South Africa lead by 73 runs at stumps after bowling West Indies out for 251

Firdose Moonda09-Mar-2023
South Africa have a generous lead of 73 after dismissing West Indies for 251 inside 80 overs on a 13-wicket day at the Wanderers. Jason Holder’s half-century – the highest score for a West Indian batting at No.8 or lower in South Africa – and his 58-run final-wicket stand with Gudakesh Motie helped West Indies concede only almost half the deficit they did at SuperSport Park last week and demonstrated the application the rest of the line-up lacked.Holder, who was batting with the assurance of a player set for a fourth Test century, kept West Indies competitive after twin collapses. They slipped to 51 for 4 in the morning, recovered thanks to a 52-run fifth-wicket stand between Kyle Mayers and Roston Chase and then lost four for 59 in the middle order to much all the good work of their seamers in the first 16 minutes of play.Alzarri Joseph struck twice and Mayers once as West Indies dismissed South Africa’s last three batters in 18 balls, with South Africa adding only nine runs to their overnight score of 311. All told, South Africa lost their last eight wickets for 72 runs. The form of their middle order will also give West Indies reason to believe they remain in the game.Related

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On a pitch with extra bounce on one end and turn on the other, batting was always going to be tricky but South Africa also showed up sharply in the field to make it even more difficult.After only scoring one run in their first 19 balls, West Indies were anxious to rotate strike so when Kraigg Braithwaite tapped Mulder into the covers, he set off a single. But he didn’t bank on Temba Bavuma’s quick reflexes. South Africa’s captain swooped in from mid-off, pulled off a one-hand pick-up-and-release and hit the stumps at the striker’s end to find Tagenarine Chanderpaul short of his ground.From the other end, Kagiso Rabada extracted extra bounce with a short-of-a-length beauty that found Braithwaite’s outside edge. Elgar had to take the catch low down at first slip and got his hands underneath it to leave West Indies 22 for 2. Gerald Coetzee took over from Rabada and got the second ball of his second over to straighten on Jermaine Blackwood, who was squared up and nicked off.Gerald Coetzee picked up three wickets on the second day•Associated Press

Chase and Reifer put on 23 runs in 25 balls – thanks largely to big gaps in the field as Bavuma sought to crowd the batters against the spinners – before Coetzee struck again. Reifer tried to flick Coetzee past Tony de Zorzi at short leg but inside-edged onto his pad and de Zorzi took a good catch.After stabilising the innings before lunch, Chase and Mayers batted with a good blend of caution and aggression for most of the first 10 overs after the break. They capitalised on anything overpitched and turned the strike over sedately but sensibly to stage a small recovery. Their partnership had grown to 52 runs before Chase tried to take Mulder on and failed. He advanced on a full delivery and inside-edged onto his pads before the ball rolled back onto his stumps. A distraught Chase sank to his knees, perhaps knowing he had opened the door into the lower order, with West Indies still 217 runs behind.Joshua da Silva’s arrival saw the re-introduction of Rabada for the first time since his opening spell but it was Mayers whose patience he tested, particularly after drinks. After spending 76 balls to score 27 runs, Mayers wanted to get a move on and threw his bat at any width Rabada offered, even as he was beaten. After one over in which he looked like he could be dismissed off every ball, Mayers wafted at one too many and edged to Elgar at first slip. When he was dismissed, West Indies were still five runs adrift of the follow-on.Jason Holder’s first runs, a gorgeous straight drive, ensured South Africa would have to bat again and he soon outscored da Silva, who broke the shackles post tea. He was on 16 off 56 balls when he cut Keshav Maharaj for fours in successive overs and South Africa seemed to be losing their shape slightly. Simon Harmer pulled it back when he bowled da Silva through the bat-pad gap to open up the tail. Maharaj had Alzarri Joseph caught at silly point.Holder and Kemar Roach put on 31 runs in 40 balls and both of them took on Maharaj. Roach’s fun ended when Coetzee was brought back and he tried to cut but edged to Elgar at first slip.Holder went on to bring up his fifty off 79 balls with an authoritative sweep that carried for six.With Gudakesh Motie a more than capable No.11, Holder continued to play his shots and was especially profitable with the slog against the spinners. Their partnership reached 50 runs off 59 balls as West Indies continued to frustrate a South African attack that seemed to be waiting for the second new ball. They did not get there because, with three deliveries to go, Motie holed out to short cover off Simon Harmer, leaving South Africa with three overs to face to close out the day, which Markram and Elgar managed without too many troubles.

