Robson best but Foxes come up short
Mon 3 Aug 2015
Leicestershire Foxes were again left to wonder what might have been in the Royal London One Day Cup as they slipped to a 31-defeat to Yorkshire Vikings at Headingley.
Yorkshire were going nicely on 198-2 before Clint McKay, Ben Raine and Rob Taylor shared seven wickets as the Foxes did well to restrict their hosts to 277-9.
Leicestershire also started brightly as opener Angus Robson posted a List A best of 90 and his third-wicket stand of 72 with Aadil Ali (28) put the team in a position of strength.
But from being 157-2 in the 35th over, the Foxes were dismissed for 246 off the penultimate ball of the innings as they suffered a third consecutive defeat in the competition.
Leicestershire showed one change to the side that lost in agonising fashion to Gloucestershire last Friday as Atif Sheikh came in for Tom Wells. Mark Cosgrove won the toss for the second consecutive game and again invited the opposition to bat first.
Yorkshire were given a solid opening by stand-in captain Lees and Andy Hodd, who put on 80 for the first wicket. The ‘keeper was then run out by Ned Eckersley’s direct hit from mid-wicket to the bowler’s end as he looked to gather a single off the last ball of the 15th over.
The big-hitting Glenn Maxwell helped Lees to add 49 for the second wicket with 28 off 24 balls but he was caught by Aadil Ali at long-on as Rob Sayer (10-0-52-1) took a wicket at the start of the 24th over.
Lees moved to 50 from 76 balls (5x4) later that over and formed another useful partnership of 69 with Will Rhodes. The all-rounder gave impetus while Lees continued to play sensibly as the duo took their side to the cusp of 200 in the 36th over.
The Foxes then hit back by claiming seven wickets for 79 runs in the final 14.3 overs. Taylor (7-0-43-2) struck twice in three balls by bowling Lees (75) before having the dangerous Jack Leaning (0) caught by Robson.
Raine and McKay built on Taylor’s good work in the closing stages. Rhodes lost his middle stump to Raine (9-0-48-2) having scored a lively 51-ball 46 and the all-rounder then had Adil Rashid (23) caught at mid-off by Michael Burgess.
Tim Bresnan (20) also added some useful runs before becoming the first of three victims of McKay (10-1-47-3). The batsman was expertly taken by Ali at long-off, Rich Pyrah (11) was caught by Sayer at cover and Steve Patterson was bowled by the last ball of the innings.
Just like the Vikings, the Foxes started with promise as Robson shared 49 with skipper Cosgrove (23), 38 with Eckersley (14), and the highest stand of the innings with Ali. Cosgrove struck four boundaries before being bowled by Matthew Fisher while Eckersley’s stumps were hit by Maxwell to leave the Foxes on 87-2 in the 20th over.
The opener went on to record a responsible 50 from 71 balls having hit three fours and then took the attack to Rashid by hitting a boundary in each of his first two overs. Robson also struck Matthew Waite for a brace of fours in the 28th over as he and Ali registered the 50 partnership.
Ali again caught the eye before edging an attempted sweep to Patterson at short third man off the bowling of Rashid in the 35th over. The Foxes suffered another couple of big blows in the 38th over as Rhodes (4-0-25-2) had Robson caught by Lees at mid-wicket before bowling O’Brien (2).
Raine clouted a six and Burgess picked up four as 12 came off the 40th over while the right-hander hit a maximum of his own in the 42nd over. The Foxes were 200-5 after 42 overs, requiring 78 off 48 deliveries with two batsmen who now had their eye in.
Rashid (10-0-42-1) finished his fine spell by going for only five before Raine (20 off 13 balls) hit his second six of the innings. But he fell to the very next ball as stand-in captain Lees took a catch at cover off Bresnan to end the 46-run alliance.
Another key wicket went in the next over as Burgess (25 off 24 balls) was bowled by Fisher (7-1-32-3), and Sayer (4), McKay (5) and Taylor (18) were dismissed as the required rate escalated.
It was a fourth win in the competition for the Vikings while the Foxes will attempt to get off the mark tomorrow afternoon when they take on Derbyshire Falcons under the floodlights at the 3aaa County Ground (2pm start).
