Yorkshire keeper Duke grabs six to prove blondes have more fun in Radlett

Beautiful sunlit skies blessed Middlesex’s second outing at Radlett in this season’s Metro Bank One Day Cup. An expectant crowd of 1,275 had made its way along Wattling Street and gently jostled for a prime position, well before Middlesex won the toss and elected to bat. Even the media tent was packed and this writer had to displace Middlesex’s resident photographer, who hid any disgruntlement with an air of quiet and courteous resignation.

This was, after all, the table topping clash in Group B as Middlesex took on Yorkshire. The home side were hot on the back of three wins against Sussex, Durham and Warwickshire, the most spectacular of those at Durham where Sam Robson’s magnificent 169* had underpinned the visitor’s 390/5. Not just the highest List A chase in England, but the third biggest in history.

Yorkshire had also enjoyed a mostly comfortable three-win run, but lost their most recent encounter. Somerset the common factor in the defeats suffered by both sides and it was at Radlett they had outgunned Middlesex on a batting friendly straw-coloured pitch just eleven days ago. Today’s track, however, had a very distinct green tinge and it was something of a surprise when Ben Geddes elected to bat.

A lively Radlett wicket soon had Middlesex in trouble

It was not long before that surprise turned, somewhat disastrously, to consternation for Middlesex and delight for Yorkshire, whose two previous visits to Radlett in 2013 and 2023 had both ended in defeat. In a heartbeat, Middlesex found themselves 3 down for just 5 runs as Ben Coad and Jack White found lashings of help from an up and down pitch.  Josh De Caires was painfully struck on the arm by Jack White off just the third ball of the day and insult was added to injury as the ball cannoned onto his stumps and he was gone for a single. Just four balls later he was followed by fellow opener Cracknell caught at point by Luxton, having failed to get on top of a short ball from Ben Coad. Worse followed, when a rising ball in Coad’s next over was too much for Ben Geddes and he was comfortably taken behind by Harry Duke, the lustrous blonde locks cascading from under the keeper’s helmet barely ruffled in the process.

On the back of his 169* in Durham, Middlesex needed Sam Robson to restore some order and for a short while he looked as though he may do that, but on 28 he was caught at slip by George Hill off another sharp Coad delivery and Jack Davis followed just two balls later, Milne this time finding the edge to provide Duke with the second of his record haul. At 43 for 5, a glance at Radlett’s lowest List A totals confirmed that 196 by Middlesex against Kent in 2021 was a long way off.

Duke grabs six to enter Yorkshire record books

Alas for Middlesex the procession continued. Luke Holman was bowled by Matt Milnes for 10, before the lustrously coiffured Duke faultlessly grabbed another four catches to enter Yorkshire’s List A record books with a total haul of 6. Both Nathan Fernandes and Toby Roland Jones fell in their teens to Hill, whilst neither Henry Brooks nor new signing Nathan Gilchrist reached double figures before becoming victims 5 and 6 for Yorkshire’s blonde bombshell, Milnes getting his third and fourth wickets in the process.

Nineteen overs short of their fifty, Middlesex were all out for just 129. For reaching even that, they had to thank Noah Cornwall, who belied a modest batting record of just 12 runs in two innings, with a powerful and defiant 28 to equal top score and smash five fours and a six in the process.

Despite some probing from Roland-Jones, Gilchrist, Cornwell and Brookes, Yorkshire had reached 59 in their reply, before Adam Lyth fenced Henry Brookes to backward point for well compiled 39. Too little, too late surely for Middlesex, but it was Middlesex keeper Cracknell, perhaps inspired by his Yorkshire counterpart, who then held Luxton and Wharton off Henry Brookes. Firing in from the Salters Field End, Brookes had two in an over and three wickets in seven balls. Suddenly, with Yorkshire 67 for 3 there was a glimmer of hope for Middlesex, but Yorkshire had the international experience of Imam-ul-Haq, a man with an average approaching 50 in his 75 ODIs for Pakistan, looking well set. Striding to join him, this time in batting pads and gloves was Harry Duke. He himself a scorer of two List A hundreds, the first of which in 2021, was made at the age of 19, making him the youngest Yorkshire player to make a List A century since Sachin Tendulkar in 1992.

Sure enough, Imam looked serene enough in bringing up his 50, making light of a pitch that had so troubled others. Alongside him Duke was equally secure and by the end of the 27^th over the pair had seen Yorkshire very comfortably home by 7 wickets with Imam on 54 and Duke on 28.

No doubting the star of the day. It was Yorkshire keeper Harry Duke.  His 28 had helped Yorkshire to victory but it was with the gloves he had made his record breaking mark.  In the film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Marylyn Munroe’s Lorelie Lee proclaims You may not marry a girl just because she is pretty, but, my goodness, doesn’t it help?  Today’s Yorkshire blond of preference may equally argue you may not select a wicket keeper just because they can catch. But my goodness doesn’t it help?