“He has put his name up in lights” – Malan also lauds seamer Graham Hume, who grabbed four wickets in the first ODI

Mohammad Isam19-Mar-2023Ireland coach Heinrich Malan wants his side to continue playing with the aggressive mentality that they have shown over the past few months. This, despite their 183-run loss against Bangladesh in the first ODI in Sylhet, where they slipped to 76 for 5 – and eventually 155 all out – despite being 60 without loss in the 12th over in pursuit of 339.”The captain said that we are focusing on the way we play,” Malan said. “Of course, it is about results. We understand international cricket is about winning and losing, but it is the way we go about our business. I think if you look at the last 12 months, the way we have tried to play has got us into opportunities to beat some of the bigger sides. We beat England in the [T20] World Cup.”We look at this series as one of those opportunities as well: to come here in different conditions against a team that just beat the world champions, and show what we [have] got in the bank.”Ireland have achieved mixed results across both limited-overs formats since 2022, having won an away ODI series against West Indies and a home T20I series against Afghanistan, and drawn an ODI series in Zimbabwe and T20I series against South Africa in England along the way. They also came close to beating New Zealand and India several times during their home season last year – margins of defeat included four runs, one wicket, three wickets and one run.Malan said Ireland will still keep fighting their own way, even with Bangladesh having been quite dominant at home since 2015. He even found the funny side of how the Sylhet weather became slightly Irish overnight; there has been non-stop rain in the region, with the temperature also falling. But Malan also acknowledged that this would work to the Bangladesh pace attack’s advantage.”It is a lot more our sort of conditions, isn’t it? Hopefully, it keeps raining and hopefully it [the ball] keeps moving around,” he said. “Look, let’s not look beyond the fact that Bangladesh has three quality seamers too. They highlighted last night that they have become a very good all-round side.Graham Hume took a career-best 4 for 60, including the wickets of Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim•AFP/Getty Images

“It is not just about playing spin anymore. They have an accomplished seam attack. If it is a little overcast and rainy, it will be a little more comfortable for us. We have to play on what’s in front of you; we are looking forward to the challenge in Bangladesh.”Malan said his team was working on identifying areas they did well in in the first ODI and rectifying areas they didn’t.”It is not the result that we are obviously after. I think it was a nice little opportunity for us to get a feel for the conditions,” he said. “They were better than what we anticipated. It was a nice surface. It wasn’t as effected as we thought it would be. It is something that we identified and something we will rectify tomorrow.”We are trying to find ways to get wickets in the middle overs of white-ball matches. We picked up some wickets in the powerplay, [but] they built a nice partnership through the middle and allowed them to get a foundation to have a successful death period. We are taking that into account. Looking at tomorrow, we have to come up with one or two creative ways to get some quality players in the opposition under pressure.”Malan praised how right-arm seamer Graham Hume bowled, taking a career-best 4 for 60 in what was only his fifth ODI. Although slightly expensive, Hume dismissed the dangerous-looking Shakib Al Hasan and Towhid Hridoy, as well as Mushfiqur Rahim.”We know what we will get from Hume. He is a very consistent performer,” Malan said. “He has been around for a long time. It has been a great addition to our bowling stocks. He has got a lot of opportunities over the last year with a few injuries. It is exciting that we are building a pace-bowling stock. He has put his name up in lights now through his performance. Hopefully he can keep doing that for us.”Malan also said that they could use the left-arm spin of George Dockrell, who although he didn’t bowl a single over in the first game, is someone who keeps working on his bowling despite changing track as an international cricketer.”Over the last couple of years, he [has] transformed himself into a quality batter after coming into the side as a bowler,” Malan said. “He is always an option as a bowler. He trains diligently and does everything in the nets. I guess it comes down to the match-ups. We were trying to create some match-ups with the lefties yesterday, hence you saw couple of overs from [Harry] Tector as well.”

