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RAIN WASHES OUT GAME
Grantham's Gorse Lane ground was staging its first List A match since 2000, when Lincolnshire hosted Netherlands in the NatWest Trophy.
Notts head coach Peter Moores:
"We came and trained here yesterday - and speaking to the groundsman and everybody they had prepared a great pitch and done all the work, so it seems so unfair that they had a big showpiece game and the weather came and spoiled it.
"It's going to go down to the wire, we must be close to officially qualifying. It's that sort of table this year, very jammed up at the top and it will come down to the last game and we know that if we can get a win at Northampton it will guarantee us a home semi-final, which is the main thing for us to focus.
"Alex (Hales) has fitted back in fine. We trained together yesterday as a squad, so that was a good chance for Alex to get back amongst the squad and the players."
Outlaws will now have to go to Northampton, needing to win on MondayThe 14 this time are:
Chris Nash
Alex Hales
Joe Clarke
Lyndon James
Jake Libby
Steven Mullaney
Tom Moores
Samit Patel
Luke Wood
James Pattinson
Luke Fletcher
Zak Chappell
Jake Ball
Matt Carter
Ben Slater has been rejoined by Paul Coughlin
Outlaws need to bounce back after an abject flop at Worcester on Wednesday. This game already evened out somewhat by the bewildering decision play a home match, a quarter of our allocation, unnecessarily at a venue in the middle of nowhere in a foreign county, now the Outlaws' squad is being picked away-at through International call-up, crippling injuries and even drug bans. Resting players isn't an option for this fixture, Outlaws now needing to get the show back on the road after wheel fell off the wagon (or was it wheelbarrow) at New Road.
MAG with the News
MAG reports that Alex Hales will have served his 21 day suspension by Friday but his inclusion is subject to ratification by the Nottinghamshire CCC big wigs.
Alex didn't play at Derby for the Seconds on Wednesday.
Any inclusion for Hales is likely to cause a lot of "interest", so perhaps the out of the way remoteness of Gorse Lane might have at least one advantage after all.
A sort of good outcome! I don't think that Hales should have been selected any more than I feel Notts should have moved this Game to Grantham at this time of year. Hales needs to 'earn' back some trust, confidence and respect with the Members and his colleagues and that is not to just be able to immediately get his First Team place back. He CHOSE not to play Red Ball cricket just as chose to 'misbehave' - perhaps some hard charitable recompence would be a good start.
ReplyDeleteAs a Christian Philip, is it not time for some forgiveness, even if the Eoin Morgan and his cabal can't?
DeleteMatthew 18:21-35
The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant
Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.
The original posting had this quote and partially had the same message but some of the tone wasn't very "Christian" and was more inflammatory and vile - but the greatest sin was that it was left anonymously.
As readers of this superb site will know I am certainly no fan of these so called out grounds and have copped a load of flak for this view accordingly. However Sir Philip it is difficult to see where else this fixture could have been played that would have been a better alternative and I speak from being there today until the Notts supporters coach turned up about 50minutes after the game was finally abandoned. The ICC have taken over TB so I assume we have some sort of agreement/dispensation to play a potential fixture at TB assuming we nail it. Two things in particular were called correctly by MAGs today. Firstly the need to wrap up warm and secondly how inaccurate the various hour by hour weather sites appear to be, albeit the weather is extremely difficult to predict accurately.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who couldn't make it the remote outpost of human civilisation yesterday, can I draw the conclusion that Grantham's Gorse Lane does in actuality have its own micro-climate, but that just happens to be more Baltic than the rest of England? Better luck for the Bank Holiday, Outlaws.
DeleteDon't worry Leader of the pack there will be a heatwave when those Hampshire boys head up to the North of the County in June. Let's hope Patto is still with us for this game as we need to harvest some championship points while he is around as an overseas replacement of his calibre is impossible and without him our pace attack is toothless.
ReplyDeleteWell said. Completely agree and if it's an awful day it doesn't really matter whether you're at TB, Gorsey Lane or Welbeck at the end of the day.
DeleteWhy wasn't this game scheduled for Saturday, like the rest of the North Group?
DeleteExcellent question, potential for larger attendance at weekend, less traffic etc...sure Lisa will post the answer..!!!
ReplyDelete