Define Explicable

Yorkshire 243 

v Hampshire 163 

Yorkshire 34 for 1 

County Championship Division 1 

Close on Day Two

Tuesday 31 August 2021 

Played at Southampton 

A great day of cricket. And a great position for Yorkshire. A lead of 114. Just one wicket down (Lyth, sigh). With the conditions and the pitch, both sides clearly still in it. But a lead's a lead. 

The most frustrated I got was the last dozen overs of the Hants innings. Mason Crane was out to Thompson at 123 for 9. The lead then was 120. Hampshire had only just made half of Yorkshire's score. Abbott & Wheal chipped away. Chip. Chip. Four byes to start Dom Bess's 18th over, and take the lead below 100 pissed me off Royally. An 8 run, including four more fucking byes, 62nd over brought the lead down to just 81.

Anyone within my earshot was left in no doubt. All the hard work is being undone here. Phheeww. Wheal went just three balls & one run later.

Jordan Thompson had initially gone wicketless at 6 an over. James Vince cracking three fours off his third over to take it to 61 for 3.

Masterstroke Patto brought Thompson back for the 39th over. He conceded just five off 3, including a Maiden. Then he had a lovely three wickets in 22 balls spell to rip it all back. 

Earlier in the Day, Vince had got to a run every two balls 49. You could see from the field placings, that Yorkshire were trying to put pressure on him. Come on mate. Do you want this fifty or not? He faced ten balls on 49. At t'other end, Alsop faced 12 balls, with only one scoring shot. All that discipline paid off. Vince inexplicably played a hoik off The Fish, top edge, George Hill making a deal of ground to catch it "comfortably" in the end.

Inexplicably you say? Inexplicably? You've just explained he'd been locked down for TEN BALLS. Phil, that's the definition of explicable.

As the clock ticked past twenty to seven, I was cheering every wicketless ball to the rafters as Hill & Kohler-Cadmore brought it to the end of the day.

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