Visitors bounce back after first-day collapse to raise hopes of forcing victory

ECB Reporters Network08-Apr-2023Northamptonshire 117 and 300 for 7 (Keogh 101*, Azad 51) lead Kent 222 (Crawley 91, Tremain 5-44, White 4-57) by 195 runsRob Keogh hit a century as Northamptonshire clawed their way back into contention on day three of their LV= Insurance County Championship game with Kent at Canterbury.Keogh’s unbeaten 101 helped the visitors to 300 for seven at stumps, a lead of 195, thwarting Kent’s hopes of wrapping up a victory inside three days.Hassan Azad was the next highest scorer with 51, while Gareth Berg was unbeaten on 49 when play was abandoned for the day due to bad light.Daniel Bell-Drummond had Kent’s best bowling figures with two for 42, but it was a frustrating day for the hosts, after bowlers had dominated on days one and two.Conditions were cold and overcast when the visitors resumed on 47 for two in their second innings, still 58 behind, but a pitch that had previously misbehaved seemed to have flattened out and with Grant Stewart unable to bowl after picking up an injury, the visitors put together a succession of partnerships.Azad and Luke Procter steadily eroded the lead and after 90 minutes of the morning session the latter pulled Quinn through square leg to reach his half-century and put Northamptonshire ahead, only to be out lbw to the next ball.Procter then fell to Bell-Drummond’s second ball, chipping it to square leg where he was caught by a sprinting Joe Denly, for 38.Bell-Drummond then struck again to get Josh Cobb caught behind for 12, leaving Northamptonshire wobbling on 137 for five at lunch. At that point the lead was just 32, but Lewis McManus hung around for an hour of the afternoon session before he nicked Joey Evison behind for 14.Keogh reverse-swept Jack Leaning for four to reach 50 and he put on 32 with James Sales before the latter nicked Leaning to Sam Billings for eight.By tea the lead was 138, with Gareth Berg joining Keogh for a stand that exasperated the home crowd. Keogh reached three figures when he drove Hogan through mid-off for two and with 15 overs remaining the umpires sent the players off for bad light, leaving the contest hanging in the balance ahead of the final day.

Visitors cash in after captain lays foundations to build 104-run first-innings lead

Paul Edwards05-May-2023
At its best, the batting of Cheteshwar Pujara reminds one of the building of cathedrals. There is a monumental patience about the business, an alliance of forbearance with time that makes any major achievement all the more admirable. There is purpose, too, and aggression where possible, and these qualities were apparent as Pujara made his third century of the season at New Road this afternoon. But above all there was method and a resolve to ride out the mettlesome duels with Worcestershire’s seamers in the morning session, thereby gaining increasing licence to attack them later in the day.The result of Pujara’s tough-minded devotion was plain in the evening session when he put on 117 in 20 overs with Fynn Hudson-Prentice, who made 59, and a further 38 in six with Ollie Robinson, whose 21-ball 33 came straight from the McCullum-Stokes school of tactical thinking. Those partnerships gave Sussex a lead of 104, which was a fine effort given they had been 213 for 6 when Oli Carter had his off stump rumbled by a fine outswinger from Matthew Waite. Pujara eventually fell for 136 to the worst shot of his innings, a tired waft off Josh Tongue, but by then it was testing to recall the first session of the day when he and Steven Smith had worked hard for 75 minutes to put on 61, a partnership that did little but keep their side in the game after Worcestershire had taken two early wickets.Ah yes, Smith, I wondered when we would get to him. Once again, the interest of sports editors had been sufficiently piqued by the near certainty of the Australian batting to send their very best writers to New Road and perhaps Saturday will be another morning on which Smith will be the context for another international cricketer’s fine achievement. But Pujara made over a hundred runs more than his team mate in this innings and it must be a curious world in which one decides what is important about a day’s cricket before one discovers whether it has truly mattered very much.We only had to wait ten balls before we got our chance to assess Smith’s form, for the day had begun in grisly fashion for Sussex, who lost Tom Alsop leg before wicket to Joe Leach’s sixth delivery of the morning when succumbing to the virus of trying to work the ball just in front of square instead of playing it to mid-on. Next over, Ali Orr was dropped by Jack Haynes off Ben Gibbon and then caught by Gareth Roderick three balls later. Those dismissals more or less restored the game to parity and they also brought Smith out to join Pujara, thus uniting two of the best and most contrasting batters in the world.Pujara and Steven Smith bump fists during their partnership•Getty Images

