T20 Blast: Brave Bess falls short as Falcons fly past Yorkshire to deliver knockout blow
Much was expected from an in-form Jonny Bairstow when Yorkshire hosted a misfiring Derbyshire Falcons in the North Group encounter of the Blast at Headingley on Sunday.
Fresh from a scintillating ton against Lancashire at Old Trafford, Bairstow perished for a five-ball duck in Leeds. The England batter’s cheap dismissal set a grim tone for Yorkshire's lacklustre batting display against Derbyshire.
After Bairstow bowled for a duck by Mohammad Ghazanfar, the Tykes suffered their second setback in the next over when Caleb Jewell caught Will Luxton to help Ben Aitchison open his account in Leeds.
Bairstow and Luxton recently went on an absolute rampage, smashing Yorkshire to their last T20 Blast victory. Adding misery to an already open wound, Yorkshire skipper Dawid Malan received his marching orders in the next over as the side's leading run scorer departed for a forgettable eight-ball four.
Bess stages fightback
Emerging as the pick of the bowlers in Leeds, Aitchison ended up taking five wickets against Yorkshire. From 17-4 in five overs to a respectable total of 151-9, England all-rounder Dom Bess played a counter-attacking knock to help the hosts recover from a top-order collapse at Headingley. Bess received the assistance through Pakistani overseas batter Abdullah Shafique (26 off 22 balls), who was also tasked to revive the Yorkshire innings.
Aitchison bags maiden fifer; Ghazanfar enters record books
When Bess completed his 36-ball half-century, Yorkshire were aiming for a grand finish after reaching 131-6 in 18 overs. Derbyshire skipper Samit Patel brought back Aitchison, and the decision paid rich dividends as Bess departed for a 37-ball 53.
Aitchison, who earlier got the better of Shafique in the ninth over, handed Jafer Chohan a golden duck to complete his five-wicket haul. While Aitchison (5/29) bagged his maiden T20 fifer, Mohammad Ghazanfar (2/5) registered the joint-second-most-economical four-over spell in Blast’s history.
Making a mockery of the 152-run target at Headingley, Derbyshire opener Aneurin Donald (54 off 30 balls) and Wayne Madsen (51* in 28 balls) smashed identical half-centuries to set up a comfortable eight-wicket win. The visitors aced the run-chase in 16.4 overs to seal their fourth win in 13 matches.
‘Ghazanfar was just quality’: Bess
“Their young opening bowler (Ghazanfar) was just quality. I haven’t seen something like that (2-5 in four overs) for a long time. You would be happy with that in a four-day game, let alone a T20. Credit to him,” Yorkshire all-rounder Bess said after the match.
Sealing a double triumph over Yorkshire in this season's T20 Blast, the Falcons have dashed the Roses' quarter-final aspirations. Yorkshire will host Lancashire in their final home game on Thursday.