Nottinghamshire 194 for 4 (Duckett 86*) beat Yorkshire 190 (Root 65) by six wickets
A punishing innings of 86 not out by Ben Duckett steered the Notts Outlaws to a six-wicket victory over Yorkshire Vikings in their Vitality Blast North Group clash at Trent Bridge.
Duckett scored his runs from 53 balls and hit 10 fours and two sixes to seal the win with four balls remaining. The left-hander shared stands of 85 with Chris Nash, who scored 51, and 51 from 27 balls with Tom Moores, who was undefeated on 21 when the target was reached.
Earlier, Yorkshire were dismissed for 190 from the final ball of their innings, after choosing to bat first, with Joe Root making 65 and Adam Lyth 53. Luke Fletcher took career best bowling figures of five for 43 for the hosts.
Root’s second half-century inside 24 hours paved the way for the visitors to set Notts a challenging target. The England Test captain, who had scored 64 on Sunday against Derbyshire Falcons, arrived at the crease in the fourth over after Tom Kohler-Cadmore had been deceived by Matt Carter and was stranded several feel outside his crease.
Root and Lyth put on 54 together in only 4.5 overs, with the opener having a slice of luck on 29 when his pulled shot brushed the fingers of Steven Mullaney before being tipped over the ropes for six.
Appropriately, Mullaney got his revenge by having Lyth caught in the deep by Dan Christian but Harry Brook made 39 from only 26 deliveries to maintain the impetus.
Fletcher had conceded 25 from his opening two overs but returned at the back end of the innings to wreak havoc, picking up five wickets from his final nine deliveries.
Root had reached his 50 from 43 balls but fell to a stunning catch on the boundary from Alex Hales, one of four he held, including one to dismiss Mat Pillans from the penultimate ball of the innings. Fletcher then yorked George Hill to end the innings. Jake Ball also impressed, taking three for 36.
Notts were soon in disarray, losing the key wickets of Hales and Joe Clarke inside the first two overs of their reply but Duckett anchored their chase after lofting Jordan Thompson away for six.
Nash reached his second half century of the tournament from only 30 balls, with five fours and two sixes, but then wandered across his stumps and was given out leg before wicket.
Neck and neck with their opponents’ score throughout, Notts began to take control after Duckett clubbed the leg spin of Josh Poysden for 18 in the thirteenth over.
Outlaws’ captain Christian made 21 from just 11 balls but his dismissal failed to turn the tide in Yorkshire’s favour as Duckett and Moores brought the scores level at the start of the final over.
With the field in tight Duckett clipped Pillans away to the ropes to seal the victory and clinch the Outlaws’ fifth consecutive win over the White Rose in completed matches.
Notts remain unbeaten in the group, moving on to five points, whilst Yorkshire’s setback leaves them on three points.
Source: ESPN Crickinfo