All- round Bresnan leads White Rose home in topsy-turvy game
Yorkshire 254-8 beat Nottinghamshire 251-9 by 2 wickets
TIM BRESNAN might have missed out on a maiden one-day century but the Yorkshire quick wasn’t worried after his unbeaten 95 inspired the Vikings to a crucial two-wicket victory over Nottinghamshire in Scarborough.
The win puts Yorkshire in prime position for a home quarter-final but they did it the hard way after allowing Notts to battle from 46-5 to eventually rack up 251-9 in their 50 overs.
That came in large part due to the efforts of Australian allrounder Dan Christian (52) and particularly Steven Mullaney (89no), with Bresnan (2-24) the pick of the bowlers.
And after a similar top order slump, Bresnan was the hero with the bat as he finished just five short of a first List A ton, playing his part in a 97-run partnership with Adil Rashid that proved decisive in the win.
“I was just happy to take it deep and to be there at the end really,” said Bresnan, whose last appearance in an England shirt came against Ireland, 15 months ago.
“Me and Rash put on a nice little partnership, and everyone who came in played aggressively and was busy, which helped me at the other end to do my thing, just rotate the strike and hit the odd boundary. I feel in good nick at the moment; and it’s just a case of trying to stay fresh.”
“I did have my eye on it at one point, until we got to needing about 30 runs. I thought, ‘I don’t care who gets them here as long as we get over the line’, and Raf (Azeem Rafiq) came in and played really nicely.”
Azeem Rafiq played a crucial role with the bat at the end, cracking 17 off just 15 balls as Yorkshire snuck home with two balls to spare in what was an impressive escape act.
Just as Notts had been in trouble early, Yorkshire slipped from 45-0 to 50-4 in their chase as Jake Ball and Harry Gurney grabbed two wickets apiece.
It was at that point that Bresnan and Rashid combined to show they are very much all-rounders, getting the chase back on track.
And once Rashid had gone for 41, Bresnan settled into the anchor role to see his side home, with the help of Rafiq.
That knock for Rafiq made up for getting some tap with the ball, going for 49 off his five overs, with Notts roaring back after a poor start.
Mullaney’s efforts were to prove in vain though, leaving Notts in fourth in the North and in need of a strong finish to reach the quarter-finals.
The White Rose county’s win was their fourth in six games and keeps them top of the northern group with two to play, while the visitors suffered only their second defeat.