v Hampshire NWT20 Blast Quarter-final at Trent Bridge

OUTLAWS, IT TURNS OUT, AREN'T IN-VINCE-ABLE as Hampshire make Vincemeat out of Notts

A magnificent 93 not out from Hampshire captain James Vince and an indifferent bowling performance ensured the visitors cruised to a five wicket victory at Trent Bridge to knock Notts out of the Twenty/20 Blast.

Titch Taylor won the toss and batted on a peach of a wicket in the centre of the square. Hales and Lumb got Notts off to a good start as they added 35 in 23 balls before Lumb holed out to deep mid-wicket for a 11-ball 22. Wessels got off the mark in fortuitous fashion with a Chinese cut but once again batted extremely well as the Hampshire bowlers took a hiding. Hales and Wessels added 83 in eight overs; Hales twice hitting Briggs for sixes. After reaching his half ton in 39 balls, Hales became becalmed and six balls later he holed-out to Coles as he departed 51. Wessels and Patel added a further 79 in seven overs as Abbott’s 4 overs went for 51. Wessels ended on 41-balll 62 with six fours and two sixes and Patel was on 53 with four fours and three sixes. Notts closed on 197 for 2, which should have been winning a score as long as the bowlers kept their mettle.

Fletcher bowled a superb opening over which went for three. Gurney who took a hell of a pasting Taffside  carried on in the same vein instead of Andrew Salter hitting him for four fours it was James Vince, over two had gone for 17. The script told Taylor to bowl Shahzad in over three and before we knew it Hampshire had 55 without loss after five overs. Vince though had been dropped in the covers by Hales when on 20, an extremely costly error.

Patel came on the eighth over and The Toby Carvery was stumped by Read for 31, Hampshire 70 for one. Vince was in imperious form and nothing could stop him. Notts were given hope in over 11 as Shahzad took wickets in successive balls . Maxwell was caught behind for 11 and then Adams dollied a catch to Mullaney at extra cover to depart for a golden duck, 97 for three after 10.2. Ervine survived a chance on the ropes as Patel misjudged the catch a taller man would have probably taken. The Zimbabwean was 11 at the time and went on to 39 when Fletcher who bowled his first two overs for six, had him caught by Lumb, 179 for four. Hampshire though now needed 20 off three overs. Ex Notts man Will Smith initially struggled to get off the mark, but got to nine before hitting Fletcher straight to Mullaney at mid-wicket. Vince remained to the end to finish on 93 not out off 51 balls with 11 fours and four sixes. He had demolished the bowling. Gurney three overs went for 17, 13 and 15 runs respectively. Crucially he was not the only Notts bowler to have an off day as Patel’s four overs went for 43 and Mullaney three overs went for 34. Notts undefeated in 12 white balls game had fallen at the thirteenth fence. Hampshire had made vincemeat of Notts. Given the Mickey Mouse nature of 20 over cricket it’s hard to be too critical on Notts performance however to lose four quarter finals in succession suggests that certain individuals cope with high pressure situations better than others..... The collective under carriage had dropped once again on the big occasion. However much more prestigious trophies are still on offer and thank goodness we have seen the last Mexican wave of the season.  Morons.

After an unbelievable two months Notts should be able to dust themselves down and pick themselves up after this performance and prove their class in the proper stuff. When the going gets tough the tough get going! MAG

Elsewhere:

Tie 1 Lancashire Lightning v Glamorgan

Put into bat, Lightning could only manage 137/8 against the Welsh, Australian Usan Khawaja 67, the only major contributor as fellow Australian Michael Hogan took 3/33. Graham Wagg 3/28

Rain returned when Glamorgan were 4/0, just into their second over.

Once the rain had ceased, play resumed and  ably Glamorgan reached 100/3 after 15 overs with Jacques Rudolph bossing proceedings. However in the next over Jordan Clark turned the game on its head; bowling a triple wicket maiden just as the rain returned, again. 

When play got under way for the final time Rudolph stood between Lightning and Finals day, when it came down to the last over 15 runs were required with Rudolph on strike; 2,2,2,2,1 which left Andrew Salter required to hit a six, he hit a four. Lightning edging through by 1 run.

Jordan 4/22 Rudolph 67*

Tie 2 Surrey v Worcestershire Rapids


The second tie was the first to start and the first to be completed. Surrey's 5 Englishmen, 4 South Africans, 1 Sri Lankan captain by a Northern Irishman beat Worcestershire Rapids, 9 Englishman and 2 Kiwis by 3 wickets in a low scoring match at the Oval.  Rapids could only manage 141/9, losing wickets too frequently. Richard Oliver 34 being the top scorer. Surrey's top scorer was Jason Roy with a 23 ball 52 which effectively killed Rapids' hopes. Despite losing wickets regularly, the initial impetus dealt by Roy carried them through. 144/7 in 16.3 overs. 
Tie 3 Essex Eagles v Birmingham Warwickshire Bears

Eagles won the toss and inserted the Bears.

Bears made steady progress, anchored by Varun Chopra - 73/2 at half way advanced to  131/2 after 15 overs.
At 20 overs Chopra had 86* and Rikki Clarke 70*, the pair adding 134 of the 197/2.

At the interval the umpires informed the media that the ball had to be changed during the Bears' innings after it was discovered the ball had been tampered with, showing artificial wear. No one individual is suspected at this juncture.

Wickets held up the Essex reply which never got close to the Bears in spite of a Ryan ten Doeschate 61* , Bears the winners by 19 runs. A result that will ensure a good crowd at Edgbaston in three weeks time.