Richard Pyrah

By Gary Watton
June 20 2013

Having to play a forty-overs match outside of their apparent discomfort zone of Sundays appears to have suited Yorkshire well, judging by their success against Middlesex today. Okay, so the result means precious little in the greater scheme of things but I guess that a win is a win.

If nothing else, this tussle provides more game time and invaluable experience for the likes of Fisher, Gibson, and Wardlaw. It could be perceived as a morale-booster ahead of a big clash against Surrey in the County Championship. Mind you, I would take a four-day success over the south Londoners any day, in preference to a victory in the Yorkshire Bank forty-overs charade. 

In the event, Andrew Gale inevitably won the toss. I fully expect another outburst from the attention-seeking Bob Willis about how Andy G must be using a double-headed coin, given his astoundingly prolific record of winning the spinning coin guessing game.

Put into bat, Middlesex's score was adequate and competitive, but nobody cut loose against Yorkshire's baby bowlers. Although Richard Pyrah (pictured) and Iain Wardlaw will merit a round of applause for sharing six wickets, the stand-out bowler was Adam Lyth, who bowled two overs for only a loss of six runs, whilst picking up a wicket. Such economical bowling with a great strike rate deserves a bigger allocation of overs next time.

Not content with his bowling cameo, Lyth enjoyed another cameo of sorts as he and Andrew Gale batted the hosts into a healthy position when that lethal combination of Duckworth-Lewis did the rest. Were it not for the weather intervention, the Tykes would still have been favourites to knock off the required runs. As for the opposition, Ollie Rayner deserves much credit for bowling four overs at a mere cost of eleven runs. In these days of slogfest cricket, anyone who concedes eleven runs per over is almost considered economical!

Oh well, maybe this triumph is a good omen for the imminent Twenty20 pantomime. I still think a win over Surrey and/or another County Championship is slightly more important than this glorified nets session.

YORKSHIRE versus Middlesex; at Headingley; Thursday 20th June 2013; YORKSHIRE won the toss.

MIDDLESEX: 217 for 8 [40 0vers]

Stirling b Wardlaw 32 [42-1]

Malan c Hodd b Wardlaw 14 [65-4]

Denly b Wardlaw 7 [54-2]

Robson b Gibson 1 [55-3]

Rossington c and b Lyth 42 [166-6]

Dexter c Rashid b Pyrah 22 [105-5]

Berg b Pyrah 43 [178-7]

Rayner not out 22

Roland-Jones b Pyrah 13 [214-8]

Murtagh not out 3

Extras: 18

Pyrah 3-33

Wardlaw 3-39

YORKSHIRE: 81 for 0 [17.2 overs]

Gale not out 34

Lyth not out 38

Extras: 9

YORKSHIRE win by 17 runs via the Duckworth-Lewis method of scoring; YORKSHIRE 4 points, Middlesex 0 points