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FOXES RAINE OVER OUTLAWS
In front of a crowd of 13657, Notts suffered their third successive home T20 defeat, losing by 17 runs to Leicestershire. In fact Notts’ home record this season in all competitions is truly abysmal with 8 defeats out of 11 games played. Once again their batting and bowling were sub standard. Notts are clearly a team that are happier defending a total rather than chasing. However with showers forecast, Notts had little option to elect to bowl having won the toss given the vagaries of DLS. Ben Raine was the hero for Leicester scoring 83 off 43 balls and taking 2 for 47. Crucially Libby dropped him when he had 26; a sitter. Leicestershire’s total of 193 seemed over par with only Gurney and Patel offering any control. Sodhi was only given two expensive overs. His figures were put into perspective as Leicestershire two spinners Afghan Nabi and youngster Callum Parkinson bowled 8 overs 4 for 55 to turn the screw on Notts; after Notts had more than matched Leicestershire’s total at the half way mark. Is it time to give Matt Carter a go inT20 he bowled impressively in the 50 over competition and offers more in the field and can give the ball the long handle. Sodhi has now played 11 T20 games at TB and has struggled in most of them. His cumulative home record is 35-0-358-15 (10.23 RPO) compared to an away record of 33-0-287-8 (8.70 RPO). In mitigation Notts are missing three batsman in Hales, Nash and Coughlin; a big hole in the line up. Unfortunately only Wessels really fired in the reply blasting 58 off 30 balls (7 x 3, 3 x 6) and we had the ridiculous situation of Ball coming in at seven, ahead of Root and Libby. For Notts to stand a chance of qualifying Hales and Nash must return to the line up sooner rather than later.
Notts won the toss and inserted Leicester. Jake Libby came in for Luke Fletcher. Patel opened from the Radcliffe Road End with steady rain falling and conceded four. Neil Dexter hit a four through mid wicket off Gurney. Next ball he then hit the left armer through long on for another boundary. The last ball of the over was toe ended for four by Dexter, 17 for 0 after two overs. Ball bowled the third over with Dexter bottom edging him four. Next ball was a six over backward point. Delport pulled the last ball for four, 18 off the over. Dan Christian came on next as Dexter pulled his first ball to the boundary. Another short ball from Christian was hit for four by Delport, 12 off the over. A slower ball from Gurney fooled Dexter who chipped the delivery to Fraine at mid off, Dexter 30 off 17 balls, 48 for one. Only a single off Gurney's second over. Ball returned at the Pavilion End, Delport hitting a mid wicket four. A Yorker from Ball though removed the left hander for 21 off 15 balls, 53 for two at the end of the power play.
Patel came back and conceded six runs. Sodhi came on for over number eight and Raine hit for a leg side into The Fridge, 11 off the over. Raine hit another six this time over mid wicket, Samit Patel the bowler, 83 for two off nine. Raine then hit a four through the covers off Mullaney. Cosgrove played on to Mullaney for a 12 ball nine, 88 for three. The key of the game then followed as Dan Christian should have Raine out but Libby dropped a sitter on the square leg ropes, the left hander on 26 at the time, 94 for three off 11 overs. Raine hit Mullaney (2-0-16-1) for four through extra cover, 10 off the over. Raine then hit Patel for enormous six into the Fox Road. Patel 4 overs for 33. Gurney conceded six plus a leg bye off the 14th over. Ben Raine got to a 28 ball 50 hitting Christian for six into the Fox Road. Ackermann then got a mid wicket four off the skipper. Ackermann hit a straight four off Sodhi to bring up the 50 stand. Ackermann then hit the Sodhi for a six into the Fox Road Stand. Ackermann (29) then skied Sodhi to Christian at mid off, 145 for 4. Sodhi conceding 12 off his second over; the skipper did not give the leg spinner a third over. Nabi was caught on the cover ropes by Fraine off Ball for four, 151 for five. Raine hit Christian for a four through square leg then a four through extra cover. Raine carried on with the carnage with a six into The Fridge, Christian 4 overs for 49, and 8 overs for 91 in the last two games. A full toss from Ball was deposited for a leg side four by Raine. Raine then inside edged a four off Ball. Raine was finally bowled by Ball (3 for 40) for 83 off 43 balls with six fours and five sixes, 183 for six off 19 overs. A match winning innings. Harry Gurney conceded 10 off the last over, Leicester 193 for six after 20 overs. Much of the innings had been played in light rain which mercifully stopped between the innings.