Smith’s innings of 30 off 57 balls was interesting but unexceptional, although that latter quality will have little to do with the number of column inches it commands on Saturday. This is an Australian summer, after all, and we should be grateful that still matters amid the slew of competitions that pay riches yet count for nowt. So Smith began with a characteristic light-sabre leave and followed it with a sinless forward defensive. There were five fours but they were balanced with about as many false shots, a lovely ease through midwicket off Tongue making up for a swish to an off-side bouncer off Gibbon. The most typical boundary was a pull off Tongue in which Smith’s whole body pivoted on the stroke and the bat made as if to follow the ball to the rope. The innings itself offered glimmers of unconventional greatness but they might have been apparent only to those who knew this batsman had made 30 Test centuries, some of which had defined Ashes series.Anyway, Smith had batted 88 minutes when he faced the final delivery of the innings’ 39th over, which was bowled by Tongue from the Diglis End. The ball seamed back and hit Smith just above the knee-roll of his pad in line with middle and leg stump at best. Peter Hartley’s decision to give the batsman out was therefore neither a near-formality nor a shocker. In a Test match, the batter would surely have reviewed the decision and the technology might well have suggested umpire’s call. There was, though, an equal chance that Smith would have got away with it.Tongue was untroubled by such speculation. He gave the dismissal a double salute with his clenched fists and was quickly mobbed by his delighted colleagues. Before lunch, James Coles’ ten-cent drive to a ball from Gibbon saw him caught behind for 14 and Worcestershire supporters’ enjoyment of their lunch might then have been enhanced by New Road’s gracious assumption of its May splendour. The horse chestnut in front of the corporate hospitality marquee has been giving it large on the catwalk for a couple of weeks but now the poplars, limes and beeches at the Diglis End and in front of the cathedral are also buying their new-season frocks.The ruthlessness of Pujara’s batting frequently punctures such blithe optimism. During his stand with Smith, he had already eased the ball backward of square off his legs and played a cover drive. Both strokes outshone his partner. Either side of a 45-minute break for rain, he now added back cuts and pulls that took the game away from Worcestershire, one or two of whose bowlers suffered under the strain of it all. Pujara has now reached fifty for Sussex eight times in two-and-a-bit seasons and on each occasion he has gone on to make a century. Nor were his delights quite over. Eight balls before bad light interrupted play deep into evensong, he moved himself to sixth slip and next ball he grabbed a thick-edged catch off Jake Libby, a cricketer whose adhesion is his trademark. Ed Pollock and Azhar Ali took their side safely to stumps, which were finally drawn past seven o’clock, but there is serious work ahead for Brett D’Oliveira’s top order this weekend.

Kent batters add 318 for second wicket to pile on the advantage at Wantage Road

ECB Reporters Network26-Jun-2023Tawanda Muyeye and Daniel-Bell Drummond set batting milestones as Kent dominated on day two of their LV= Insurance County Championship match with hosts Northamptonshire at Wantage Road.Zimbabwean Muyeye cracked a stylish maiden first-class hundred complete with four huge sixes on his way to 179 while the more experienced Bell-Drummond inked in a new career-best of 271 not out, eclipsing his 206 not out against Loughborough University at Canterbury seven years ago. Bell-Drummond’s individual tally set a record for a Kent batsman at Wantage Road, beating Frank Wooley’s 217 back in 1926.The pair added 318 for the second wicket as the visitors piled up 550 for 5 by stumps, a lead of 313.On what was a tough day for a weary-looking Northamptonshire attack, Alex Russell and Ben Sanderson emerged from the onslaught with two wickets apiece.Bell-Drummond set the tone, on-driving the first ball of the day back past the stumps for four, but it wasn’t long before Muyeye took centre-stage.The 22-year-old, who originally arrived on these shores with his mother as an asylum seeker, showed his promise as a schoolboy at Eastbourne where he set records for the number of runs scored (1112) and sixes hit (56) in his first season.Initially with Sussex, he signed for Kent in 2021, scoring 89 against Middlesex at the end of that season as the hosts chased down a target of 375 in the fourth innings.Nevertheless, with England man Zak Crawley at the top of the order, his opportunities have been limited, so this was only his 13th first-class appearance, but there would be nothing unlucky about it.Tawanda Muyeye plays into the off side•Getty Images

