Report: Worcestershire Rapids v Yorkshire Vikings, Vitality Blast – Yorkshire County Cricket Club

Scorecard 

Worcestershire Rapids v Yorkshire Vikings 

Vitality Blast, North Group

Sunday July 14, 2024, 2.30pm 

Visit Worcestershire New Road   

Toss: Yorkshire won it and elected to bowl. 

Rapids: Brett D’Oliveira c, Ed Pollock, Josh Cobb, Rob Jones, Jake Libby, Ethan Brookes, Tom Taylor, Gareth Roderick w, Matthew Waite, Hayden Walsh, Harry Darley. 

Vikings: Adam Lyth, Dawid Malan, James Wharton, Shan Masood c, George Hill, Donovan Ferreira w, Jordan Thompson, Dom Bess, Jafer Chohan, Ben Cliff, Dan Moriarty.

Match Summary: Yorkshire claimed a stunning Blast win to boost their quarter-final hopes, chasing down 206 to win by six wickets with three balls to spare at New Road.

Dawid Malan was the star of the show with an unbeaten 93 off 50 balls with seven fours and five sixes, but Jordan Thompson smashed 40 not out off 14 to seal the victory.

Earlier, Jafer Chohan returned 4-30 from four overs to continue his superb recent form, limiting the Rapids to 205-6 following a lightning start. 

This was Yorkshire’s second highest successful chase in their Blast history, and a sixth win from 13 gives them a great chance of quarter-final qualification heading into their final game. They will need to beat Nottinghamshire at Headingley on Friday to have any chance of a top-four finish. 

This result, as great as it was for the Vikings, was harsh on Worcestershire’s Ethan Brookes, who hit 44 off 21 balls and claimed all for visiting wickets at a cost of 41. 

Report: Worcestershire were – pardon the pun – rapid out of the blocks.

They lost Ed Pollock early on as he miscued Ben Cliff’s seam to mid-on but reached 85-1 from seven overs.

Cliff twice and Jordan Thompson conceded 18 runs in an over in that early spell, with captain and opener Brett D’Oliveira and Josh Cobb doing the damage.

They struck the ball crisply on a true hybrid pitch with short boundaries all around. 

D’Oliveira made 42 and Cobb 34, scores bettered by Ethan Brookes, whose middle order 44 came off only 21 balls and included seven fours and a six.

Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com. Jafer Chohan was excellent again for Yorkshire, giving captain Shan Masood an element of control amidst some rapid fire from Worcestershire’s batters.

Amidst the flurry of runs, Jafer Chohan, though, was outstanding for his four-for, backing up the 5-14 he took against Durham on Thursday evening at Headingley.

He had D’Oliveira stumped and Gareth Roderick bowled on the reverse sweep, leaving the score at 96-3 in the 10th over.

And, later, he helped Yorkshire drag things back to a degree.

At 136-3 after 12 overs, Worcestershire were eyeing a total well in excess of 200. But, in the end, they only just got there, with Rob Jones also finishing 35 not out. 

Chohan had Cobb caught at long-off for his third wicket – 137-4 in the 13th – and later had Brookes caught at cover.

Chohan, Thompson and Bess all bowled tidy overs to limit the damage.

Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com. James Wharton was one of those batters who came in and struck the ball cleanly from the off as Yorkshire sealed victory at New Road.

Yorkshire were kept in check at the start of the chase, reaching the 10-over mark at 74-1.

Adam Lyth and Dawid Malan hit a six apiece in the early stages, but the Vikings openers found it tough to break free.

Lyth fell caught at deep cover off Brookes’ seam – 66-1 in the 10th.

Malan reached his fifty with a leg-side six off former Viking Matthew Waite, by which time the score was 89-1 in the 12th.

And when James Wharton started well en-route to 24 off 12 balls, hitting a quartet of boundaries, Yorkshire’s hopes were raised.

However, the loss of two wickets – himself and Donovan Ferreira – to Brookes in the 14th over pegged things back again at 122-3.

Picture by Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com. Dawid Malan was in full flight on the way to one of his best Yorkshire T20 knocks.

Not that Malan was bothered. He hit Cobb’s off-spin for successive sixes – one over long-off and the other over mid-wicket as 20 came off the 15th over.

That ensured Yorkshire’s target was 64 off five overs at 142-3.

Malan was inventive as well as increasingly powerful, though lost Shan Masood caught at long-off to hand Brookes his fourth wicket – 159-4 in the 17th.

Thompson came in and hit the ground running immediately, playing the hand that secured victory.

Malan will take the majority of the headlines, but Thompson should certainly get a share of the back page, so to speak.

He crashed four sixes and two fours in only 14 balls, helping ensure a target of 20 off the last two overs and 10 off the last was achieved with comfort.

Picture by John Mallett. Jordan Thompson batted in overdrive to seal Yorkshire’s sixth win of the North Group.

Worcestershire were hurt by the loss of Waite and West Indian spinner Hayden Walsh injured through their defence, but that should not take anything away from Yorkshire’s chase and the performances of Malan and Thompson.

The latter hit the first ball of the last over from Harry Darley over cover for six and then seared him over mid-off for four to seal win number six from 13 games and make it success one of hopefully two in the day.

Yorkshire’s players were all gearing up to watch the England Euro 2024 final on the team bus on the way home. Thompson even had a retro blue England shirt on shortly after the match had finished.

Magic moment: Not quite one specific moment, more a spell. Jafer Chohan was outstanding yet again with his four wickets. The emerging leg-spinner brilliantly backed up his 5-14 against Durham at Headingley on Thursday. 

Turning point: Dawid Malan took a four and two sixes off Josh Cobb’s off-spin in the 15th over of the chase, which went for 20, to give Yorkshire’s chase real impetus at 142-3. They never looked back. 

Stat of the match: Jordan Thompson hit his highest score in Blast cricket for two years to seal a remarkable win, which saw Yorkshire gain the required 132 runs off the final 10 overs of their chase from 74-1. 

Picture by John Clifton/SWpix.com. Dawid Malan celebrates another fifty.

What they said – Dawid Malan: “That’s right up there (amongst my best knocks).

“I don’t actually know how we won that in the end. We were so far behind the game after six or seven overs, but it shows that if you hang in and have a few guys come in and take positive options, it keeps the scoreboard ticking. 

“Thankfully, I was able to bat through the innings, which allowed other guys to come in (and play the way they did).

“That was an unbelievable win and one of the best innings, especially for Yorkshire. I thought they were 20 or 30 over par with the bat and played very well. We didn’t bowl as well as we could have and didn’t get off to the best of starts with the bat. But we hung in and were able to get the boundaries when we needed them.

“Lythy struggled today. He’s usually our most explosive batter, but it’s part and parcel. It just didn’t work for him. That happens. But all the others guys who came in – from Wharts, to Shan, Donovan, Tommo – took the pressure off me and allowed me to bat through.”

What’s next: Yorkshire’s final Blast group game is against Nottinghamshire Outlaws at Headingley on Friday evening (6.30pm). It’s a game the Vikings need to win in order to have any chance of qualifying for the quarter-finals.