Nabi bowled the first over and dismissed Fraine leg before for a 3 ball single, 7 for one. Abbas bowled the second over as Wessels got a four through long leg. Wessels followed it up with a straight four, 15 for one off two overs. Nabi conceded four off the third over. Raine's first ball was hit for an offside four by Wessels. A poor piece of fielding in the covers gifted Wessels a four. He then hit Raine for a leg side six into The Fox Road Stand, 15 off the over. Chappell was hit for a mistimed four by Wessels over the keepers head. Later in the over Wessels hit for a six over long on and next ball Wessels got to his 50 off 22 balls with a six over wide long off, 21 off the over. Moores brought the 50 partnership with an offside four off Abbas. An outrageous six from Moores followed tennis hitting Abbas for six over long off, an offside four followed, 70 for one after 6 overs; 17 ahead of Leicester’s power play total.
Callum Parkinson was dabbed for four by Wessels; but it was two Foxes spinners that turned the game round for the visitors. Moores (23 off 12 balls) then holed out to wide long on as Chappell took the catch, Parkinson the bowler, 77 for two off seven. Wessels hit Raine for four through extra cover. Wessels then chased a wide one and got caught at backward point off Raine for 58, 84 for three after 8 overs. Parkinson then conceded five. Five then came off the next over bowled by Nabi; Notts needed 100 off 10 overs. Chappell then conceded seven including three wides as the boundaries had dried up. Patel then hold out on the mid wicket ropes caught by Raine off Parkinson for a 17 ball 13, 104 for four. Abbas yorked Christian for a 12 ball 8, 109 for 5. Jake Ball was promoted up the order but was bowled for a golden duck by Abbas. Chappell then conceded five off the bat and two leg byes. Mullaney then hit Parkinson (4-0-28-3) over the ropes at long on, but perished next ball going for the same shot. Mullaney caught Wells bowled Parkinson a 7-ball 9, 124 for seven. Root reversed swept Nabi for four but Notts now needed 56 off the last 4 overs. Nabi 4-0-27-1. Libby hit Raine for 4 through the covers, 11 off the over. Eight came off the next over as Notts required 37 off the last two overs. Root (23) got caught in the covers by Chappell as Abbas picked up his third wicket, 157 for eight. Abbas 3 for 32. Raine was lapped for four by Libby who followed with an offside four. A single followed then an offside four for Sodhi. The Kiwi though was bowled for five. Gurney then got a single off the last ball as Notts closed on 176 for nine. Libby finishing with a T20 best 28 not out off 16 balls. After the debacle performance against Durham, this effort was not much better. Notts though hang on top fourth place; a rethink is required to improve the dire home form. Notts will be hoping that at least one of the injured batters returns next week as the team can ill afford to carry passengers in the line up. MAG
Oh Deary Me, what can you say? Clearly no faith in Sodhi, gun overseas bowling 2 overs with boundaries pushed out to help him. Why Mull only 2 overs?, horrific to see rooooty and Libby in at that stage when we had to clear the ropes and feel sorry for Frainey, it's not your fault the squad is so weak and stretched. Also, our favourite player Samit, what is wrong, do you need a rest or just completely out of form, but, this weak side cannot carry players at the moment. YES, we've got Hales, gnasher and covers out, but, cmon DoC, earn your big salary and bring some players in, the DREADED team KOLPAK, or otherwise as lets face it the prestigious title of Double White Ball Champions ain't going to last much longer
ReplyDeleteRead the DoC's appalling interview in the Nottingham Post. It's obvious he's given up and has been badly affected by the loss of his England job. He doesn't have the desire to put his (spare) energies back into his day job. Time for a change but I can't see the Chief Exec doing that can you?
