Thursday, 12th June 2008

Smith's ton too much for battered Carnegie

A thumping 55 by Anthony McGrath was Yorkshire Carnegie's one notable performance at Headingley Carnegie tonight as they went down by 47 runs to Derbyshire Phantoms in their first Twenty20 Cup match of 2008.

McGrath hit four fours and six in his 43-ball 55 - but Carnegie could still manage only 134-9 in reply to Derbyshire’s competitive 181-2 after winning the toss.

Phantoms lost their first wicket at 29 when David Birch lobbed a return catch to Tim Bresnan, but opener Greg Smith hammered the attack in a stand of 149 in 16 overs with powerful West Indian left-hander Wavell Hinds - who rattled up 61 from 43 balls with three fours and four sixes before he was run out off the last ball ball of the innings.

Smith - dropped at long-on by Andrew Gale when 66 - proceeded to take 24 off the same over from David Wainwright, and he reached his 62-ball century in the final over from Bresnan after striking 12 fours and two sixes.

Hinds was fortunate on 3, when Adil Rashid never quite got his hands to a catch on the cover-point boundary - and Carnegie were foiled again when he was 31 and slapped a full-toss straight to McGrath at cover...umpire Jeremy Lloyds signalled no-ball because Richard Pyrah’s delivery had been too high.

Phantoms' total would have been even greater but for four tidy overs from skipper Darren Gough, who gave away only 21 runs, and did not concede a boundary until his fourth and last over.

Spinners Wainwright and Rashid both proved expensive, but England captain Michael Vaughan gave away only five runs in his first over before being carted for 15 in his next.

Andrew Gale went in the opening over, driving Graham Wagg to Nayan Doshi at mid-on, and Vaughan - making his Yorkshire Twenty20 debut - fell for a second-ball duck when he cut at Charl Langeveldt to be caught by Smith at backward-point and make it 6-2.

Wagg picked up Jacques Rudolph’s wicket for Gerard Brophy to join McGrath at 30-3, and both played some fine shots in a partnership worth 70 in eight overs, which threatened to turn the tide.

A mid-wicket six took McGrath to his 50 off 41 balls with four fours and a six, but both batsmen fell in consecutive overs - Brophy stumped by Jamie Pipe for 25 off 20 balls, and McGrath driving Jake Needham to long-on.

Langeveldt got rid of Bresnan and Pyrah in successive balls - but was denied the hat-trick by Gough...

...Langeveldt had the last laugh by having Gough caught off the final ball to give the South African sensational figures of 4-0-9-4.

Doomed to disappointment: Yorkshire Twenty20 debutant Vaughan appeals in vain.

DAVID WARNER

Solitary success: Tim Bresnan takes the only wicket to fall to a Yorkshire bowler.

Tonight's Picture Coverage From Headingley Carnegie: VAUGHN RIDLEY