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OUTLAWS WASHED OVER BY RAMPANT RAPIDS
Outstanding innings by man of the match Joe Clarke and Ross Whiteley gave Worcester their first T20 victory of the season in front of a crowd of 8502 at Trent Bridge last night. Notts chasing a massive target of 209 to win lost their way after Hales was out after a typically violent 63; struggling to keep momentum as Pears captain Joe Leach cannily decided to take the pace off the ball. Notts did not help themselves by once again putting out short boundaries making it a game a human form of the old kids game Howzat. The last three games at TB have become less a game of skill and more game of sheer brute force; the balance of the game being far too much in favour of the bat. Notts planning for this tournament has not been helped by the two shock retirements and Fletcher’s very unfortunate injury; making things awkward for the coaching staff. With Broad and Pattinson also missing, the bowling is clearly the weak link in a developing team which must be given time to gel.
An unchanged Notts won the toss and elected to bowl. Patel conceded six runs off the first over. Wood then conceded 11 from the Pavilion End. Jake Ball pitching the ball up went for three from the third over. A massive six from Joe Clarke over mid wicket off Wood was followed by another six over backward point and then a four through mid wicket. The next ball was two then a four and then another six over mid wicket, 28 off the over; Young Wood has an up and down start to his baseball career. Sodhi then removed Mitchell with his first ball, bowling him for a nine ball 11, 51 for one, the leg spinner going for six runs in the over. Clarke reached his 50 off 22 balls as Gurney went for 11. Worcester 68 for one at the end of the power play. Sodhi holding up well amongst the carnage went for seven. Clarke hit Ball straight to Mullaney at mid wicket. He hit 60 off 27 balls with seven fours and three sixes, 75 for two. Another brutal innings from Clarke following a similar innings against Notts on a gloomy cold day at New Road in April. Ball then bowled a short one that Cox hit four. Worcestershire 83 for two after eight overs. Hastings and Cox took six singles off Patel's second over. Wood returned and with his first ball bowled Cox for nine, 89 for three, Luke Wood only conceding three. Worcester 92 for three after 10. Santner then hit Patel for six over mid wicket. Hastings 15 ball nine finished when he was caught at long on by Jake Ball off Patel, 99 for four. Mullaney had d'Oliveira caught by Wood at long off for three, 104 for five. Mullaney conceded five as Worcester were losing their way. The wily Patel completed his stint with one for 27. Gurney returned and the left handed Whiteley hit him for six into The Fridge. Next ball was deposited for four through extra cover. Off the last two balls of the over Whiteley hit another couple of sixes as the over went for 24. Santner hit Sodhi for a straight six, 13 off the over. Worcester 150 for five off 15 overs. Santner hit Ball over long off for six as the 50 partnership with Whiteley was brought up in 22 runs. Whiteley then hit another huge six into the Pavilion. Santner holed out to long on with Riki Wessels taking the catch, 35 off 20 balls (1 x 4; 3 x 6). The first wicket of the innings for Ball, 165 for six off 16 overs. Whiteley then hit Sodhi into the Fox Road, but next ball he was caught by Patel for 42 off 16 balls with five sixes and one four, 172 for seven. Whiteley after pyrotechnics at Headingley clearly one of tournaments star men. Sodhi four overs two for 41. The eighteenth over bowled by Gurney went for seven. Leach was caught at cover by Christian of Ball for a run a ball eight, 189 for eight. Jake Ball bowled well for his career best three for 34, pitching the ball up on a regular basis. Gurney having a poor night was hit for six by Shantry. Barnard hit the last ball of the innings for six. Gurney had broken the club record for the most expensive bowling analysis in T20, four overs for 57 beating Patel's four overs for 54 versus Essex in 2013. Worcester 208 for eight; eight over par.
