Bowlers squeeze Lancashire chase after Dawid Malan’s second successive half-century
David Hopps01-Jun-2023There have been many wonderful Roses contests in the Blast, but perhaps for a truly momentous night there has never been one quite like this. Yorkshire, trying to rise above off-field difficulties, with one win since last August; Lancashire, with Jos Buttler added to their star-studded ranks.But it was Yorkshire, beaten eight times in the last 10 Roses encounters, who emerged against many expectations with a 15-run win. There was no immediate joy for Butter, who followed up an increasingly jaded IPL by falling second ball for 1.Victories change tournaments. Sometimes they change seasons. Is it hyperbole to wonder if this has saved a club? A club dicing with bankruptcy. A young side psychologically shaken by events beyond their control. But Yorkshire have summoned back-to-back wins against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge and now in a Headingley Roses match, a result that few predicted on the most boisterous night on the Blast’s calendar.As the winless run became almost unbearable, Dawid Malan has come into his own with two match-winning performances: 95 at Trent Bridge, now Lancashire taken for 83 from 50 balls. When the going gets tough, and all that…Yorkshire’s 195 for 6 felt 15 or so under par, but they took early wickets and when Tom Hartley threatened to pull off a heist, Jordan Thompson and Matthew Revis provided nerveless contributions in the final overs that seemed beyond them a week ago. Thompson’s variations, with 60 needed from five, were at the height of his game, his confidence suddenly reborn.Related
Madsen century proves enough as Derbyshire edge thriller
Harmer's hat-trick helps Essex complete Hove heist
Can Worcestershire keep Tongue tied down?
Yorkshire break nine-month winless run
Darren Gough, a director of cricket who has dared to take on the hardest job in the county game, had the guts to appear on with the game in the balance. “You learn from failure then suddenly you get to the point where it just clicks,” Gough said. It is far too early to suggest that it has, but it is a start. Lancashire remain far likelier to claim a top-four spot, but they have now lost two from two and will lack Saqib Mahmood for the foreseeable future with another as yet unspecified injury.”Ah wun’t be goin’,” a few Yorkshire old-timers would have been saying. Perhaps, instead, it was another vaguely slighted evening in front of ITV3 and a re-run of , where appropriately enough DI Vera Stanhope was “sifting evidence of grief, love and addiction.” They missed a treat.Despite deflating results on the field, and the crippling overspend and dubious decisions that marred Lord Kamlesh Patel’s time as chair and chief executive, Yorkshire, to their credit, have remained stoutly committed to a more diverse and inclusive future. The Roses match coincided with the announcement of a new LGBTQ+ supporters’ group – Yorkshire and Proud – which the club said it hopes “is an important step towards ensuring Headingley is a welcoming place for all.”If Adam Lyth made an initial batting statement for Yorkshire, taking four successive boundaries from Luke Wood’s first over, it was Malan who carried it forward. His timing was not always immaculate, but strength of body was allied to strength of character and his manipulation was precise. He has come to know the Headingley square, and as good a pitch as it was, he says that he tends to play squarer these days to combat a more tennis-ball bounce.Even as he took the third over, Lancashire’s captain, Liam Livingstone, must have wondered if his uncertain decision to bowl was wise. To make life tougher, several mishits fell short of him in the field. A catch was impossible, but the crowd took its chance to ridicule all the same. It was a bad night, too, for Wood, Lancashire’s leading wicket-taker, who conceded 55, a joint Lancashire record.By the time Malan took two steps down the pitch – not a regular sight – to deposit Matt Parkinson’s legspin into the Rugby Stand, Livingstone was not as much rotating his bowlers as running through the card. He found his solutions in unpredictable places: Luke Wells’ leg spin began to arrest Yorkshire’s charge; Colin de Grandhomme came up trumps with 3 for 24.