Pooran’s Yorkshire debut a losing one as Rampaul sparks Derbyshire

LONDON,  CMC – West Indies left-hander Nicholas Pooran was upstaged for fellow Trinidadian Ravi Rampaul, as Derbyshire beat Yorkshire by five wickets in the T20 Blast here yesterday.

In his first innings following a successful World Cup for West Indies, the 23-year-old Pooran was dismissed for 12 as Yorkshire, opting for first knock, made 164 for eight at Chesterfield.

He smashed a four and a six in a seven-ball knock before perishing in the 12th over to leave his side in trouble at 77 for six.

However, Jordan Thompson struck exactly 50 off 27 balls batting at number eight, to revive the innings and hand Yorkshire a competitive total.

Thompson clobbered two fours and five sixes, putting on 66 for the seventh wicket with Jonathan Tattersall who made an unbeaten 39 off 31 deliveries.

Rampaul, who played 18 Tests and 92 One-Day Internationals for West Indies, finished with two for 29 from his four overs while fellow seamer Logan van Beek picked up two for 22.

However, it was left-arm spinner Mark Watt, with four for 19, who broke the backbone of Yorkshire’s innings.

In reply, captain Billy Godleman stroked an unbeaten 70 off 56 balls as Derbyshire reached their target off the first ball of the final over.

Opener Godleman punched three fours and four sixes and posted 65 for the fourth wicket with Leus du Plooy who made 30 off 21 deliveries.

At Canterbury, former Windies pacer Jerome Taylor produced a decent spell but was unable to prevent Somerset from going down to Kent by 41 runs.

The 35-year-old Taylor claimed two for 34 from his four-over complement as Kent tallied 165 for nine off their 20 overs, with 20-year-old Ollie Robinson top-scoring with 53.

Somerset then folded for 124 in the penultimate over with left-arm spinner Imran Qayyum slicing through the innings to finish with five for 21.