YORKSHIRE’S hopes of NatWest T20 Blast glory suffered another setback last night as they failed to chase down 143 against Leicestershire Foxes and had to settle for a tie at Grace Road.

The Vikings are showing no signs of ridding themselves of their inconsistency in this format, and have now only won three of their eight North Division matches, losing four.

They failed to get home having been well placed at 64-2 in the ninth over of their chase and only needed five off the last over, bowled by Ben Raine with Jack Leaning not out on the way to a career best 48 off 30 balls.

Yorkshire, whose innings was played out in gloomy conditions, also only needed one run off the last ball of the match, but Adil Rashid was trapped lbw.

There was some controversy in the final over.

With the fourth ball, Raine bowled a bouncer at Leaning, with the visitors seeming to have a good case for arguing it should have been given either a no ball on height or wide down the leg-side. Umpire Graham Lloyd was unmoved.

Raine, however, will point to the fact that he perhaps should have had Leaning lbw at the start of the over.

The Vikings took advantage of winning an important toss to restrict the Foxes to a manageable 142-7 on a pitch offering assistance for the bowlers.

Steve Patterson, Matthew Fisher, Rich Pyrah, Will Rhodes and Rashid all struck once apiece, while there were two run outs.

Fisher, Pyrah and Rashid all picked up wickets in their first over as Leicester slipped to 45-3 in the eighth, and no Yorkshire bowler conceded more than 30 runs in a four-over spell.

Aaron Finch’s Twenty20 troubles continued as he was trapped lbw for two by compatriot Clint McKay as Yorkshire slipped to 12-2.

Jonny Bairstow hit three sixes and as many fours in a 22-ball 37 and helped the score along to 64-2.

But the England man, one of only two batsmen to look comfortable on this pitch alongside Agathangelou, was bowled playing aggressively to leg against Raine.

It was the first of five wickets to fall for 63, ultimately costing Yorkshire a point.

Glenn Maxwell flicked Ollie Freckingham to mid-wicket for ten before Andrew Gale, set on 23, edged Kevin O’Brien behind, leaving the score at 79-5 in the 12th over. Will Rhodes followed to Freckingham.

Leaning hit former Yorkshire seamer McKay for six over long-on in the 17th over to help take the target down to 24 off three before Pyrah was caught at long-on off New Zealander Grant Elliott’s seamers.

Still, Yorkshire were on course.

Their position was strengthened at the start of the 19th over when Leaning hit McKay for successive boundaries behind square on the leg-side, taking the target to seven off the last nine balls.

Unfortunately, yet again, the Vikings found a way to fall short of the victory line, something which has been a trait of theirs year after year.

The first of their remaining six matches in this competition comes against Roses rivals Lancashire at Emirates Old Trafford next Friday. It is a match they simply have to win to have any realistic chance of progression through to the quarter-finals.