Match report day 4 Yorkshire v Leicestershire Championship 2004 by John Ward

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Scorecard:

Yorkshire v Leicestershire

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Overnight: Leicestershire 237/6 off 72 overs (DeFreitas 52*, Gibson 0*).
Lunch: Leicestershire 289; Yorkshire 76/1 off 16 overs (Wood 28*, Taylor 8*).
Tea: Yorkshire 205/4 off 43 overs (Lumb 46*, Guy 21*).
Close: Yorkshire 283 all out; match drawn.

 

Inevitably, with the captains unwilling to make a farce of the game with contrived declarations, the match between Yorkshire and Leicestershire ended in a draw. The teams engaged in a chase for further bonus points, which remained even, with each team taking five and four in addition for the drawn match.

 

With a largely sunny morning, play started on time at Headingley Stadium, but with scarcely a chance of a non-contrived finish. Leicestershire were clearly looking to push for runs from the start, with bonus points still available. At this stage of the grossly abbreviated match, Yorkshire had two points for bowling and Leicestershire one for batting.

 

Nine runs came off the first over, from Chris Silverwood, including four byes from a wild ball down the leg side. Matthew Wood, the Yorkshire acting captain, kept changing his three pace bowlers about but none could find consistency. Finally, though, Tim Bresnan had Ottis Gibson (13) caught by Matthew Wood driving loosely outside the off stump; 276 for seven.

 

Claude Henderson scored just a single, edging Steve Kirby just short of first slip before giving Wood another catch at second slip off the next ball; 287 for eight. Then Richard Dawson sprang into action to bowl his enthusiastic off-breaks. Phil DeFreitas, having moved from 52 overnight to 78, blocked the first three balls before trying to hit the fourth over the rugby stand, and instead holed out for Silverwood to take a huge skyer with consummate ease at mid-off.

 

Dawson then finished off the innings with a slightly faster ball that yorked Charlie Dagnall (0), leaving last man Mark Cleary unbeaten with 2. Dawson, allowed just 5.1 overs, took two for 12, while the three pacemen shared the bulk of the attack with mixed fortunes: Silverwood took three for 78, Bresnan three for 88 and Kirby two for 85. Yorkshire took three bonus points for bowling and Leicestershire two for batting.

 

There were no forfeitures and Yorkshire went straight into their first innings. Phil Jaques took advantage of a couple of loose deliveries from Cleary in his second over to hit two off-side boundaries, and then cut a wide ball from Gibson to third man for another.

 

Scoring was at a good rate, with 41 coming off the first seven overs. DeFreitas came on for the Australian Cleary and soon had the unusual figures of 0-0-8-0, as he began with two no-balls, one of which Jaques hit for four. Gibson bowled a few sharp lifting deliveries, strangely from the Rugby Stand End, when most of the fire had come from the Kirkstall Lane End before now. He then produced a full-length delivery that beat Jaques and trapped him lbw, for 30 off 28 balls. Yorkshire were 58 for one.

 

DeFreitas caused surprise by bowling to Wood with four slips and two gullies, but the effect on the game, just before lunch, was negligible. After the interval – when 15 minutes were lost due to the lightest rain possible - he cut down to three slips, but didn’t need any of them when he got a ball to keep low and bowl Chris Taylor (8), who played forward defensively but found the ball shooting underneath to shatter his stumps. Yorkshire were 79 for two.

 

Wood played a superb cover drive off the back foot, off Dagnall, for four, and then clipped a no-ball past square leg for another boundary. Darren Lehmann likewise was not inclined to hang around, and the unfortunate Cleary was the main victim. Lehmann was not to last long, though, scoring 17 off 15 balls before he flicked DeFreitas towards the long leg boundary. Cleary, struggling with the ball, at least had the satisfaction of taking a good low catch. Yorkshire were 113 for three.

 

DeFreitas generally bowled well, beating the bat at times, but Cleary enabled Wood to reach his fifty, off 75 balls, in unusual fashion. It was a fast high full toss outside the off stump – and therefore a no-ball – that Wood tried to evade, only for the ball to clip his bat and streak past the keeper to the boundary.

 

DeFreitas picked up another wicket when Wood fell for 63 to a surprisingly soft dismissal, playing a ball firmly off the back foot straight and low to short cover Brad Hodge; 140 for four. DeFreitas now returned to five slip fielders as he bowled to new batsman Simon Guy, who edged his third ball just short of the fourth of them.

 

Cleary bowled to four slips, an extravagance considering his lack of economy, and Michael Lumb hit two superb fours through the gaps in the off-side field. Cleary finally took his sweater after bowling 10 wicketless overs for 80 runs. DeFreitas had a much more impressive three for 42 off 13 overs when he eventually took a break.

 

Simon Guy flicked Gibson for a big six over fine leg as Yorkshire started stepping on the accelerator again, while Lumb played another superb drive wide of mid-off off Dagnall. When left-arm spinner Henderson was finally given a bowl, Lumb set his sights on him and hit him for an even bigger six that bounced just in front of the pressbox window.

 

The only purpose left in this match was for the teams to pursue bonus points, and Yorkshire were keen to do that. Guy was a little too quick to get moving after tea, and in the second over, bowled by Dagnall, he slashed and was caught by wicketkeeper Paul Nixon for 24; 210 for five.

 

Lumb ran to his fifty off 71 balls, while Dawson hit a brisk 17 before appearing surprised to be given out caught at the wicket off Darren Maddy; 235 for six. Next ball the new batsman Bresnan was dropped at first slip by Darren Robinson, an error he was to repeat when Bresnan had 9, this time off Dagnall.

 

Lumb hit the ball with a will and with class, and an unusual incident took place when umpire Graham Burgess had to leave the field and David Byas was called on to don a white coat and stand as square-leg umpire. Burgess, it turned out, just had an urgent call of nature and was only missing for a single over.

 

Bresnan no doubt thought his shot was safe, but he still had 9 when he edged Dagnall to first slip for the third time, and this time Robinson did hold the ball; 268 for seven. Six runs later, Lumb’s fine innings came to an end at 77, as he grew overexcited at the return of Cleary to the bowling crease and hoisted a short ball down the throat of Gibson at long leg.

 

The batsmen crossed, but Cleary struck again by bowling Kirby with the first ball he faced; 281 for nine. White, batting with Lumb as a runner, came in to join Silverwood and try to see Yorkshire through to their fourth bonus point at 300. But all was in vain; Silverwood (12) chopped a ball from Dagnall on to his stumps, Yorkshire were all out for 283, six runs behind the Leicestershire total, and the match was at a finish.

 

Both teams took nine points from the drawn match, with the light unsatisfactory and no further purpose possible. The most successful Leicestershire bowlers were DeFreitas with three for 42 and Dagnall three for 46.

 

(Article: Copyright © 2004 John Ward)