ReplyDeleteIn front of a crowd of 13657, Notts suffered their third successive home T20 defeat, losing by 17 runs to Leicestershire. In fact Notts’ home record this season in all competitions is truly abysmal with 8 defeats out of 11 games played. Once again their batting and bowling were sub standard. Notts are clearly a team that are happier defending a total rather than chasing. However with showers forecast, Notts had little option to elect to bowl having won the toss given the vagaries of DLS. Ben Raine was the hero for Leicester scoring 83 off 43 balls and taking 2 for 47. Crucially Libby dropped him when he had 26; a sitter. Leicestershire’s total of 193 seemed over par with only Gurney and Patel offering any control. Sodhi was only given two expensive overs. His figures were put into perspective as Leicestershire two spinners Afghan Nabi and youngster Callum Parkinson bowled 8 overs 4 for 55 to turn the screw on Notts; after Notts had more than matched Leicestershire’s total at the half way mark. Is it time to give Matt Carter a go inT20 he bowled impressively in the 50 over competition and offers more in the field and can give the ball the long handle. Sodhi has now played 11 T20 games at TB and has struggled in most of them. His cumulative home record is 35-0-358-15 (10.23 RPO) compared to an away record of 33-0-287-8 (8.70 RPO). In mitigation Notts are missing three batsman in Hales, Nash and Coughlin; a big hole in the line up. Unfortunately only Wessels really fired in the reply blasting 58 off 30 balls (7 x 3, 3 x 6) and we had the ridiculous situation of Ball coming in at seven, ahead of Root and Libby. For Notts to stand a chance of qualifying Hales and Nash must return to the line up sooner rather than later.
ReplyDeleteNotts won the toss and inserted Leicester. Jake Libby came in for Luke Fletcher. Patel opened from the Radcliffe Road End with steady rain falling and conceded four. Neil Dexter hit a four through mid wicket off Gurney. Next ball he then hit the left armer through long on for another boundary. The last ball of the over was toe ended for four by Dexter, 17 for 0 after two overs. Ball bowled the third over with Dexter bottom edging him four. Next ball was a six over backward point. Delport pulled the last ball for four, 18 off the over. Dan Christian came on next as Dexter pulled his first ball to the boundary. Another short ball from Christian was hit for four by Delport, 12 off the over. A slower ball from Gurney fooled Dexter who chipped the delivery to Fraine at mid off, Dexter 30 off 17 balls, 48 for one. Only a single off Gurney's second over. Ball returned at the Pavilion End, Delport hitting a mid wicket four. A Yorker from Ball though removed the left hander for 21 off 15 balls, 53 for two at the end of the power play.
ReplyDeletePatel came back and conceded six runs. Sodhi came on for over number eight and Raine hit for a leg side into The Fridge, 11 off the over. Raine hit another six this time over mid wicket, Samit Patel the bowler, 83 for two off nine. Raine then hit a four through the covers off Mullaney. Cosgrove played on to Mullaney for a 12 ball nine, 88 for three. The key of the game then followed as Dan Christian should have Raine out but Libby dropped a sitter on the square leg ropes, the left hander on 26 at the time, 94 for three off 11 overs. Raine hit Mullaney (2-0-16-1) for four through extra cover, 10 off the over. Raine then hit Patel for enormous six into the Fox Road. Patel 4 overs for 33. Gurney conceded six plus a leg bye off the 14th over. Ben Raine got to a 28 ball 50 hitting Christian for six into the Fox Road. Ackermann then got a mid wicket four off the skipper. Ackermann hit a straight four off Sodhi to bring up the 50 stand. Ackermann then hit the Sodhi for a six into the Fox Road Stand. Ackermann (29) then skied Sodhi to Christian at mid off, 145 for 4. Sodhi conceding 12 off his second over; the skipper did not give the leg spinner a third over. Nabi was caught on the cover ropes by Fraine off Ball for four, 151 for five. Raine hit Christian for a four through square leg then a four through extra cover. Raine carried on with the carnage with a six into The Fridge, Christian 4 overs for 49, and 8 overs for 91 in the last two games. A full toss from Ball was deposited for a leg side four by Raine. Raine then inside edged a four off Ball. Raine was finally bowled by Ball (3 for 40) for 83 off 43 balls with six fours and five sixes, 183 for six off 19 overs. A match winning innings. Harry Gurney conceded 10 off the last over, Leicester 193 for six after 20 overs. Much of the innings had been played in light rain which mercifully stopped between the innings.
