Star-studded Yorkshire open Blast account with win over Worcestershire

Joe Root, captaining Yorkshire with David Willey at the IPL, played the ideal supporting role to Harry Brook as the win was secured with 11 balls remaining

Headingley: Worcestershire 172-9, Yorkshire 175-3 - Yorkshire win by seven wickets

Scorecard

England new boy Harry Brook starred with an unbeaten 60 off 27 balls as Yorkshire secured a seven-wicket opening night Vitality Blast win over Worcestershire at Headingley, chasing 173.

After the Rapids slumped from 142 for 3 in the 16th over, losing six wickets for 30 to finish on a below-par 172 for 9, England's Dawid Malan (33) shared a 70-run opening partnership with Adam Lyth (40) to start the Joe Root-captained Vikings' chase.

But both fell as the score slipped to 88 for 3 in the 11th over - only for Brook and Root to unite in an unbeaten fourth-wicket stand of 87 inside eight overs.

Root, captaining Yorkshire with David Willey at the IPL, played the ideal supporting role with 35 off 24 as the win was secured with 11 balls remaining.

Brook, who made his T20 international debut in January and is in England's Test squad against New Zealand next week, posted his ninth fifty in 10 innings in both T20 and Championship cricket this summer.

Jack Haynes excelled for Worcestershire with 61 off 33 on a fast and true pitch.

After three hundreds in as many Championship games, the 21-year-old right-hander blazed a career best T20 score. But his side's innings subsided badly shortly after his departure.

^{Jack Haynes was in the runs again for Worcestershire (Stu Forster/Getty Images)}

Jordan Thompson came back superbly from conceding 22 off his first over to strike twice in the 16th and finish with three for 35 for a star-studded Yorkshire team including Malan, Root and Adil Rashid plus Pakistan overseas duo Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan.

Haynes was strong on both sides of the wicket, but there was no support from the lower order. He hoisted Dom Bess and Rashid over cover for big sixes and swept Khan over the rope at square-leg to bring up his fifty in 27 balls. By that time, the Rapids were 115 for 2 in the 11th.

But seamer Matthew Revis, in his first over in T20, had Haynes caught at deep midwicket pulling the following over (123 for 2). It proved a key moment.

Yorkshire had started well by conceding seven off the first two overs, including Bess bowling Ed Pollock, only for 64 runs to come from the next four overs as Haynes and opener Brett D’Oliveira (32) got the innings moving after Ben Cox had elected to bat.

Later on, wickets came in a flurry as Thompson had Cox and Josh Baker caught at long-on and, sandwiched in between, Jake Libby (25) caught at cover. There were also two run outs.

Malan and Lyth then raced out of the blocks, and with the depth to Yorkshire's batting - Rashid was batting at 10, they had complete control of the contest at 59 without loss after six overs. Malan caressed Baker's left-arm spin over wide long-off for a particularly memorable six inside the powerplay.

^{Yorkshire had their big guns out... (Stu Forster/Getty Images)}

But that control was eroded by the loss of Lyth, Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Malan - the latter caught at deep midwicket - to Ed Barnard, D'Oliveira and Charlie Morris, leaving the score at 88 for 3 inside 11.

Brook quickly got things back on track in eye-catching fashion. He punched Barnard over wide long-off for six and uppercut Pat Brown over backward point.

And by the time the 15-over mark came, he and Root had shared 53 unbroken to take the score to 141 for 3, with only 32 needed.

Brook's latest fifty came off 23 balls with three sixes, by which time the game was realistically over. While Yorkshire had significant firepower at their disposal, Worcestershire were without overseas duo Colin Munro and Dwayne Bravo, as well as captain Moeen Ali.

Munro and Bravo are yet to arrive at New Road and Ali is resting until next Wednesday because he has only just finished duties at the IPL.

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