Celebration time!

By Gary Watton
September 7 2015

There are occasions when one simply has to hold up one's hands and accept the superiority of the opposition. Yorkshire are undoubtedly the best team in English first-class cricket, but when it comes to fifty overs-a-side, they certainly met their match yesterday at Headingley. Gloucestershire (repeating a Lord's victory from 1999) have a habit of thwarting the Tykes in limited-overs cricket, and yesterday the south-west county did precisely that, as their batsmen excelled themselves in a high-pressure situation. 

A standing ovation is rightly granted to Hamish Marshall and especially Michael Klinger for an unbroken third wicket partnership that decisively decided the semi final in their county's favour. Previously at ninety for two, the away team might have folded in much the same way as Essex had done ten days earlier. However, while Yorkshire's batting was generally below par at Chelmsford, this time it was the bowling which was not of a sufficiently high standard. To succeed in such a competitive arena as one-day cricket, it is important that both the batting and bowling departments are functioning equally well in tandem. Otherwise, against quality opposition like Gloucestershire, a team will get exposed if one of their departments is not firing on all cylinders. Questions may be asked why Ryan Sidebottom, an obvious demon bowler on the county circuit, is bypassed for the One-Day Cup. Nevertheless, Yorkshire are hoping that their policy of bringing one or two young players through the jungle of limited-overs cricket will pay off in the long run. Funnily enough, it was the young guns of Fisher and Rhodes who actually took the two wickets that fell during the magnificent run chase.

Of course, Yorkshire can easily point out that their prospects would have been considerably enhanced if they could have called upon the services of the absent Plunkett, Rashid, and Root, while the unavailability of an overseas player, such as the red-hot Maxwell, was also a big blow. Nevertheless, it is pointlesss detracting from Gloucestershire's comfortable triumph. The home team did post a reasonable score (although it has proven to be about fifty runs too light, a fact not helped by a failure to build upon an opening century stand), but Gloucestershire are heavyweights on the one-day scene, and a depleted Yorkshire can feel no shame in losing, albeit heavily, to an outstanding, streetwise opposition.

YORKSHIRE versus Gloucestershire; at Leeds; Sunday the sixth of September 2015.

YORKSHIRE: 263 for nine (off fifty overs)

Lyth c Payne b Fuller 96 (159-3)

Lees c and b Howell 21 (103-1)

Leaning lbw b Howell 8 (127-2)

Bairstow lbw b Norwell 34 (198-4)

Ballance c and b Howell 27 (226-6)

Rhodes c Fuller b Taylor 4 (208-5)

Bresnan c Klinger b Payne 27 (245-7)

Pyrah c Klinger b Smith 1 (249-8)

Patterson Dent 9 (263-9)

Fisher not out 9

Extras: 27

Howell 10-0-37-3

Gloucestershire: 267 for two (off 46.5 overs)

Dent b Fisher 28 (56-1)

Klinger not out 137

Roderick c Leaning b Rhodes 18 (90-2)

Marshall not out 78

Extras: six

Gloucestershire win by eight wickets and progress to the final on Saturday the nineteenth of September.

Beneath are the best batting and bowling averages for Yorkshire during the impressive journey to the One-Day Cup semi finals. I nominate Glenn Maxwell as Yorkshire's best performer in the competition, as he was in the Twenty20 Blast. Ballance, Leaning, and Lees also made a couple of good contributions each during the tournament.

BATTING (minimum requirement: one hundred runs) 

Lyth - 66; highest score: 96; runs - 132

Maxwell - 52; highest score: 111; runs - 312

Ballance - 42.29; highest score: 77; runs - 296

Leaning - 35.57; highest score: 72; runs - 249

Lees - 27.44; highest score: 75; runs - 247

Rhodes - 22; highest score: 46; runs - 132

Bresnan - 18.86; highest score: 43; runs - 132

Hodd - 17.67; highest score: 36; runs - 106

BOWLING (minimum requirement: ten wickets)

Patterson - 19.85; best bowling: five for 24; thirteen wickets