Tuesday 28 July 2015 10:43, UK
Gary Ballance eased his England disappointment by firing Yorkshire to a seven-run Duckworth-Lewis victory over Derbyshire in the Royal London One-Day Cup on Monday.
In another rain-affected game, Ballance, fresh from losing his place in England’s Ashes squad, cast any frustration aside to top score with 69 from 70 balls in Yorkshire's 239-6 from 42 overs.
Hamish Rutherford replied with a 44-ball half-century and Billy Godleman hit 45 off 38 balls, but Yorkshire bowler Steven Patterson took three wickets for 37 to ensure Derbyshire fell short of a revised target of 197 from 29 overs.
After rain washed out most of Sunday’s play, the weather once again played its part in the game, delaying the start by 90 minutes and slowing up the outfield.
On a sluggish pitch, boundaries were elusive, but Ballance and Jack Leaning managed to give Yorkshire some momentum by working the ball into the gaps to reach 83 at a run a ball, before Ballance was eventually caught behind trying to slog-sweep Ben Cotton with two overs remaining.
More rain delayed the game by just over an hour and left Derbyshire chasing a revised target which, despite Rutherford’s and Godleman’s efforts, they were unable to reach.
Elsewhere in Group A, Surrey got their Royal London Cup campaign off to a stunning start with an emphatic 220-run victory over Northamptonshire at the Kia Oval.
The home side scored 343 for five before comfortably dismissing Northamptonshire for just 123 in just 24 overs.
After winning the toss, Surrey elected to bat first and threatened to set an even greater target, reaching 168 without loss after 20 overs - a scoring rate of 8.4 an over.
The opening partnership of 195 between Jason Roy and Steven Davies equalled the record for the first wicket against the Steelbacks in List A matches.
While Surrey’s scoring slowed after the introduction of Northamptonshire’s spinners, the damage had been done.
The Steelbacks reply got off to the worst possible start when Richard Levi was bowled first ball by Jade Dernbach and they were unable to recover.
Northamptonshire were 6-2 in the third over when Josh Cobb was caught behind from Dernbach, and then 11-3 in the sixth when Alex Wakely was caught at the wicket off Sam Curran.
Had it not been for some late hitting by wicketkeeper Ben Duckett, who hit seven boundaries in a 45-ball 56, Northamptonshire would have failed to reach three figures.
Durham's match against Worcestershire was rained off without a ball bowled.
