Hot Harvey the main man in Phoenix's rise

From the Telegraph & Argus, first published Monday 27th Jun 2005.

A thrilling 74 off only 32 balls by Australian Ian Harvey, which included 13 fours and two sixes, seemed certain to bring Yorkshire an easy victory as they chased a target of 171 in their Twenty20 Cup match against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge yesterday.

But then they lost wickets and the runs dried up to bring Notts back into the match, and Yorkshire were left needing 24 from the last four overs with four wickets in hand.

The tension increased when Ismail Dawood, who plays for Cleckheaton, was run out, and when the last over arrived Yorkshire still required a further three runs.

Captain Craig White could do nothing with Andy Harris's first two deliveries and he slapped his third straight to New Zealand skipper and former Yorkshire batsman Stephen Fleming at mid-wicket.

Richard Dawson struck his first ball over the top towards the third-man boundary for two to level the scores, and he then guided the penultimate delivery wide of the wicketkeeper for four to win the match by two wickets.

Although Yorkshire made hard work of what should have been a much easier

victory, it was an excellent game of cricket and the result should help boost the crowd at Headingley for tomorrow's match against Derbyshire, the North Division's leaders.

Yorkshire put Notts in on a glorious summer's day and Tim Bresnan quickly had them in trouble with a wicket in each of his three overs, including Fleming to a brilliant catch on the cover boundary by Woodlands' Richard Pyrah, who jumped high to grab the ball and then somehow managed not to fall over the rope.

Matthew Hoggard had been hit for consecutive sixes by Fleming in the previous over but the England bowler performed much more tidily than in the Roses match and his four overs cost him only 29 runs.

Chris Read, with 43 from 35 balls (two sixes, two fours) held Notts together and he was helped by former Yorkshire second-teamer Gareth Clough, of Pudsey St Lawrence, who hit 23 off 13 deliveries and added 41 for the fifth wicket with Read.

Yorkshire's bowlers generally kept their heads and there was a surprise when White called Matthew Wood into the attack with his rarely-seen spin.

After Mark Ealham had smacked him for consecutive sixes over mid-wicket, he got his own back by having him caught on the boundary edge by Harvey.

Man-of-the-match Harvey and Michael Lumb got Yorkshire off to a whirlwind start, with Harvey smashing everything in sight. He lashed Harris's first ball of the innings for six and followed up with a boundary before Lumb also struck a four as 15 came off the over.

Greg Smith's first over was even more expensive as Harvey plundered three boundaries, all to different parts of the field, and in between sandwiched a six high over cover.

The runs continued to gush, Lumb

blasting a six and two fours off Smith to charge Yorkshire on to 52 without loss in the fourth over, and the score stood on 60 when left-arm spinner Samit Patel deceived Lumb into driving a catch to David Hussey for 21 from 13 balls.

Harvey needed only 18 balls for his half- century, which contained nine fours and two sixes and came out of 92 for one, but he lost fellow Australian Phil Jaques to Patel without addition, and his own end came in the tenth over when he was caught immediately after flogging Graeme Swann for three consecutive fours.

Yorkshire looked to be cruising at 121

for three, but Bankfoot's Anthony McGrath played a loose stroke to be caught on the cover boundary and the quick dismissals of Wood and Pyrah left them on 135 for six with only five overs to go.

Dawood kept a cool head and hit a couple of crucial boundaries before he was unluckily run out at the non-striker's end, but the early onslaught from Harvey left Yorkshire sufficiently close to their target to scrape home.

Meanwhile, Durham Dynamos fell four runs short of victory against Leicester-shire, the defending champions, as the Foxes bounced back from Friday's defeat.

Hylton Ackerman led the way for the home side with nine fours in a 40-ball 56 and with former Undercliffe and Hanging Heaton batsman John Sadler making 23 and Ottis Gibson 18, Leicestershire posted 150 for nine.

New Zealander Nathan Astle, formerly of Farsley, gave Durham a good start with 37 off 33 balls and that was continued by Gordon Muchall, who made 38 not out off 38 balls with only one six and one four.

However, the desperate scramble at the end saw the Dynamoes come up short, even with Gareth Breese's two sixes in an eight-ball 16 not out.

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