Rob Yates leads Birmingham Bears to a fourth win in a row
Rob Yates hit his highest T20 score as Birmingham Bears posted an imposing 202 for six against Northamptonshire Steelbacks to set up their fourth straight win in this year’s Vitality Blast by 21 runs.
Yates scored 71 off 53 balls (eight fours, one six) and shared a 100-run opening partnership with Alex Davis (46 off 29 balls) a record for the Bears against the Steelbacks.
Freddie Heldreich stemmed the flow of runs by removing Davies and Australian dangerman Glenn Maxwell for 0 in the space of two balls, but while AJ Tye picked up two wickets in the closing overs, Sam Hain blasted 48 off just 27 balls to push the Bears past 200.
Northamptonshire’s chase got off to a flying start with Ricardo Vasconcelos hitting 65 off 39 balls (13 fours) but despite enterprising innings from captain David Willey (33) and Lewis Mcanus (29), wickets fell at regular intervals with Craig Miles returning career best T20 bowling figures of four for 29.
Willey conceded just a single off a tight opening over before Yates and Davies went on the offensive.
Yates who had capitalised early on with consecutive boundaries off stray legside balls from TomTaylor, duly reached his half-century off 38 balls. He brought up the Bears’ 100 at the halfway mark by striking Tye for four and then swinging him high over fine leg for an big six. Yates was joined by Hain in a stand of 49, the former disdainfully smashing Taylor straight down the ground and smacking him through the covers for consecutive boundaries before meting out similar treatment to Heldreich.
Yates’ innings finally ended when he pulled Willey high to deep midwicket where Cobb took a stunning leaping catch.
The next two wickets both fell to boundary catches by Taylor off Tye removing Dan Mousley, and Chris Benjamin. Ed Barnard fell to a boundary catch off Willey in the penultimate over before Hain struck Tye for four and a six in the final over to take the Bears past 200.