Slow left armer Santner conceded five off the first over. Debutant right arm seamer Patrick Brown went for 11 off his first over including a huge leg side six from Wessels. Shantry was hit for four successive fours by Hales in an over costing 18. Brown went for 16 off the fourth over including a six into Fox Road by Wessels, 50 for 0 off four overs. Santner conceded 12 off over five. Shantry was hit for three successive fours by Hales as Notts completed the power play on 76 for 0. Hales reached 50 off 22 balls with a swept four off Santner in an over costing six. D'Oliveira was hit for four and a straight six by Hales but next ball he holed at deep mid wicket with a 27 ball 63 to his name (13 x 4 and 1 x 6), 92 for one after 7.3 overs. The over from d'Oliveira costing 16. Taylor paddled two fours off Mitchell but then was dropped by bowler on 13 failing to hold the drive. Notts 107 for one off nine overs. D'Oliveira then conceded nine. A tight four over spell from Kiwi Mitch Santner saw him concede 26 as Notts stood at 119 for one after 11 overs. D'Oliveira then conceded nine with Notts needing 81 off eight overs. Notts though were being tied down by the slower men as Taylor holed out off Mitchell for a 17 ball 25 (5 x 4) being caught on the square leg ropes by Brown, 129 for two. Mitchell going for four in over 13. Hastings came on and had Christian caught at long leg for two by Joe Clarke, 132 for three and his over cost six. Mitchell went for five as Notts needed 66 off five overs. Wessels after a bat change was scoring in binary, a long spell of either a dot or a single. Patel was out caught at mid wicket by Santner off Hastings for 10, but Notts were now were in near hopeless position requiring 15 an over, 147 for four. Eight came off the next over as Notts were stuck in the mud. Wessels finally holed out to Leach off Hastings, his 49 off 43 balls (2 x 4; 2 x 6) was too slow in the circumstances, 160 for five. In a final act of defiance Moores hit Joe Leach for consecutive sixes and then a four, Notts needed 28 off the last over. There was still to time for Moores to hit another six off the last ball to finish on 26 not out after nine balls. Mullaney 15 not out off 12 balls. Notts finished 13 runs short on 195 for five. Nineteen sixes were hit on the night, a couple very close to injuring a spectator. Notts now head to Manchester where a slow turning wicket will be expected, they currently lie seventh in the Northern Group with three wins and three losses. MAG
26th July
Worcester have had a slow start to this year's competition but their young, energetic squad, now with several years experience under their belt could start to reap some benefits in 2017 in this competition as well as in the championship. Kohler-Cadmore's switch to Yorkshire has only served to forge stronger squad unity at New Road.
A high scoring game at Trent Bridge should play to Outlaws' batting strengths, but with Ish Sodhi we can also, on paper, compete in the dirt of slow turner should conditions dictate too.
Worcestershire were invited to bat first on a pleasant summer evening at Trent Bridge. Joe Clarke looked in great touch, as he found the boundary with ease. Is he an England player in the making? He was particularly brutal on Luke Wood but Wood showed some bottle by bowling a better third over and taking the wicket of Ben Cox. Such was the pace with which the ball hit the stumps, that the bail nearly reached the Radcliffe Road boundary. Notts came back in the game well as Worcester subsided from 51-0 to 104-5. Mitchell Santner and Ross Whiteley then took the initiative away from Notts with a great stand of 60 - the two players hit eight sixes between them. Samit Patel (1-27 off 4) and Jake Ball (3-34 off 4) were the pick of the Notts bowlers. Harry Gurney had a horrible night with figures of 0-57 off his four overs. Steven Mullaney took 1-5 in his only over, which looked strange when pace off the ball seemed to be more effective. Worcester's innings ebbed and flowed, but a total of 208-8 looked a decent effort.
ReplyDeleteIn reply, Notts got off to a great start with Alex Hales and Riki Wessels finding the boundary with ease. Notts looked in complete control of the game until Hales was caught on the legside boundary for a stunning 63 off just 27 balls. Incredibly, 58 of his runs came in boundaries. Notts were brilliantly placed on 93-1 off just 7 overs and 3 balls. Brendan Taylor played a few delicate shots for four, before being dismissed for 25. With the score 129-2 off 12 overs and 2 balls, Notts still looked on course for victory. However, Worcester skilfully took the pace off the ball and bowled with plenty of variety to restrict Notts to singles. The run rate soared, the pressure built and Notts crumbled. Wessels was dismissed for 49 off 43 balls in the 18th over. He seemed to bat himself out of form as his innings progressed and was a way off his destructive best. Tom Moores hit three sixes and a four in his 9 ball 26 not out, but sadly it was too little too late. Notts finished on 195-5 off their 20 overs and lost by 13 runs.
