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Nottinghamshire v Yorkshire, Twenty20 Cup, Trent Bridge
Rashid stars to put Yorkshire through
John Ward at Trent Bridge
June 27, 2008
Yorkshire 137 for 1 (Brophy 57*) beat Nottinghamshire 136 for 8 (Voges 39, Rashid 4-24)
Scorecard
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Gerard Brophy eased Yorkshire into the quarter-finals with an unbeaten 57
© Getty Images
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Despite an umpiring error that could have had serious consequences for them, Yorkshire ran up a convincing nine-wicket victory over their southern neighbours Nottinghamshire. This earned them a place in the Twenty20 quarter-finals, their leading performers being legspinner Adil Rashid and their top three batsmen. They were forced to omit Michael Vaughan, who though willing to play was told to rest by the England team management, a decision that caused much criticism.
Nottinghamshire decided to bat on winning the toss, and their innings would have been a sorry sight were it not for a commanding innings of 39 off 28 balls from Adam Voges. Even this innings came courtesy of a remarkable blunder from third umpire Mike 'Pasty' Harris. There was a monumental mix-up between Voges and Samit Patel concerning a proposed second run, which concluded in the former being run out at the bowler's end. However, Harris seemed to be the only person to view the slow-motion replay to think that the bowler, the 17-year-old Yorkshire league debutant off-spinner Azim Rafiq, had broken the stumps with his hand before the ball hit them, and Voges was handed an unwarranted reprieve.
This was soon after Nottinghamshire lost their openers in quick succession for 32. Voges quickly took advantage, playing a number of powerful drives and adding 44 with Patel, eventually falling for the highest score of the innings. The only other batsman to reach 20 was Chris Read, with 31 off 25 balls, including 15 off the final over bowled by Darren Gough. Otherwise Yorkshire's death bowling had been superb, only eight runs coming off the four overs before that. So desperate were the home batsmen to score that they succumbed in quick succession to the mesmerizing spin of Rashid, who took a well-deserved 4 for 24.
Yorkshire could scarcely have been given a better start, as Andrew Gale and Gerard Brophy shared a superb opening partnership of 99 in 14 overs. They mixed good running with powerful boundaries off the loose balls, yet the home bowlers did manage to keep it from degenerating into a massacre at any point. At 99 Gale unexpectedly chipped a ball from Rob Ferley gently to midwicket, but by then Yorkshire could only win the match unless they threw it away themselves.
There was still a little pressure in that more than six runs an over were still required, and 33 off the last five overs. Clearly a couple more wickets could shift the balance. But Brophy reached his 50 off 38 balls, and Anthony McGrath hit some powerful shots, including a high six over extra cover off Ferley, to win the match at a gallop in the end with two overs to spare. They finished unbeaten, respectively, with 57 off 45 balls and 30 off 15.
© Cricinfo
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