v Surrey RLODC S/F at the Oval

SURREY AND SANGAKKARA EDGE OUT OUTLAWS

Notts lost in heart-breaking fashion in a highly entertaining and memorable semi-final at The Oval. 


Needing a massive 301 to win and without two of their leading batsman they fell four runs short as they closed on 296 for seven. 

The match was attended by a good sized crowd given free admission on warm September Monday. A following of around 500 came down from Nottingham. Surrey won the toss on a sunny cloudless morning and had the easy decision to elect to bat. With Hales and Titch on England duty. Broad and Lumb came in but very surprisingly Greg Smith replaced Brett Hutton.

Gurney from Vauxhall End and Broad from the Pavilion End kept it tight early doors and Notts picked up a wicket in the third over as Davies edged Gurney to Wessels at first slip to depart for four.  After the first power play Surrey were 37 for 0. Sangakkara looked in good form from the off and added 87 with Ben Foakes in 19 overs. Mullaney, bowling a good spell from the Pavilion End tied Foakes down and removed him leg before for 42. Surrey 93 for two in the 22nd over.

Rory Burns got to 23 in 30 balls before falling to a good sliding catch by Greg Smith on the deep square leg boundary. Surrey 145 for three in the 32nd over. Mullaney bowled a fine spell bowling 10 overs straight through taking two for 49. Despite Sangakkara looking a class apart and reaching an inevitable ton off 103 balls. Notts had restricted Surrey to 191 for three with 10 overs left but then unfortunately the wheels came off.

Wilson was badly dropped by Patel off a caught and bowled chance when on 12 then Sangakkara was dropped by Read off Broad when on 113. Coupled with sloppy out fielding Surrey added 109 runs off those last ten overs. Read taking over the captaincy from Titch got his calculations wrong as Broad only bowled eight overs and Ball nine. Gurney meanwhile had a nightmare final two overs which went for 32, the Hampshire quarter final from last year revisited. 

Sangakarra repeated what Ben Stokes had done a year earlier and played a fantastic innings to finish with 166 off 138 balls with 13 fours and one six. The fourth wicket partnership with Wilson had added 149 in 18 overs. The Sri Lankan finally perished caught at short third man by Broad off Ball. The Welbeck speedster bowled a good last over which went for just six as Wilson perished caught at long on off the last ball of the innings for 48. Ball finished with two for 52 off nine. Patel was disappointing going for 62 off 10 and Gurney went for 58 off his eight. Broad meanwhile had eight overs for 40. Surrey 300 for five, 20 over par.

The sun that was blazing down in the Surrey innings had disappeared and had been replaced by dark clouds during the interval as the floodlights were now on.

Notts got off to a nightmare start losing wickets to successive balls in the second over bowled by 17 year old Sam Curran. Shades of Martin Bicknell 29 years previously on the same ground in a Nat West quarter final. First he got one to swing into Wessels at 86 MPH who played on to depart a two ball duck. The hapless Brendan Taylor was adjudged leg before to depart for a golden blob, one for two. Greg Smith seemingly lucky to get a place was then dropped off a sharp chance at short mid wicket by Davies off Sam Curran when on 4. It got worse as in the fifth over as Lumb held his bat out to dry to depart caught at second slip off Dernbach for eight. Notts without Hales and James Taylor were 16 for three, seemingly out of the contest.

Patel and Taylor had to batten down the hatches but slowly started to turn things round as the blue sky reappeared. There was a five minute hold up as third umpire, Nick Cook, deliberated over a dropped chance at long on by Sangakkara when Smith had 29. A very difficult chance which was eventually adjudicated as a six. Patel then gave it away being caught at long on by Davies off Ansari for a 72 ball 51, an innings which included five fours. The fourth wicket had added 91 in 21 overs to drag Notts back into the game.

Smith meanwhile having a nightmare debut season for Notts exceeded his previous highest Notts score beating 27 against the Tykes in a baseball game in mid-May. Despite struggling for timing at times he reached 50 in 68 balls.

With Tahir out for the season under orders from the South African management, Dan Christian was literally resurrected having been expected to return to Australia a week ago. He provided the necessary acceleration to the innings biffing three massive sixes. With the running between the wickets being excellent with many hard run twos; taking advantage of the vast Oval outfield, Notts were back in the game. The fifth wicket had added 112 in 16 overs when
Christian was caught at short third man off former Pear Kapil for 54 off 43 balls. Notts were ahead of the Surrey score at the equivalent stage on 219 for five in the 42nd over, On Christian's dismissal, although Notts were just about keeping up with nine an over asking rate but boundaries were becoming rarer. Smith got to his ton just after Christian's dismissal off 117 balls.


Mullaney and Smith added 55 in six overs before Smith was run out backing up too far to the impressive Tom Curran. Smith played the innings of his life to depart to a standing ovation for a 134 ball 124 a knock which included eight fours and one six. Notts now needed 27 off 17 balls. Eight runs came off the next five balls with Notts now requiring 19 off the last two.

But then it went downhill as Read hit a single off Dernbach's first ball of over 49 then it went dot and one as Read regained strike but then he lost his leg stump to depart for three as Notts now needed improbable 17 off the last eight. That became 14 off the last over as Broad faced the first ball of the last over bowled by Tom Curran. A bye was run off the first ball then Mullaney missed the next one and then ran a two, 11 off three now. Then Mullaney hit a four and a two as Notts now required five off the last ball. Mullaney drove the ball to long on but did not bother running the single as Notts had lost by an agonising four runs.

Sangakkara's magnificent 166 was the difference between the teams and deservedly won him the man of the match award. Notts had failed in a big game once more but could curse their luck losing an important toss and then having to bat in the first 10 overs of their innings under dark clouds with the floodlights on. The 13 days rest did not help either but let's hope they picked themselves up for the final three games of the season as we do not want another nightmare "Mick Newell September". MAG