Muyeye picked up where he’d left off on day one, using the long levers of his tall slender frame to showcase an elegant technique mixed with power, dismissing a short one from Sanderson to the mid-wicket boundary before despatching long hops from Jack White and Alex Russell to the square leg fence.A single to deep cover took him beyond that previous career-best against Middlesex and there were no nervous 90s either, a huge six over mid-on taking him to the brink of that maiden hundred which duly came minutes later courtesy of another half-tracker pulled to the fence.Off came the helmet amid a joyous celebration from a talented young player who’d played with the exuberance of someone enjoying a Sunday afternoon game in the park with his mates. He celebrated the milestone with a glorious straight six off White which raised the 200-stand.Bell-Drummond was less exuberant, but continued his rich vein of form in June, a 12th four carrying him to three figures in a wicketless first session for the hosts.The pair forged on after the interval, Muyeye plundering a third six, he’d only hit one in first-class cricket before today. The stand moved beyond 300 and the 2nd wicket record against Northamptonshire of 382 set by Sean Dickson and Joe Denly looked in sight before the youngster mishit Russell into the hands of Sanderson at cover.Such was the charm with which he’d played, that his departure took some of the sunshine out of the cricket, Denly and Jack Leaning falling cheaply either side of the second new ball, the latter to a sharply spinning delivery from Rob Keogh which bowled him through the gate.Bell-Drummond though picked up the mantle, a glorious straight drive taking him past his previous Championship-best of 166. His first Championship double hundred complete with 20 fours came soon after tea, and four through mid-wicket off White enabled him to chalk up the new career-best landmark.Jordan Cox kept him company either side of tea with an ebullient 41 in a stand of 106 before being castled by the persevering Sanderson.Bell-Drummond however batted through to stump and a triple century beckons on day three.

Sophia Smale, Chloe Skelton share seven wickets to defend 165 for 3 in match reduced to 22 overs per side

ECB Reporters Network24-Jul-2023Fran Wilson scored a blistering 56 to propel Western Storm to a much-needed six-run victory over Sunrisers in a rain-shortened Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy contest at Cheltenham.Alex Griffiths made 46 and Niamh Holland a quickfire 28 as the home side ran up a useful total of 165 for 3 after being put into bat in a match reduced to 22 overs a side.Grace Scrivens and Dane van Niekerk did their best to make a game of it, scoring 39 and 26 respectively to give the chase early impetus. But off spinner Chloe Skelton removed both in the space of two overs to strike a double blow from which Sunrisers were unable to recover.Skelton finished with 3 for 36 and fellow spinner Sophia Smale took 4 for 34 as Sunrisers came up short on 159 for 8, Storm registering their first win in the 50-over format since May to move off the foot of the table.Storm openers Dani Gibson and Griffiths did their best to utilise a reduced four-over powerplay, adding 22 in 3.2 overs before the former was bowled playing across the line for 12 by Eva Gray.Momentum was maintained as new batter Wilson scored at a run-a-ball, driving Gray down the ground for four and then pulling spinner Mady Villiers for another boundary to keep the scoreboard moving.The former England World Cup winner greeted leg spinner Abtaha Maqsood with a swept four and then pulled her through midwicket as Storm passed 50 in the ninth over. Griffiths proved the perfect foil, finding the gaps and rotating the strike as the second-wicket alliance realised 50 from 45 balls.A slow outfield proved problematic for Storm and Amu Surenkumar bowled tidily to restrict scoring from the Chapel End, but Wilson swept Scrivens for four in the fourteenth over to regain the initiative for the hosts.Wilson’s aggressive approach paid dividends when she went to a 45-ball half-century in the grand manner, pulling Surenkumar for six over mid-wicket to register the first maximum of the innings.Surenkumar avenged herself in her next over, Wilson attempting to drive and edging a catch to short fine leg with the score on 113 for 2. Her forthright innings occupied 52 balls, included five fours and a six and served as a crucial mainstay in a progressive stand of 91 in 13.3 overs.In contrast, Griffiths found the boundary only once in compiling 46 from 47 balls before holing out to deep midwicket off the bowling of Surenkumar, who finished with 2 for 37 from five overs. Nevertheless, her innings proved every bit as important as that of Wilson in helping Storm achieve a competitive total.Promoted up the order, England Under-19 international Holland picked up the cudgels at the death, helping herself to four boundaries in a high-octane innings of 28 from 17 balls. Storm captain Sophie Luff weighed in with nine runs, playing her part in a lucrative unbroken stand of 32 for the third wicket.Needing to score at 7.50 an over, Sunrisers’ chase was undermined by the early loss of Cordelia Griffith, the opener smacking a short delivery from Gibson straight to backward point in the third over with the score on 10.Introduced at the Chapel End, slow left armer Smale struck with her first delivery, bowling Jodie Grewcock for one as the visitors slipped to 19-2 in the fifth. van Niekerk immediately demonstrated her attacking intent, hoisting Smale over midwicket for six and then hitting her for four through the same area, but the experienced Phoebe Graham sent down three overs with the new ball for just 10 runs to pile further pressure onto Sunrisers.Lauren Filer proved expensive, conceding 13 runs from the eighth over, to give the visitors encouragement, van Niekerk and Scrivens advancing the score to 66 for 2 at the halfway point of the innings.Chloe Skelton then struck a crucial blow, taking an instinctive return catch to dismiss the dangerous van Niekerk, at which point Sunrisers required a further 96 off 63 balls. Their task became still more difficult when Skelton had Scrivens caught at the wicket by Katie Jones in her next over.Storm missed an opportunity to further tighten the screw, Filer dropping Villers at mid-off on nine off the bowling of Skelton. Encouraged by that mishap, Gray went on the attack, raising 27 from 19 balls before hoisting Smale to deep midwicket. When Smale pinned Amara Carr lbw next ball, Sunrisers were 121 for 6 and needing to score at more than 11 an over.Villers scored 22 off 16 balls, only to hit Skelton to mid-on in the 20th over, after which Storm were able to relax.

