Running Foxes victorious over table topping Vikings

BLAST 8 | Leicestershire Foxes 207 for three v Yorkshire Vikings 173 “ Leicestershire win by 34 runs

SCORECARD | Available from Cricinfo HERE

POINTS | Leicestershire Foxes 2, Yorkshire Vikings 0

REPORT | Arron Lilley records a new career-best score and falls agonisingly close to claiming his maiden T20 century, in an innings where the Foxes post 207 for three.

The news from the middle of the Uptonsteel County Ground was that the Running Foxes won the toss on home turf and opted to open the batting this evening.

Scott Steel and Josh Inglis opened the batting for the Foxes with Inglis posting a boundary from the first ball of the evening of the England and Vikings skipper, Joe Root.

Eighteen runs were posted off the first two overs with six further in the third over, before Inglis guided Root’s full-toss back to the bowler who took the simple caught and bowled. Inglis (16, 11b) made way for Lilley.

Lilley brought up the first maximum of the evening after sending Fisher straight back over his head in the third over.

Steel followed up with his first boundary of the evening in the next over, and the duo then recorded 14 off the final over of the powerplay, bringing the first six overs to an end on 63 for one.

Lockie Ferguson bowled a beamer resulting in a no ball, which Steel managed to ramp away but, some brilliant fielding in the deep saved the boundary and with it, a further run.

The Foxes were going well and reached the halfway point at 98 for one, with the second wicket partnership on 74, as we entered the second half of the innings.

Two balls into the eleventh over, and a mix up in the middle between Steel and Lilley saw the former run out for 32(28b) by Balance.

Lilley soon moved onto his first half-century of the season, after top-edging Thompson away for his fourth four of the evening “ the fifty coming from 28 balls, including four fours and two sixes.

The Running Foxes man then brought up his career-best T20 score after recording a six and a four off Root to surpass his previous best of 69.

Ackermann began the sixteenth over by sending Thompson on to the roof of a house on Milligan Road with a huge six.

The third wicket partnership came to an end at the hands of Thompson, as he bowled Ackermann for a 22-ball 40, breaking the 90-run partnership.

Rishi Patel joined Lilley (85no) in the middle with thirteen balls of the innings remaining.

Lilley was approaching his maiden T20 century and began the final over with his eighth four of the evening, requiring nine further runs.

Another boundary came from the penultimate ball of the over and fell inches short of being a maximum, which would have taken the batsman over the threshold. One more run from the final ball of the innings saw Lilley finish on 99no (55b), alongside Patel (4, 5b) as the Foxes set Vikings the target of 208.

The Vikings got their reply off to a quick response, posting two successive overs of double figures from the first three.

Callum Parkinson took the ball for the first time in the evening in the fourth over and made an immediate impact, dismissing both opening batsmen within two balls of each other.

Firstly, Tattersall outside-edged one through to Ben Mike at short third man to go for an 8-ball 10. Two balls later and Parkinson claimed his second of the over as Lyth was the next man to go as the Leicestershire man trapped him for 22(13b).

The visitors brought their powerplay to an end with the England skipper at the crease, and an over of 16 to end their first six on 58 for two.

The third wicket partnership began to eat into the Running Foxes’ lead, though, their partnership failed to reach the halfway point of the innings.

Parkinson chimed in with his third wicket of the evening as Root (15, 15b) guided one straight to the hands of Patel at short third man.

The halfway point was then reached in the Vikings’ innings following Steel's third tight over, going for just six, with the visitors on 85 for three.

Steel’s hard work culminated in a wicket in his final over, as Balance chopped on for a 24-ball 34. Steel’s four overs came to an end with figures of 4-0-21-1.

The fifth Vikings wicket fell two overs later as Hill (5, 6b) pulled an Ackermann delivery straight to the hands of Lilley at deep mid-wicket, as the visitors were now five wickets down for 112 runs, with six overs remaining.

Parkinson took the ball for the final time of the evening and claimed his fourth wicket, as he clean bowled Thompson for a 2-ball duck, and finished with figures of 4-0-35-4.

Griffiths claimed his first wicket of the evening in the sixteenth over as he reacted supremely to catch the straight drive off Brook for 33 (25b), off his own bowling.

The next over saw Naveen claim his first wicket, as Ackermann caught Waite(3, 5b) at extra cover, over his shoulders running towards the boundary.

The visitors entered the final over requiring 44 further runs for the win, though, Mike, who came on to bowl his first of the evening, had other ideas.

The remaining wickets of Fisher (19, 8b) and Bess (24, 14b) fell as the Running Foxes recorded their third consecutive victory in the Vitality Blast, with a 34-run victory over table topping Yorkshire Vikings.

FIGURES | Root 3-0-33-1, Fisher 4-0-44-1, Bess 4-0-21-0, Ferguson 4-0-35-1, Waite 2-0-24-0, Thompson 3-0-41-0

Steel 4-0-21-1, Ackermann 3-0-34-1, Naveen 4-0-34-1, Parkinson 4-0-35-4, Griffiths 4-0-38-1, Mike 0.5-0-9-1

FOXES | Ackermann (C), Davis, Griffiths, Hill, Inglis (wk), Lilley, Mike, Naveen, Patel, Parkinson, Steel

VIKINGS | Tattersall (wk), Lyth, Root (C), Ballance, Brook, Hill, Thompson, Bess, Waite, Fisher, Ferguson

IMAGES | Thanks to John Mallet of Outside Off for supplying images throughout the game.

MATCH SPONSOR | We would like to thank 365 People for sponsoring our Vitality Blast fixture against Yorkshire Vikings.