skipper Mark Pettini (1) seeing his stumps disturbed by a superb David Willey delivery in the third over to leave them 6-1. The incoming Kevin O'Brien began positively, however, driving the over's final ball through mid-off for the first boundary of the innings.
He took three boundaries off Willey's fourth and Yorkshire's seventh over, demonstrating his intent, to move to 23 from 18 balls and, with Robson striking a four of his own the next over, the Foxes began to pick up.
They were pegged back, though, in the 10th, Robson departing for 16, caught behind by Andrew Hodd when trying to hook a Bresnan delivery, leaving his side 46-2. O'Brien guided the former England man's last ball of the over to the ropes at square leg, taking the Foxes to 53-2 after 10.
Just two further runs had been added when the in-form Irishman was dismissed in the 12th over for 34, caught at mid-wicket by Liam Plunkett. Bresnan was again the wicket-taker.
Hill looked to be in good touch, though, finding the boundary of the vacant third man area twice in the 14th over.
The cause was not helped by the loss of a further wicket, the dangerous Cosgrove (6) clipping Steven Patterson into the hands of Lyth at extra cover, reducing County to 69-4 in the 15th over.
Hill continued his assault by hitting the Foxes’ first six, followed by a four, but he could only watch as Patterson snared Paul Horton lbw for 8 later in the 15th over. Still more than 300 runs behind, Leicestershire were now in an extremely precarious position at 88-5.
Patterson was turned away by Hill for four to take the Foxes through the 100 barrier in the 19th over before seeing the next ball smashed straight down the ground for six more.
Right-hander Hill reached a deserved half-century in splendid fashion, bringing up his 50 from 44 balls when sublimely reverse sweeping Azeem Rafiq for the second time in the 25th over, but Niall O'Brien went for 17 in the next over, trapped leg before by Rashid as the wickets continued to fall.
The Foxes were seven down when Hill was stumped by Hodd off Rafiq for a well-constructed 55 from 48 balls, and Dexter (11) then lofted Rashid to Plunkett at mid-off with just 156 runs on the scoreboard and two batsman still to come.
McKay (12) was the next man to go, hitting a Rafiq into the hands of Lees for the spinner's second wicket, and the Vikings wrapped up victory in the 34th over. Rashid was the man to do so, claiming his third scalp of the afternoon when removing Raine lbw for 4.
The Foxes now welcome Lancashire Lightning to the FCG this Tuesday (11am start), bidding to get themselves off the mark in the competition.