Notts seemed to be in control of this match for long periods but the Worcester batsmen kept themselves in the game through some fine hitting and mediocre bowling. The decision to only let Steven Mullaney bowl one over looked strange at the time, and costly later on, as the medium paced Worcester bowlers of Daryl Mitchell and John Hastings squeezed the life out of the Notts run chase. When Hales got out, no-one could continue his dominance of the bowling and very quickly Notts found themselves in trouble. Worcester certainly showed Notts how to bowl with variety. It is unusual to see so many of the Notts batsmen struggle on the same night, however, having to chase 200 plus is never easy, and Notts need to look at how to restrict opposition batsmen with Yorkshire coming to visit on Sunday. If they can't keep the runs down, then qualification for the quarter-finals will not be easy.
Thank-you James
DeleteOutstanding innings by man of the match Joe Clarke and Ross Whiteley gave Worcester their first T20 victory of the season in front of a crowd of 8502 at Trent Bridge last night. Notts chasing a massive target of 209 to win lost their way after Hales was out after a typically violent 63; struggling to keep momentum as Pears captain Joe Leach cannily decided to take the pace off the ball. Notts did not help themselves by once again putting out short boundaries making it a game a human form of the old kids game Howzat. The last three games at TB have become less a game of skill and more game of sheer brute force; the balance of the game being far too much in favour of the bat. Notts planning for this tournament has not been helped by the two shock retirements and Fletcher’s very unfortunate injury; making things awkward for the coaching staff. With Broad and Pattinson also missing, the bowling is clearly the weak link in a developing team which must be given time to gel.
ReplyDeleteAn unchanged Notts won the toss and elected to bowl. Patel conceded six runs off the first over. Wood then conceded 11 from the Pavilion End. Jake Ball pitching the ball up went for three from the third over. A massive six from Joe Clarke over mid wicket off Wood was followed by another six over backward point and then a four through mid wicket. The next ball was two then a four and then another six over mid wicket, 28 off the over; Young Wood has an up and down start to his baseball career. Sodhi then removed Mitchell with his first ball, bowling him for a nine ball 11, 51 for one, the leg spinner going for six runs in the over. Clarke reached his 50 off 22 balls as Gurney went for 11. Worcester 68 for one at the end of the power play. Sodhi holding up well amongst the carnage went for seven. Clarke hit Ball straight to Mullaney at mid wicket. He hit 60 off 27 balls with seven fours and three sixes, 75 for two. Another brutal innings from Clarke following a similar innings against Notts on a gloomy cold day at New Road in April. Ball then bowled a short one that Cox hit four. Worcestershire 83 for two after eight overs. Hastings and Cox took six singles off Patel's second over. Wood returned and with his first ball bowled Cox for nine, 89 for three, Luke Wood only conceding three. Worcester 92 for three after 10. Santner then hit Patel for six over mid wicket. Hastings 15 ball nine finished when he was caught at long on by Jake Ball off Patel, 99 for four. Mullaney had d'Oliveira caught by Wood at long off for three, 104 for five. Mullaney conceded five as Worcester were losing their way. The wily Patel completed his stint with one for 27. Gurney returned and the left handed Whiteley hit him for six into The Fridge. Next ball was deposited for four through extra cover. Off the last two balls of the over Whiteley hit another couple of sixes as the over went for 24. Santner hit Sodhi for a straight six, 13 off the over. Worcester 150 for five off 15 overs. Santner hit Ball over long off for six as the 50 partnership with Whiteley was brought up in 22 runs. Whiteley then hit another huge six into the Pavilion. Santner holed out to long on with Riki Wessels taking the catch, 35 off 20 balls (1 x 4; 3 x 6). The first wicket of the innings for Ball, 165 for six off 16 overs. Whiteley then hit Sodhi into the Fox Road, but next ball he was caught by Patel for 42 off 16 balls with five sixes and one four, 172 for seven. Whiteley after pyrotechnics at Headingley clearly one of tournaments star men. Sodhi four overs two for 41. The eighteenth over bowled by Gurney went for seven. Leach was caught at cover by Christian of Ball for a run a ball eight, 189 for eight. Jake Ball bowled well for his career best three for 34, pitching the ball up on a regular basis. Gurney having a poor night was hit for six by Shantry. Barnard hit the last ball of the innings for six. Gurney had broken the club record for the most expensive bowling analysis in T20, four overs for 57 beating Patel's four overs for 54 versus Essex in 2013. Worcester 208 for eight; eight over par.
