Taunton torment goes on for Yorkshire (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Taunton torment goes on for Yorkshire

8:30pm Sunday 9th August 2009 in Sport By Graham Hardcastle

Yorkshire will be glad they have seen the back of Taunton for this season after another confidence-sapping defeat against Somerset today.

Just five weeks after conceding 476 from 90 overs to lose their County Championship match on the final day, the White Rose side succumbed to a five-wicket defeat in the Pro40 League Division One.

There are no signs of a pick-me-up for Martyn Moxon’s men, whose inability to post a challenging total cost them dear. They know this is a batsman’s paradise, and being bowled out for 208 two balls inside the 40 overs was just not good enough.

Opener and stand-in captain Jacques Rudolph hit 95 off 85 balls and was the last man out. Surely one thing the Tykes need to look at is how to give their premier run-scorer more of the strike.

They will also have to reassess the way they build an innings because Andrew Gale (32) and Rudolph had shared 49 inside eight overs at the top of the order.

Gale, recently called up by the England Lions, has to shoulder some of the blame after getting out when set for the second consecutive match.

But, despite this, they still had a chance to force victory later in the game when they reduced the hosts to 91 for four in the 16th over of their chase.

Craig Kieswetter (37) and Marcus Trescothick, who bashed 39 off 27 balls, shared 77 for the opening stand inside 11 overs before Rich Pyrah, Deon Kruis (2-38 from 6.5 overs) and David Wainwright all took wickets to peg the hosts back.

Kruis bowled Kieswetter and trapped four-wicket hero Zander de Bruyn lbw in the 13th over.

Peter Trego, the quick-fire centurion in that famous Championship match, then helped to get Somerset motoring again with 28 off 35 balls as he shared 51 in eight overs for the fifth wicket with James Hildreth.

And even when Trego was pouched by Rudolph in the 27th over off the bowling of Ajmal Shahzad – who returned the pick of the figures with one for 25 – it seemed too little, too late for Yorkshire.

That was proved by Hildreth and Arul Suppiah, who clinched victory with 19 balls to spare in their unbroken sixth-wicket stand of 69.

Hildreth finished 62 not out off 69 balls, while Suppiah crunched three fours and two sixes in a run-a-ball unbeaten 32.

Yorkshire face Hampshire in the LV County Champ-ionship at Basingstoke on Tuesday.