Champions survive a Matthew Revis hat-trick at soggy Scarborough

ECB Reporters Network01-Aug-2023Superb centuries for Joey Evison and Ben Compton helped champions Kent recover from early strife and later survive a Matthew Revis hat-trick to get their Metro Bank One-Day Cup title defence off to a winning start against Yorkshire at soggy Scarborough.The Spitfires, having slipped to 49 for 4 after 15 overs after being inserted, posted 282 for 9 before a trio of rain delays revised the home target to 261 in 43 overs, 235 in 35 and finally 181 in 24.Kent only won this one by two runs on Duckworth Lewis Stern, owing to late drama. After the third delay, Yorkshire resumed on 53 for 2 after 11 overs and raced to 117 for four after 17, only for more rain to leave them three runs short of a winning target.Ben Coad struck three times with the new ball in helpful conditions for Yorkshire, bowling his 10 overs straight through for 3 for 16.But Evison and opener Compton played contrasting innings – 136 off 106 balls and 103 off 137 – to share Kent’s List A record 219 inside 33 overs for the fifth wicket. All-rounder Revis then claimed a hat-trick as five wickets fell in the last 15 balls of the visiting innings.Evison, 21, was the player of the match in last season’s final win over Lancashire at Trent Bridge with 97 and two wickets, and he counter-attacked here to push on from 84 for 4 after 25 overs.Having offered a tough chance to diving Dom Bess at midwicket on nought off Dom Leech, he hit three of seven sixes to leg, including one over wide long-leg off Ben Mike to reach his hundred.Excellent Coad had opener Marcus O’Riordan caught at first slip and former team-mate Jack Leaning and then Harry Finch both caught behind on a nibbling pitch. George Hill, who also bowled his 10 overs straight, claimed the other early wicket.Left-hander Compton clipped the only boundary which Coad conceded but was in rebuild mode.Evison then whipped a six off Coad to begin the counter-attack. And by the time they both reached fifties, Kent were 143 for 4 in the 34th over.Having regained a foothold in the innings, Compton then increased his tempo and was strong through the off-side en-route to his third career century off 135 balls.But Evison had overtaken him in the early eighties and raced through the nineties to reach his second career ton first – reached off 84 balls (216 for four in the 42nd over).But, with 300 on the cards, Revis limited the damage by getting James Bazley and Grant Stewart caught at deep square-leg and Hami Qadri bowled in the penultimate over.Five wickets fell in the last 15 balls, including Evison and Compton, as Yorkshire’s director of cricket Darren Gough watched on. He had taken two of the previous four List A hat-tricks for the county.After mid-innings rain, Gough saw Yorkshire lose Fin Bean to Australian debutant Bazley’s seam to the fifth ball of their chase, Qadri taking a smart catch at point.But the Vikings, after a further brief stoppage, were recovering through wicketkeeper opener Harry Duke and his captain Shan Masood, who put on 49 to take the score to 52 for one after 10 overs.Masood, back from Pakistan duty, was playing confidently for 31, however he was run out by an Evison direct hit at the non-striker’s end from mid-on with the first ball of the 11th over.More rain came almost immediately at 53 for 2, leaving Yorkshire needing 10 an over upon the resumption.With the threat of more rain to come, Hill crashed the lion’s share of 21 off a Matthew Parkinson over, only to fall caught behind for 35 off Bazley to leave Yorkshire narrowly short.