A surprising finish at Scarborough
Brian Sanderson at the One Day Cup
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Yesterday, under a cloudy sky, I embarked on the A64—notorious for its sluggish traffic. But fate smiled upon me, and I reached Scarborough in a mere ninety minutes. The occasion? A fifty-over cricket match between Yorkshire and Essex, held at the picturesque North Marine Road ground. The was crowd was disappointing, not least given Scarborough’s precarious financial situation.
Positioned in the shaded area near the Trafalgar Square end, I observed Yorkshire take the field after winning the toss. Theirs was the same side that had suffered defeat in York just days earlier. But they claimed three wickets in the first five overs, restricting Essex to a mere 27 runs. The partnership between Robin Das, the English-Bangladeshi batter, and Luc Benkenstein, the South African-born Englishman, then blossomed, reaching an impressive 125. Das eventually fell to Matthew Revis, caught by Finlay Bean after scoring 67. Noah Thain followed suit, caught brilliantly by James Wharton near the boundary rope, having added just nineteen runs to the total.
With eight overs remaining, Essex stood at 190 for eight. Yet, somehow, they managed to stretch it to 243 for nine. Yorkshire supporters reckoned their men had conceded thirty runs too many.
Yorkshire tried a new opening partnership, comprising Finlay Bean and the wicketkeeper Harry Duke. As at York on Friday, however, both failed, and Yorkshire found themselves eighteen for two in the seventh over.
Enter Shan Masood and James Wharton. They stitched together an 84-run partnership before Masood fell, trapped in front for 58. But another mini-collapse ensued, and by the thirtieth over, Yorkshire teetered at 123 for six. With the fall of Wharton it was 184 for seven, and Essex’s triumph seemed certain. But cricket, ever unpredictable, had other plans.
Dom Bess and Ben Coad defied the odds, joining forces for an unbroken ninth-wicket stand. In nine tense overs, they added sixty crucial runs, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, and catapulting Yorkshire to fourth place in the table.
Next up? Leicestershire, currently fifth, in what promises to be an evenly matched encounter on Thursday at Scarborough.
Brian Sanderson is an ACS member. He serves on the Yorkshire Cricket Archives Committee. If you would like to contribute to this newsletter, please either respond to the email in which you received it, or leave a comment below.