The incredible Jacques Rudolph plundered his fourth Clydesdale Bank 40 League century of the season in Yorkshire Carnegie’s semi-final clash with Warwickshire Bears at Scarborough today but it still turned out to be in a lost cause.

Chasing a revised target of 260 in 37 overs, Warwickshire earned the right to meet Somerset Sabres in next Saturday’s Lord’s final by getting there with four wickets and seven balls to spare.

The result was a big disappointment for the 5,100 crowd but Yorkshire put up a great show throughout the competition and will now be fighting every inch of the way to try and beat Kent at Headingley next week in their bid to clinch the Championship title.

Rudolph hit 106 out of 257-5 after Yorkshire had been put in to bat in a match reduced to 37-overs-a-side because of rain interruptions. A 15-minute delay at the start meant the game became a 39-overs match and further overs were lost because of a stoppage in the Yorkshire innings, leaving Warwickshire to attempt a slightly revised target.

Skipper, Andrew Gale, and Rudolph, were forced on the defensive early on by Warwickshire’s opening pair of pacemen, Neil Carter and Chris Woakes, but the batsmen soon took control with each of them smacking a six off Woakes.

A heavy shower took the players off briefly at 61-0 in ten overs and the stand had moved on to 73 when Gale drove Keith Barker to long on where he was caught by Rikki Clarke for 30.

Yorkshire then went through a difficult patch in which Adam Lyth was held by Darren Maddy off Ant Botha and Anthony McGrath was caught behind off Imran Tahir but after taking a time to settle in Brophy blazed the trail in spectacular fashion while Rudolph continued steadily on his way.

Brophy picked up the last ball of Botha’s spell for a six over mid-wicket to end a period of 13 overs without a boundary and two more maximums followed on his way to a 38-ball half-century. He hooked Carter for six and carved the next ball for four and he had smashed 64 from 46 balls with four fours and four sixes when he drove Barker to Jamie Troughton at long-off, his fourth wicket stand with Rudolph dashing up 99 in 12 overs.

Yorkshire were now 212-4 in the 34th over and Jonny Bairstow kept the runs coming by blasting Woakes for a big mid-wicket six before Rudolph cut Barker for four to complete his century from 93 balls with nine fours and a six.

There was another massive six for Bairstow before Rudolph was run out trying to complete a second off the final ball of the innings, Bairstow going in with 26 from just nine balls with two fours and two sixes.

Like Yorkshire, the visitors got off to a rousing start with a 65 stand in only seven overs between Carter and Varum Chopra before Ben Sanderson came on to pin Carter lbw.
 But Warwickshire continued to hold the upper hand as Barker, twice seeing difficult chances spilled by Gale, made 34 and then departed to Richard Pyrah to bring in Ian Bell who batted with great assurance in an 86 stand with Chopra. Bell was finally brilliantly caught by Bairstow on the cover boundary for 57 from 49 balls with four fours and three sixes and when Adil Rashid struck again in the same over by dismissing Jamie Troughton, Yorkshire felt they were back in the match.

It became 216-5 in the 32nd over when Steve Patterson had Chopra departing for 76 by driving a ball to McGrath but it was Darren Maddy who put the result beyond doubt with 23 wanted in three overs. He then hammered Patterson for consecutive sixes before the bowler responded by knocking back Clarke’s off-stump but two boundaries for Maddy off McGrath in the penultimate over ended the game.

MATCH INFORMATION

Yorkshire Carnegie will play Warwickshire Bears on Saturday 11 September with a start time of 12.45pm.  The winners progress to the CB40 Final at Lord's on September 18.

Gates open at 11am and the match will be played at North Marine Road, Scarborough.

YORKSHIRE CARNEGIE TEAM

Andrew GALE (capt), Jacques RUDOLPH, Adam LYTH, Anthony McGRATH, Gerard BROPHY (wk), Adil RASHID, Jonathan BAIRSTOW, Richard PYRAH, Ben SANDERSON, Ben SANDERSON, Steve PATTERSON and Ajmal SHAHZAD

WARWICKSHIRE BEARS SQUAD

N Carter, I Bell (capt), D Maddy, K Barker, J Troughton, V Chopra, R Clarke, A Botha, C Woakes, R Johnson (wk) and Imran Tahir.