fv Yorkshire Pro40 @ Taunton Sunday 9 August 2009

Scoreboard

Commentary

The side as presently published is the same as the side from the Warwickshire except Waller is in for Caddick.

Trescothick, Langer (the Spy), de Bruyn, Hildreth, Kieswetter, Suppiah, Trego, Thomas, Phillips, Waller, Willoughby

With Hildreth back to full fitness after the stomach bug, Wes Durston returns to his second team position so there are no 'Grocklees' presently in the side.  Revelations about 'Langer's Dossier' in the papers may clour his reception today but ther than that this is a confident group who should be looking for more points today from the Tykes who return to the Ground keen to get that CC1 run chase out of their minds and get some Payback. Yorkshire/Somerset games are usually full of fun and frolics so we're all hopeful of a good Sunday of entertainment.

Presently Phil Frost is taking a bunch of Somerset groundsmen on a tour of the pitch - KT are you there?  Some kind of Groundsmens course/holiday...imagine Frosty as you guest lecturer!  It's hot and dry and we are playing on the main wicket in the middle of the ground in a direct line with the edge of the CA pavilion and the Scorer's hutch.

No Apple AM coverage today so the County comentating team will be on the air from about 1:30 for your delectation.  I'm sure there'll be some Radio Bristol coverage but now the footy has started agina it will probalby be in between Forest Green Rovers and whoever.  Gloucestershire aren't playing it seems so you may get some ball by ball - you never know.  I'm doing the first part of the commentary so I'll be on with info at the start of the second bit.

Omari Banks is in for Alfonso Thomas.  Not sure whether this is a 'rest' or an injury.  He was favouring a shoulder during the Notts game so maybe he is being rested with the dry conditions.  We'll see where we go with this.  Shazad is in for Hoggard but other than that the side is as published.

Yorkshire won the toss and decided to bat.  Langer took the field and loked like he had lost it by using Omari Banks to open from the River end.  Charl did the usual duty at the OP but Rudolph and Gale made hay for a while as they took runs off the spinner until he was replaced by Ben Phillips in the 4th.  For the first 7 overs Yorkshire seemed to be in full control with 49 coming and then it changed, as Langer took two absolutely excellent reaction catches from full blown strikes in a short midwicket position one at knee height to send Gale back and then an even better ankle biter to remove Lyth for very little.

Willow took a very nasty rap on the ankle just above the boot while fielding off his own bowling in his sixth and had to leave the field for treatment.  His replacement Trego forced Bairstow to play on and we had our own boot on the neck of the Tykes innings.

Excellent fielding in a field constantly being 'tweaked' by the captain plus really good tight bowling from Zander de Bruyn and Max Waller in particular kept Rudolph off the strike and down to singles when he did face while we winkled out the Yorkshire allsorts (there's a lot of them but they bat all the way to 11).  The captain had a plan for Brophy in particular and introduced the 21 year old spinner to execute it.  Everyone went out, Waller bowled short and after a bit of a shaky start, the Yorkshire player put the ball into the hands of Marcus at cover according to the plan.

Pyrah looked to stick around until Langer re-introduced Banks and he did his job by fooling him with one that past him well out of his crease and gave Kieswetter the first of two stumpings.  Bresnan hit Waller to cover...and gave the vice captain his third.  Shazad came in early but forgot that the line was the keeper's and was very well removed by the sharp work of our gloveman without bothering the scorer.

This was off the quite excellent bowling of Zander de Bruyn, put on to hold the middle of the innings and left to finish off the opposition when they could get so little from him that it was pointless taking him off. Rashid gave Banger his third catch in the same position off the South African and Rudolph was finding himself with the prospect of being marooned even though he went past 50 at about a run a ball.

He destroyed Waller's figures a little with 2 sixes off his final over as the two played the game out but Kruis had to swing and de Bruyn was bowling too straight for that and bowled the tailender.  Which left the core of the Yorkshire innings to try and make something of it after pushing them over 200.  He tried to and put the ball down Hildreth's throat and that was all she wrote.

208 all out in the 39th.  Superb containing from Zander and Max taking 6 for 67 between them.  Excellent fielding from almost everyone and a real solid performance to produce a game we really ought to win this as the openers Trescothick and Kieswetter (surprisingly)have 42 off the first 8.  Good first half on the 'road'.  Let's hope the 'batting paradise' allows us to put this one to bed.

It looks that way as well with Banger tucking into the bowling and Craig hitting big shots.  When we reach the 60's it looks like MT is in a hurry as he takes 4 fours in a row off the bowling of Pyrah and then he tries for a fifth and is beautifully caught by Rashid in mid wicket, the first of a number of very sharp catches by the Yorkshire infield (shame they didn't hold on to all of them)!

77 for 1 turns into a mini collapse with Kieswetter being bowled by Kruis (chopped on), Zander adjudged LBW (he wasn't) and then Langer very miffed at also being called for being in front (very very upset but he was)!  From 77 and cruising, we are under 100 and re-building with Hildreth and Trego working to put this innings back n the tracks.

With Peter scratching around a bit and the Yorkshire boys tails up, it is down to Master Hildreth to sort this one out.  The turning point in the game is when the most reliable fielder on the visitors side dropped a total sitter in front of the Caddick Pavilion and the pressure simply dropped away.  The two Somerset men take us to 142 before Trigger departs courtesy of the hands of Rudolph and the bowling of Shahzad for a slightly ungainly 28.

I'm worrying about whether we are into the tail because we still need some 6 and that's our recognised batsmen isn't it?  Forgot.  We now have another man coming in at number 7....Arul Suppiah.  No longer the man needing match practice but an established opener with first class 50s and centuries to his name.  He joins Hildreth and all is most certainly right in the Somerset world.  He is no longer the 'other man' in the partnership as our front name makes the runs.  He is now an equal partner in any batting partnership and courtesy of his 3 fours and 2 sixes added to Hilda's 9 four 62, we walk it home needing 40 off 8 and then needing 6 off 6.

Big one day win in big one day style.  Good allround performance with Zander shining with the ball and James shining with the bat.  The one question was why play Omari at all if you had no intention of bowling Arul?  Bringing in a third spinner would have made sense but tio then to only use two didn't.  The only explanation is that he is in the squad for the T20 and he needed some first team action.  Wes as a batsman would have made more sense to me but he got 50 in the Notts game so he has had time at the crease.

It will be an interesting thing to look out for in the Bristol match on Thursday.....

Today on the batting strip that is Taunton we outbowled, out fielded and out batted Carnegie.  I expect no post from Kentish Townie tonight and there'll be no point in asking why....Great game to watch and to win.

View a Printer Friendly version of this Story.

Bookmark or share this story with:

• Digg
• Delicious
• Facebook
• Reddit
• Stumbleupon

Related Articles:

• Andrew Richard Caddick
• T20 the Quarter Final!! Somerset Bowled Over