ReplyDeleteSlow left armer Santner conceded five off the first over. Debutant right arm seamer Patrick Brown went for 11 off his first over including a huge leg side six from Wessels. Shantry was hit for four successive fours by Hales in an over costing 18. Brown went for 16 off the fourth over including a six into Fox Road by Wessels, 50 for 0 off four overs. Santner conceded 12 off over five. Shantry was hit for three successive fours by Hales as Notts completed the power play on 76 for 0. Hales reached 50 off 22 balls with a swept four off Santner in an over costing six. D'Oliveira was hit for four and a straight six by Hales but next ball he holed at deep mid wicket with a 27 ball 63 to his name (13 x 4 and 1 x 6), 92 for one after 7.3 overs. The over from d'Oliveira costing 16. Taylor paddled two fours off Mitchell but then was dropped by bowler on 13 failing to hold the drive. Notts 107 for one off nine overs. D'Oliveira then conceded nine. A tight four over spell from Kiwi Mitch Santner saw him concede 26 as Notts stood at 119 for one after 11 overs. D'Oliveira then conceded nine with Notts needing 81 off eight overs. Notts though were being tied down by the slower men as Taylor holed out off Mitchell for a 17 ball 25 (5 x 4) being caught on the square leg ropes by Brown, 129 for two. Mitchell going for four in over 13. Hastings came on and had Christian caught at long leg for two by Joe Clarke, 132 for three and his over cost six. Mitchell went for five as Notts needed 66 off five overs. Wessels after a bat change was scoring in binary, a long spell of either a dot or a single. Patel was out caught at mid wicket by Santner off Hastings for 10, but Notts were now were in near hopeless position requiring 15 an over, 147 for four. Eight came off the next over as Notts were stuck in the mud. Wessels finally holed out to Leach off Hastings, his 49 off 43 balls (2 x 4; 2 x 6) was too slow in the circumstances, 160 for five. In a final act of defiance Moores hit Joe Leach for consecutive sixes and then a four, Notts needed 28 off the last over. There was still to time for Moores to hit another six off the last ball to finish on 26 not out after nine balls. Mullaney 15 not out off 12 balls. Notts finished 13 runs short on 195 for five. Nineteen sixes were hit on the night, a couple very close to injuring a spectator. Notts now head to Manchester where a slow turning wicket will be expected, they currently lie seventh in the Northern Group with three wins and three losses. MAG
ReplyDeleteFrankly astonished to see Mullaney only brought on to bowl 15th over after mayhem already wrought on Gurney and Wood. Worcester had the better strategy by taking the pace off. Not good. Wins now needed over Lancashire and Yorkshire if any realistic hope of progress.
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Chris S
Agree that it was unbelievable that Mullaney only bowled one over while the pace men were poor and were being hit all around and out of the ground.Pretty poor tactics on the night. RS
ReplyDeleteOne guy really lost that game for us last night and that was Riki Wessels! Hales goes in the 8th over for an electrifying 63 having laid a great foundation for the chase accumulating with Wessels to that point very nearly half the runs required. Instead of taking over the responsibility of continuing the Hales strike rate mantel he proceeded to selfishly score just 20 odd runs over the next 10 overs which in turn of course put huge pressure on the rest of the order as wickets fell. 49 at a run a ball over 18 overs is just not good enough in T20 cricket.
ReplyDeleteYes, he occupied 7.1 overs for 49 runs, leaving the rest of the team to score 160 in 12.5 overs i.e. more than 12 an over. But others also failed dismally last night. Bad day at the office for most with notable exceptions.
ReplyDeleteChris S
Very few Nottts players can look back with any satisfaction on this match,For the bowlers both Samit and Ball looked the part , You would also probably have added Mull to this list if he had not been sadly underused by D.C.
ReplyDeleteOn the batting front it was very much an Halestorm :with a nice cameo from Tom Moore's when it was too late to affect the result..
With Lancs up next maybe it's time to rejig things a little, Guerney looks in need of a break and given that the wicket at Old Trafford will likely to take spin perhaps a seasons debut for Matt Carter might be worth a try ,Tom Moore's alsolooks worth a gamble higher up the order given he seemed to be able to do. what his more senior partners failed to do against the Rapids.
Again we learn more from a defeat, but the same Rapids' tactic as from previous encounters, has proved to be Outlaws' downfall - taking the pace off the ball. It's happened before, it'll probably happen again. We they ever learn to counter the tactic or play them at their own game?
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