Birmingham Bears Vitality T20 Blast at Trent Bridge Win

OUTLAWS SLOW IT DOWN TO TAKE EMPHATIC WIN 

Spin suffocating the Bears' reply

A crowd 12,060 saw Notts gain a convincing win over visitors Warwickshire by 71 runs at sunny Trent Bridge last night. Notts pushed the boundaries out and went for a three pronged spin attack and it worked a treat whilst defending a total of 184 for four. Pleasingly for Notts, Joe Clarke and Tom Moores have been revitalised by playing with the white ball. Clarke hit 50 off 40 balls and Moores followed his 44 against Leicester with 69 off 38 balls with six sixes. His timing has returned after weeks of struggle in the championship. Warwickshire's catching was suspect, crucially dropping Moores on 16, but their ground fielding was excellent and they probably saved 15 or so runs in the field. Spin twins Agar and Patel were expensive with combined figures of 7- 0-70-1. When the Bears batted captain Dan Christian trusted his spinners in the power play with four of the six overs bowled by Carter, Imad and Patel. Carter removed slogger Pollock in his first over. Bears were well placed having 50-1 after seven overs, but Carter bowling from the Radcliffe Road End, bowled a wicket maiden removing keeper Burgess and with help from Imad and Patel their combined figures were 12-1-63-6 with 30 dot balls, Warwickshire innings was suffocated as for once it was the oppositions turn to collapse as The Bears lost nine for 63 in 10 overs. Notts had put up their most convincing victory since April and are now well placed lying third in the Northern Section.

Notts won the toss and elected to bat. In came Libby and Carter for Fletcher and Ball. Hampshire loanee Fidel Edwards (Pavilion End) opened the bowling and conceded nine. Stone went for four in the second over. 

Not Gordon Banks!

Hales hit Brookes for consecutive boundaries being dropped by Liam Banks at mid wicket above his head, the power of the shot meant despite the deflection the ball still went to the ropes. Hales though fell in the same over caught at mid on by Ed Pollock for 10, 21 for one. Clarke hit Edwards for two boundaries and Duckett one boundary, Notts 33 for one after four overs. Two runs came on off Brookes's second over. Duckett (13) hit Stone for six over mid wicket but perished next ball, losing his off stump, 42 for two at the end of the power play.

Four singles came off Ashton Agar's first over. Seven came off eighth over bowled by Jeetan Patel including a four for Clarke. Moores hit Agar's for a six over mid wicket, 64 for two after nine overs. Eight came off over ten bowled by Patel, with a boundary for Clarke.

Writing on the wall for Banksy!

Edwards returned and conceded six. Moores was dropped on 16 at long off by Liam Banks; Rhodes the bowler. In retrospect the key moment of the contest. Moores hit Rhodes for six over extra cover and then hit the same bowler for a boundary in the same over, 16 off the over. Joe Clarke reached 50 with a six over extra cover off Agar's but departed two balls later caught on the mid wicket boundary by the diving Rhodes. Clarke 50 off 40 balls (5x4, 1x6) 102 for three in the thirteenth over. Clarke and Moores had added 60 in 7.1 overs. Moores hit Patel for successive sixes over long on and mid wicket, 116 for three off 14 overs. Moores edged Agar for four and reached his 50 with six over square leg off the Australian. Moores then hit an aerial straight four, 18 off the over. Christian cut Brookes for six, 146 for six off 16 overs. The 50 partnership between Moores and Christian was raised with a six over square leg by Moores off Stone. Ten off the over including a leg bye. Moores holed out to the deep mid wicket for 69 off 38 balls (3x6, 6x6), well caught by Rhodes off Edwards, 157 for four. Moores and Christian had added 55 in 27 balls for the fourth wicket. Christian edged Edwards’s last ball for four, seven off the over. Stone conceded nine including a straight four for Imad. The Pakistani hit Brookes for successive fours in the last over. Notts 184 for 4 off 20 overs Christian 20 Imad 18. A total that seemed slightly over par

Wood conceded five off the first over from the Pavilion End. Pollock was bowled middle stump by Matt Carter for three, 7 for one off two overs. Imad went for three singles off the third over. Samit Patel conceded six in the following over. The first boundary of the innings came in the fifth over, Hain hitting Gurney for six over square leg; he followed it with leg side four backward of square. Nine came off the last over of the power play bowled by Imad, Bears 37 for one, five behind Notts at the equivalent stage.

Carter builds the pressure

Hain cover drove Patel for four and Burgess hit him for a six over square leg, 13 off the over, but Warwickshire were about to fade away. Matt Carter picked up his second wicket as Libby caught Burgess (25) on the deep mid wicket ropes, 50 for two. Wicket maiden for Carter. Imad conceded five in the ninth over. Notts were home and hosed as Adam Hose departed for 8 ball four, caught and bowled by the off spinner, 58 for three in the tenth over. Nine came off Gurney's second over including a leg bye. Man of the match Matt Carter finished with a T20 best of three for 13 including 16 dot balls, 73 for three off 12 overs. Sam Hain scooped Imad and was caught by Moores, Hain 30 off 28 balls, 74 for four. Agar (11) miscued Imad to Samit Patel in the covers, 75 for five. The impressive Imad 4-0-21-2. Rhodes hit a beamer from Gurney for a leg side six. Banks (2) holed out to the left armer, caught on the square leg ropes by a diving Luke Wood, 92 for six. Patel conceded seven in his third over. Brookes became the next Bears to hole out as Clarke caught Brookes at mid wicket off Wood, 101 for seven. Jeetan Patel (5) was stumped off his name sake, 107 for 8 in the 17th over. Two off the over, Patel 4-0-28-1. 

The rewards

The end was coming quickly, Will Rhodes (27 off 15 balls) was caught on the mid wicket ropes by Duckett off Luke Wood, 113 for nine. Fidel Edwards went for a golden duck caught by Christian at mid off as Wood picked up his third wicket for 16 runs, another T20 best. Warwickshire 113 all out with 15 balls unused. Only Gurney, over doing his slower balls was expensive on the night with 3-0-31-1. Notts face Lancashire at 1900 this evening at Old Trafford. MAG











Forget the spiel about hectic schedules, Outlaws have had almost a week off since the damp squib of a match against Foxes.

Last time out, Outlaws weren't up for it (or gave that perception) and certainly didn't have a game plan for a shortened match, so came a cropper, baddly! The eleven used was bowler heavy and even then only Samit Patel brought any control into their art, so change is a must.

Talking of change; if you have any ideas of what Nottinghamshire CCC needs to change for the better, and how to achieve this, please share in the comments of my post "Change for Good" which was posted a couple of days ago and wil be easily found from the "home" section, now at the top of the list of postings.

Paul Coughlin made impacts in a Second XI T20 game on Monday and in a SEC game on Wednesday; is he now ready to make a proper start for Outlaws?

Ben Slater also showed that he too could be an option in the Blast squad.

Interestingly, the Second XI currently playing, has twelve names listed, so is someone expecting to take the walk up Radcliffe Road?

But it's none of that is likely now that Outlaws have announced the usual squad but with no Sol Budinger, who Stoney stated had picked-up an injury at Lady Bay on Monday.

The usual 13 suspects:

Alex Hales
Ben Duckett
Joe Clarke
Jake Libby
Dan Christian
Imad Wasim
Samit Patel
Tom Moores
Luke Wood
Matt Carter
Harry Gurney
Jake Ball
Chris Nash