The Blast's Grand Finale - Finals' Day

 

15/07

BBC on Somerset's battling win

Personally, I'm no great fan of Somerset, but even less so am I a great fan of Essex.

I'm happy Essex beat Hampshire however, as I have no time for them either. Surrey, ha ha what a waste of massive resources. Perhaps the right team won after all.

Semi Final 1

Essex beat Hampshire Hawks by 5 wickets (DLS)

With rain about, win he toss and chase is the order of the day, which Essex did and succeeded in doing.

Lanky won the mascot race that should have been called back after what ought to have been called a false start. The squirrel, Nuts, would probably prefer to concentrate on the dance offs, and finished towards the back of the field. No stewards enquiry!

The BBC took time out from running down County Cricket by promoting and inflating the value of the tournament currently happening in Texas and the other event that they have some televising rights to (that happens next month and  doesn't clash with Wimbledon fortnight), to give a preview.

14/07

Finals Day is the hundredth day of the season. It used to be scheduled towards the end of the season, a climax to to the season, but now it's like the ECB want it all done and out of the way with a minimum fuss.

The trouble is the weather. It may yet cause a fuss. The reserve day might be required, making the (premature) climax to the season into something of a damp squib.

13/07

Surrey will be without Sunil Narine for T20 Finals Day because of the West Indies spinner's commitments in Major League Cricket in the United States.


The 35-year-old took 20 wickets in 15 matches to help the south London club reach Saturday's event at Edgbaston.

Texan hold-up prevents Narine turn up

MLCA Threat

08/07

Many are saying that the South Group is much stronger than its North contemporary, but I'd like to spin the Northern cause using the Notts defeat at Taunton as an exemplar:

Somerset's win was by relatively fine margins yet,
Somerset were run away winners of the South group and had home advantage as a result
Notts muddled through the North Group to only scrape fourth place, had multiple injuries and players completely out of form

but still Somerset's win was the result of one partnership in the end.

The other quarter finals went the South way for various reasons:

Lancashire choked against the strongest squad outside of the IPL, Bears were outwitted and Rapids were ambushed.

28/06

Notts Outlaws have announced the signing of Imad Wasim for the remainder of the T20 Blast as cover for injured Colin Munro and Samit Patel. This will be the Imad's third stint as an Outlaw.

Belated news from Pravda

No mention has been made about Shaheen Afridi's premature departure (if we qualify) for the QFs.

Where Munro's runs are going to come from, hasn't been addressed. Imad Wasim hasn't played any cricket since April either.

27/06

The table would say we're in with a shout, our form would suggest otherwise. Following defeats at Steelbacks and at Rapids and a humbling, crumbling humiliating defeat in the championship, with the only victory recently being at shambolic Leicester where we made most of our luck, we still need to conjure-up another couple of points for a quarter final place. Luckily we have Foxes still to play but also unluckily we have Bears and Foxes to play at Trent Bridge where both raise their games and have been known to teach us a lesson or two in the past.

Importantly the fitness or lack of fitness surrounding key components of the Outlaws side remain closely guarded secrets.

Should we make the QF, then we'll be without Shaheen Shah Afridi who flies out of the UK next week to join his Pakistani compatriots in Sri Lanka. 

I notice runaway leaders of the South Group Somerset (and possible opponents in a QF), made another overseas signing for the competition this week to cover them up to Finals Day, such is their confidence. Outlaws still could find themselves with a home quarter final if results turn against both Lancashire and Worcester. A home quarter final without possibly Munro, Patel and Afridi, imagine that.

Alternatively; would two defeats signify the departure of Peter Moores, his squad struggling to cope in Division One and failing in a primary objective for the second year in a row in the Blast? The inability to nurture players through from the academy into the first team squad continues to point to systematic failings which both Newell and Moores must take responsibility for. Who will hold them to account, however?

23/06

OUTLAWS HAMSTRUNG

So we break again for a round of Championship games. The table as it now stands with eight fixtures remaining on the resumption next week.

Those fixtures are:

Rapids v Durham
Outlaws v Bears
Falcons v Foxes
Lightning v Vikings
Falcons v Rapids
Lightning v Steelbacks
Outlaws v Foxes
Bears v Durham

Do the permutations for yourself, but if Durham could win both their remaining games, then that would keep a lot of other teams very interested. Needless to say that's Outlaws' net run rate is like a millstone holding us back. The best we can now hope for is second and to achieve that we will need favours.

In the south group, Somerset have already qualified for a home tie.

15/06

The T20 Blast resumes tomorrow night after a week's break. Outlaws top the North group currently, having played more matches than the rest, but don't play a match until Sunday, when the group will look different to now.

Crucially Notts haven't lost any more matches than anyone else, but our net run rate is still handicapped by the two crushing defeats (Lightning A, Rapids H). Alas those ships have sailed, so all we can do is concentrate on what lies ahead of us in the next week.

This week's matches are all away from home: Steelbacks (Sun), Foxes (Tues) and Rapids (Fri).

At this stage a top four finish is hopefully on the cards, with the Trent Bridge hierachy wetting their lips for a lucrative home quarter-final (a top two finish will be necessary for that). The cash from a home tie (and the rest) is probably already, theoretically spent on the ground improvements required to host those money spinning Test Matches 2025-31 that the club trumpeted yesterday.

Touching lots of wood, we do appear to have a winning formula (now), in spite of Mr Mullaney's belief that our strength remains in our ability to chase targets - results would tend to suggest the contrary. 

Maths hasn't finished off anyone yet however, not even Leicester, who we have two of our remaining five matches against. So, everyone still has everything to play for with a late run of victories. When the weather breaks, we might yet have some NRs in the mix or shortened matches of a lottery nature, to throw up the unexpected result or two.

Any advancement beyond the Q/F will be hampered by Shaheen Shah Afridi's departure at the beginning of next month, after the final group match. I wouldn't expect much publicity surrounding his departure as it's not good for business with the remaining two home games (tickets to sell etc); losing your star attraction and all! Shan Masood will also be absent from Vikings at that similar stage.

Good luck to the two Notts lads in the Ashes eleven tomorrow. On Day 1 at Edgbaston there will be a tribute to the three that died in Nottingham earlier this week.