Lightning hold Vikings to a tie in last ball thriller
GLEESON THE HERO AS RAMPAGING YORKSHIRE HALTED
THERE were blokes dressed as traffic cones, a couple of pretend Mexicans with fake moustaches and sombreros, the obligatory beer snakes and, of course, Sweet Caroline, as the Vitality Blast returned to Emirates Old Trafford.
And to top it all, Lancashire and Yorkshire played out a thriller in front of a sell-out 15,000-strong crowd - with the Red Rose taking a wicket with the last ball to secure a dramatic tie.
The ingredients were all there for a classic, with Liam Livingstone flying in just 24 hours earlier after impressing in the Indian Premier League, along with Lancashire’s new overseas signing Tim David - a Singapore international who has never played first-class cricket but has been hired all around the world for his power hitting in T20.
There was a spinning duel, with Matthew Parkinson representing the Red Rose and Adil Rashid the White.
While the Vikings had former England captain Joe Root in their ranks, and new England Test call-up Harry Brook, who is perhaps the most in-form batsman in the country.
After Lancashire had posted 183-7 having won the toss, it looked as if Brook had won it for the visitors with a masterful innings which, along with a 67 from Tom KohlerCadmore in a stand of 115, had left them needing 13 off the final over.
Richard Gleeson, playing his first- senior match since August having battled with a back problem for the last two years, kept the first three balls tight, but an above-waistheight delivery was called a no-ball, leaving Yorkshire needing three off two deliveries which became one off the final ball to win.
After a long conflab between bowler, captain Dane Vilas and wicketkeeper Phil Salt, Gleeson produced a beauty which trapped Brooks in front on 72 - and sent the Red Rose supporters crazy in the stands as Yorkshire finished on 183-5.
It is the third time these two sides have tied a T20 game, and continues Lancashire’s record of not having lost to their greatest rivals in this format at Emirates Old Trafford since 2014.
It was the first sold-out Roses T20 clash at the ground since 2019 due to the pandemic, and boy have we missed it.
And the crowd were royally entertained from the off as Lancashire made a blistering start, Keaton Jennings and Phil Salt putting the Vikings to the sword before Jennings was caught by Adam Lyth off the bowling of Matthew Revis for 19 in the fourth over.
But Salt formed the backbone of the innings, scoring 59 off 41 balls before being run out in the 16th over. Livingstone at times looked a little jetlagged when he got to the crease, although he smashed one giant six out of the ground on his way to 23, while Tim David showed hints of what Lightning fans can expect from him with three sixes in his 18-ball 35. Luke Wood made a quick impact in Yorkshire’s reply, having Dawid Malan caught behind in the second over, and he also accounted for Adam Lyth in the fifth.
And when Joe Root was caught by Wood off the bowling of Parkinson for just three in the seventh over, Yorkshire were 56-3.
But Brook and Kohler-Cadmore, who was dropped by Livingstone in the deep on 14, looked to be taking the game away from Lancashire with a steady partnership which kept them right up with the run rate.
Both reached their half-centuries, and when Tom Hartley went for 13 off the 16th over, the game looked over for Lightning. But they never went away, with KohlerCadmore run out after some excellent work from David off the last ball of the penultimate over, before Gleeson’s heroics sent the crowd home happy.
After a long conflab, Gleeson produced a beauty which trapped Brooks... and sent Red Rose supporters crazy