By Ashley Williams
LONDON (TheSportsNext) July 26, 2012: Yorkshire
and Hampshire joined Somerset and Sussex to complete the semi-finals line-up in
the Friends Life Twenty20 2012 by winning their respective quarterfinal matches
on Wednesday.
Yorkshire defeated Worcestershire by 29 runs while Hampshire
clinched the last-ball thriller against Nottinghamshire and recorded a four
wickets triumph.
It is important to mention that this is the first time that
the Yorkshire have qualified for the Friends Life Twenty20 Semi-Finals.
Yorkshire will play against Sussex while Hampshire will take
on Somerset on August 25, 2012.
In the third quarter-final of the FLT20 played at Headingley
in Leeds, Yorkshire skipper Andrew Gale won the toss and decided to bat first.
His ploy worked wonders for his team as they posted a
match-winning total of 212 runs on the board for the loss of five wickets from
their 20 overs.
Yorkshire required four impressive performances with the bat
to reach the impressive total as skipper Andrew Gale struck 30 from 23 with the
help of five fours, Joe Root hit 65 runs from just 40 balls hitting 11
boundaries, David Miller smashed a powerful 50 from just 25 balls by striking
four boundaries and three maximums, while a late cameo by Gary Balance of 46
not out from just 20 balls cracking two boundaries and five towering sixes acted
as a catalyst towards the end of the innings.
It is important to mention here that two big names in the
Yorkshire team, Phil Jacques (2 from 2) and Jonny Bairstow (2 from 6), failed
to make their mark in the high-profile match.
Chasing 213 runs for a place in the FLT20 2012 final,
Worcestershire could manage 183 runs for the loss of six wickets in their
allotted quota of overs thus falling 29 runs short of their target.
Phillip Hughes (80 not out from 53 – 9 fours, 1 six) offered
lone resistance while James Cameron (29 from 23 – 4 fours, 1 six) and Gareth
Andrew (27 from 16 – 2 sixes) failed to prolong their effort as Hughes was left
stranded on one end with wickets kept tumbling on the other at regular
intervals.
Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc led the bowling effort
for the Yorkshire as he grabbed three wickets for just 24 runs while Rich Pyrah
also captured two wickets for 53 runs.
Joe Root was declared Man of the Match for his 65-run
innings which set the tone for Yorkshire, who will face off against Sussex in
the semi-final of Friends Life Twenty20 2012 to be played at Swalec Stadium on
August 25.
The other victorious team on Wednesday was Hampshire which locked
horns against runners-up of the Friends Life T20 2011 Somerset after defeating Nottinghamshire
in the last-ball nail-biter.
Hampshire skipper Dmitri Mascarenhas won the toss and asked
Nottinghamshire to bat first in their home ground at Trent Bridge in
Nottingham.
England’s latest batting sensation Alex Hales (Duck) failed
to open his account before Michael Lumb (39 from 32 – 5 fours, 1 six) and Riki
Wessels added 23 runs for the second wicket.
Despite of losing Wessels, Michael Lumb was able to forge another
alliance with James Taylor and skipper Adam Voges with 35-run and 20-run partnerships
for the third and fourth wicket, respectively.
The Nottinghamshire needed a strong finish after losing
Michael Lumb with total at only 80 runs in the 11th over and they
found Samit Patel stepping into the field.
Adam Voges (33 from 26 – 3 fours) and Samit Patel (60 from
33 – 7 fours, 1 six) used long handle to a great authority as Nottinghamshire
scored 98 runs from the last 58 balls to post a fighting total on the board
worth 178 runs for the loss of seven wickets from their 20 overs.
Glenn Maxwell was the best bowler for Hampshire as he
grabbed three wickets for 36 runs while skipper Mascarenhas took two wickets
for 42 runs. Danny Briggs proved economical as he gave away only 23 runs for a
wicket from his four overs.
The 179-run target was never an easy task and Hampshire got
off to a worst possible start as they lost James Vince (11 from 10 – 1 four)
and Jimmy Adams (5 from 4 – 1 four) right at the start.
Former Australia opener Simon Katich (25 from 16 – 5 fours)
soon departed while dismissals of Sean Ervine (5 from 8) and Glenn Maxwell (1
from 2) further augmented the problems for the Hampshire.
However, former South African middle order batsman Neil
McKenzie (79 not out from 49 – 9 fours, 2 sixes) kept his cool at one end and
also kept the scoreboard ticking with lusty blows. McKenzie got support right
at depth of the batting order where Liam Dawson (30 from 18 – 5 fours) showed
big heart before skipper Dmitri Mascarenhas (19 not out from 13 – 3 fours)
helped the team to win the match on final delivery of the encounter.
Neil McKenzie was rightfully declared Man of the Match for
his cool innings of 79 runs which saved the day for Hampshire in the end.
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