Last-wicket pair craft astonishing win for Leicestershire

A last-wicket stand of 36 in 33 balls between Scott Boswell and James Ormond gave Leicestershire Foxes a dramatic win over Yorkshire Phoenix in the Norwich Union League clash at Grace Road.

Chasing a revised target of 178 off 42 overs, top-of-the-table Leicestershire looked set to crash to a second successive defeat when they slipped to 142 for nine in the 37th over.

But Boswell hit 23 off 21 balls with a six and a four, Ormond made nine not out and between them the pair scored 19 off the last two overs to give the Foxes victory by one wicket under the Duckworth-Lewis method with one ball to spare. The win puts the Foxes six points clear at the top of Division One with a game in hand.

The match was reduced to 42 overs after a rain interruption and Yorkshire, who won the toss, struggled to a total of 176 for eight despite a good start.

Although they lost Craig White to an early run-out, Matthew Wood and Anthony McGrath put on 53 for the second wicket and Yorkshire looked set for a big total.

But then Vince Wells, Phil DeFreitas, Darren Maddy and Shahid Afridi put the brakes on with some excellent bowling and wickets began to tumble. Wells, in his benefit match, took four for 30 and Shahid two for 20.

Yorkshire, and 16-year-old seamer Tim Bresnan, then made the best start possible when Leicestershire replied. Bresnan, given the task of bowling at the in-form Shahid, dismissed him with his first ball for a duck. It was a shock to the system for the Foxes and when Bresnan then claimed the wicket of Darren Stevens as well, Yorkshire were in charge.

A stand of 47 between Ben Smith and Darren Maddy pulled things round again for the home side, but when Neil Burns was ninth out with just over five overs to go and 36 runs still needed, it looked all over for the Foxes. But Boswell and Ormond thought otherwise and fashioned an astonishing victory.