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| Smith's 22-ball fifty was in vain as Finch led Yorkshire to their target 180. |
The number one batsman in the world in
Twenty20 cricket smashed eight fours and five sixes and his 99-run stand with
Alex Lees (36) put the visitors in charge as they successfully chased 180 runs.
The match would have been even closer, but
a six-run penalty against Lancashire for slow bowling gave the Vikings a late
boost as Jonny Bairstow (19*) saw them over the line.
Tom Smith had earlier hit 55 from 28
deliveries to equal the record for the fastest half-century in Lancashire’s t20
history, as the Lightning raced to 65-1 at the end of the powerplay.
The Lancashire opener struck eight fours and
one six on his way to a 22-ball fifty, but was dismissed by possibly the
greatest catch of the campaign thus far. Smith appeared to have hit the ball
far enough to earn a second maximum, but Adam Lyth tipped the ball back into
play with a stunning dive as Finch collected an easy catch.
After Smith had got Lancashire off to such
a fast start, Yorkshire were greatful to Adil Rashid (2-22) and Azeem Rafiq
(0-21) for bowling economically in the middle overs to restore balance.
Lancashire skipper, Paul Horton, had
earlier elected to bat first and he too restored order after Lancashire had
lost two wickets for nine runs. His 60 from 45 balls started slowly, gaining momentum as the innings progressed, but wickets continued to fall as Karl Brown
was caught and bowled by Rashid for 11.
This in turn brought Jos Buttler to the
crease and his six over long-on took the hosts past 100 after 12 overs. After
scoring the fastest ODI century by an Englishman against Sri Lanka, Lancashire were hoping for a
similar display from the England keeper, but the demand for runs saw him caught
on the boundary off Tim Bresnan (1-33) for 19.
Horton and Buttler shared a 52-run stand
for the fourth-wicket and after Buttler fell the former took responsibility as
he reached his half-century in 39 balls, in an innings containing six
boundaries.
Steven Croft added an unbeaten 21 from 10
balls and despite the loss of Horton and Jordan Clark (1), the hosts finished
with a healthy total of 179-6 as Ollie Robinson claimed the final two wickets to
finish with 2 for 26.
As long as Finch was at the crease
Yorkshire remained in control of the run chase and despite the early loss of
captain, Andrew Gale, who was bowled by Kabir Ali for one, this proved to be
the case as he led them towards 180.
The early breakthrough was not the one that
Lancashire needed, but it established a mediocre tone throughout Yorkshire’s
powerplay as they crawled to 43-1 after 6 overs.
As time went on, Finch and Lees started to
establish themselves as a real threat and soon accumulated a partnership worth
99 runs as Yorkshire began to fancy their chances.
Finch had by no means reached the peak of
his destructive powers as he reached fifty in 35 balls, but the Australian soon
opened up as he hit two sixes in three balls to swing the pendulum in
Yorkshire’s favour.
Lees was similarly pleasing to observe at
the crease and the pressure built by these two brought Junaid khan (1-25) back
into the attack sooner than Lancashire would have liked, in order to try and
force a breakthrough.
The Pakistani fast-bowler persisted with a
full length to bowl Lees for 36, but Finch was still at the wicket and growing
in confidence with every ball faced. A second breakthrough for the addition of
27 runs saw Lyth bowled by Ali (2-22) for 7, but Finch’s wicket continued to be
unclaimed.
With the score at 144-3, Finch’s sublime
innings was finally brought to an end by Smith (1-37) but by this stage a
significant amount of damage had been done to Lancashire’s chances.
Nevertheless, the match was evenly poised
and the removal of Bresnan (2) tipped the scales in Lancashire’s favour in the
closing stages of the game.
With the match starting to slip away from
Yorkshire, Bairstow (19*) and Richard Pyrah (10*) ensured that Yorkshire would
achieve victory with three balls to spare, a position that was aided by the
addition of six penalty runs in the penultimate over.
Sixes for both batsmen dismissed any
uncertainties about the result and Lancashire will feel disappointed to have
lost after such a promsing display with the bat.
Man
of the match:
He is number one for a reason and when
Yorkshire signed Aaron Finch they were guaranteed match-winning performances
like the one he gave this evening. He wasn’t able to see the visitors home but
his score off 88, and his 99-run stand with Lees, were crucial to Yorkshire’s
victory.
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