ReplyDeleteNabi bowled the first over and dismissed Fraine leg before for a 3 ball single, 7 for one. Abbas bowled the second over as Wessels got a four through long leg. Wessels followed it up with a straight four, 15 for one off two overs. Nabi conceded four off the third over. Raine's first ball was hit for an offside four by Wessels. A poor piece of fielding in the covers gifted Wessels a four. He then hit Raine for a leg side six into The Fox Road Stand, 15 off the over. Chappell was hit for a mistimed four by Wessels over the keepers head. Later in the over Wessels hit for a six over long on and next ball Wessels got to his 50 off 22 balls with a six over wide long off, 21 off the over. Moores brought the 50 partnership with an offside four off Abbas. An outrageous six from Moores followed tennis hitting Abbas for six over long off, an offside four followed, 70 for one after 6 overs; 17 ahead of Leicester’s power play total.
ReplyDeleteCallum Parkinson was dabbed for four by Wessels; but it was two Foxes spinners that turned the game round for the visitors. Moores (23 off 12 balls) then holed out to wide long on as Chappell took the catch, Parkinson the bowler, 77 for two off seven. Wessels hit Raine for four through extra cover. Wessels then chased a wide one and got caught at backward point off Raine for 58, 84 for three after 8 overs. Parkinson then conceded five. Five then came off the next over bowled by Nabi; Notts needed 100 off 10 overs. Chappell then conceded seven including three wides as the boundaries had dried up. Patel then hold out on the mid wicket ropes caught by Raine off Parkinson for a 17 ball 13, 104 for four. Abbas yorked Christian for a 12 ball 8, 109 for 5. Jake Ball was promoted up the order but was bowled for a golden duck by Abbas. Chappell then conceded five off the bat and two leg byes. Mullaney then hit Parkinson (4-0-28-3) over the ropes at long on, but perished next ball going for the same shot. Mullaney caught Wells bowled Parkinson a 7-ball 9, 124 for seven. Root reversed swept Nabi for four but Notts now needed 56 off the last 4 overs. Nabi 4-0-27-1. Libby hit Raine for 4 through the covers, 11 off the over. Eight came off the next over as Notts required 37 off the last two overs. Root (23) got caught in the covers by Chappell as Abbas picked up his third wicket, 157 for eight. Abbas 3 for 32. Raine was lapped for four by Libby who followed with an offside four. A single followed then an offside four for Sodhi. The Kiwi though was bowled for five. Gurney then got a single off the last ball as Notts closed on 176 for nine. Libby finishing with a T20 best 28 not out off 16 balls. After the debacle performance against Durham, this effort was not much better. Notts though hang on top fourth place; a rethink is required to improve the dire home form. Notts will be hoping that at least one of the injured batters returns next week as the team can ill afford to carry passengers in the line up.
ReplyDeleteLeaving the ground last night could clearly see what I believe may be a new trialist practicing his reverse sweep shots. He's as big as Fletch, he's more hairy than DC, and he is already a firm favourite amongst the junior members, YES, Nuts the Squirrel is in contention for a place against the Lightning next Friday. Admittedly he's got less T20 experience than Libby or Fraine, but he's English born and is apparently willing to combine both roles as team mascot and middle order batsman?
