da pinnacle： A Herculean performance by Craig White enabled Yorkshire to thrash Surrey in their rearranged C&G Trophy semi-final
da premier bet： Sean Beynon04-Aug-2002A Herculean performance by Craig White enabled Yorkshire to thrash Surrey in their rearranged C&G Trophy semi-final. The England all-rounder returned figures of four for 35 and then smashed a ferocious century in Yorkshire’s ten-wicket win.The win sees Yorkshire through to the final at Lord’s against Somerset on 31 August. After a poor season, the result should give the players great heart.Despite five rain interruptions, the players finally made it on to the Headingley turf at the fourth attempt, after play was washed out on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Surrey looked at least to have made a challenging 173/8 on a green, seaming wicket.White made a mockery of their effort, despite surviving a first ball drop. Yorkshire successfully chased their Duckworth/Lewis target of 167 from 42 overs with nearly 18 overs to spare.The 31-year-old hit 15 fours and a six, four more boundaries than were struck in the entire Surrey innings. All the bowlers were treated with disdain as White brimmed with aggression. He finished the game with a beautiful cover drive on the up, his even hundred coming from just 77 balls.Matthew Wood was a virtual spectator early on, as White lifted the ball through the off-side. He hit Ed Giddins for three boundaries in an over, straight over the top, through cover and over cover. Alex Tudor was expensive, and the introduction of James Ormond simply saw the ball fly to the fence faster.With White reaching his 50 from 38 balls, Wood stepped up. The 25-year-oldAcademy graduate hit Clarke for three consecutive leg side boundaries, one pull shot high into the Western Terrace.White then launched into Saqlain Mushtaq with an admirable eagerness. Wood’ssupporting role bought him a fine 57, studded with seven fours and a six.Earlier, Mark Ramprakash’s patient 63 held Surrey together after they lost the toss on a grey morning. Speculation about his England selection was unfounded, but this was an excellent knock in a golden summer for the right-hander. Ramprakash was content to push the ball around for singles, hitting only four boundaries. He was superbly unflustered, and it took a direct hit from Darren Lehmann to run him out.Matthew Hoggard (two for 21) did the early damage, first trapping Ian Ward lbw. Alistair Brown, unsuited to the pitch, slogged to Michael Lumb a third man. Only two boundaries came in a tough first 15 overs.With White inducing an edge to remove Alec Stewart, Surrey were in real trouble. Nadeem Shahid hit aggressively straight, and looked set for a big score before sweeping Lehmann to short fine-leg.Adam Hollioake hit a flashing square drive and lofted Ryan Sidebottom straight before being adjudged leg before misjudging a pull. Clarke, whose reputation continues to grow, failed to impress on this occasion. The young all-rounder was caught by Richard Blakey after snicking a leg-side swipe. White claimed both the wickets, extracting the pace many (himself included) thought was lost.Tudor (17 not out) played stoically after losing Saqlain to a good catch on the cover boundary by Anthony McGrath. At the interval, Yorkshire were slight favourites. In 100 minutes of powerful hitting, White put their total into perspective.