ReplyDeleteNot enough competition for places. The team currently has four passengers Root, Libby, Fraine and Sodhi, that's too many to carry
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm not sure if it's the current outlaws team, or an Airbus A380 that's currently carrying the most passengers?
ReplyDeleteTo maintain success in T20, you have to keep reinventing the wheel.
ReplyDeleteSadly for Notts, that wheel is looking a little worn.
We have a disfunctional leg spinner who, although gaining notoriety through his exploits overseas, has been unable to replicate that form on these shores.
The management have been churning out the same bowling attack,Sodhi apart, for the past 5 years or so, which breeds predictability.
It urgently requires a 90mph bowler such as Ferguson at Derby and an element of the unknown (ie Carter) who could have performed a Sodhi's job, probably to a higher standard.
The absences of Hales and Coughlan are unfortunate. However Lumb,and James Taylor have to date, not been adequately replaced and Samit seems to be suffering from cricket fatigue, hence why the batting is not firing on all cylinders.
Losing at home to a poor Leicestershire side provides a fair reflection on the state of Notts cricket in this comp
Notts played some decent cricket, in patches, last night. However, there were also spells when they were absolutely dire, and this cost them the game.
ReplyDeleteThe dropped catch off Raine was probably the crucial moment, as he cashed in after his let off. If he had been caught, then the Leicester total would have been 20 or so less, and we would probably then have won the game. The catch though hides many other things that went wrong. As has been said, Mullaney and Sodhi were under bowled and there was some really poor out fielding towards the end of the innings. Leicester were taking twos at will, and Notts came nowhere near to making a runout whilst they were doing this. Add in many rank poor deliveries and we were facing a big total.
The batting is just misfiring. Wessels and Moores played well and put Notts into a good position at 77-1. However, the next few batsmen played their way in and then got out. We got no benefit from them "getting in" and the runrate then got too big.
I felt that Billy Root and Jake Libby batted well in the final overs. They are not big hitters, however, they ran well, hit some fours and scored at a decent rate. If they had been batting higher up the order then they may have stopped the innings stalling as it did when Moores and Wessels got out.
Where to go from here? Alex Hales will make a big difference when he returns without any question. Coughlan will do well at some stage too. Hales, Wessels and Moores is an attacking top three. Samit looked dreadfully out of touch last night, but to be fair he has looked bad all season. What has gone wrong? Should Libby be given a chance in the top six, to try and keep the scoreboard moving as he did last night?
I thought Ben Raine looked a fine player. Just the sort of batsman we could do with in the middle order.
The answer isn't to bring Chris Nash back into the side. He has been poor all season and would just make the innings stall, before he got out for 8 off 14 balls and then puts more pressure on the rest of the team. Why on earth did we sign him?
I am beginning to feel that Notts need a bit of a radical shake-up - probably in the winter with signings and player releases. We go to games expecting to see us bowl poorly and then have a batting collapse, and it just keeps happening. The loss of players over recent years is now having its impact and sticking plasters are not working. We are certainly carrying too many players.
It is a shame that the success of the old team has brought nearly 14000 to a Friday game, and then the team doesn't perform. Sort it out, Notts!
YES, some very good points made. Don't think DC had much confidence in Sodhi bowling out, he appears to be struggling to bowl on his home ground ? Agree with comments reg. roooooty and Libby, they both played quite well.My only gripe is whether any of them should be playing t20 full stop when you're natural game is not to bash it out of the park, but, of course we all know all our problems are coming down to squad depth on the batting front, or, more to the point, the lack of it
DeleteI also think Libby did well.
DeleteThanks for all the comments guys, in my absence, it doesn't appear that much has been done to address the blatantly obvious squad shortcomings, in depth and power. Does Sochi have to play at Trent Bridge ever again?
ReplyDelete