Lancashire Lightning Vitality T20 Blast at Trent Bridge Loss (Thrashed)

 

OUTLAWS CRASH TO RECORD LOW

A slick Lancashire team made mincemeat of Notts last night, thrashing them by 87 runs. On this performance and based on their team roster Lancashire will be challenging to win the competition. Notts meanwhile need an infusion of youth, the team is ageing, there is lack of mobility in the field. Their batting failed for the third in time in four games (Northants, Lancashire and also in the tournament warm-up game against Derbyshire).

Notts inserted Lancashire on a cold, blowy night with intermittent squally showers. The crowd was considerably larger than the Northants game, maybe touching 5,000 but was way down on previous seasons. The admission price is too high given the current economic climate, drink too expensive, the (it'll be cold/wet later, we may as well stay to home and watch) live stream needs to go behind a paywall to non-members, and the ridiculous seat reservation scheme has been nothing short of a disaster and is deterring many members from attending. The scheduling has been poor with 3 games in 5 days and playing T20 on cold May nights should not happen. The club must have lost [tens of] thousands over the last five days. With the next home fixture in 16 days’ time, now not in 2023 is the time to act, prices should be reduced and all the ticket reservations should be ripped up. However with the test match coming up, I have major doubts though whether this will happen!

Paterson surprisingly replaced Harrison in the line-up. With Christian not bowling and running gingerly in the field and between the wickets, I could only presume he was carrying some kind of injury, hence the omission of the unlucky Harrison.

Salt hit the first ball from Carter (Pavilion End) to the backward square leg ropes, 8 off the over. Jennings hit Fletcher for three fours (mid-wicket, square leg and extra cover) in the second over which cost 14. Patel went for five off the third over. Salt (11) was caught behind off Ball’s first delivery, 27 for one. Livingstone straight drove his first ball for 4, seven off the over. Livingstone blasted Paterson's first ball to the long off boundary and his fifth ball went for a huge straight six, 10 off the over. Rain stopped play at 1852 with Lancashire 46 for 1 off 5.2 overs. Play resumed eight minutes later with Jennings hoisting Ball for six over backward square leg; he followed it with a third man boundary. Jennings on 27 was then badly dropped by Moores after he edged a rising delivery from Ball; a costly error. Lancashire 56 for 1 after 6 overs.

Six runs were accrued of the seventh over bowled by Patel including 2 byes and a leg bye. Carter went for 5 off the eighth over. Jennings hit Patel to the mid-wicket boundary, eight off the over. Livingstone smashed Fletcher for six over mid-wicket. Lancashire 88 for 1 off 10 overs and well-placed.

Livingstone fell for 30 (off 25 balls) skying Paterson to Christian at mid-off, Lancashire 89 for 2 off 10.2 overs when rain stopped play at 1919. Play recommenced at 1938 with David hitting Paterson to the square leg boundary, 9 off the over. David hit Mullaney for 5 over mid-wicket, 10 off his solitary over. David (15) holed on the cover boundary caught by Clarke off Patel, 107 for 3 in the 13th over. Jennings hit a four through cover off Patel (4-0-23-1); a Paterson misfield allowing the ball to go over the ropes. Jennings got to 50 off 32 balls, seven off Patel s last over. Vilas pulled Carter for 4 through mid-wicket. Jennings (55 off 37 balls; 7x4, 1x6) hit a legside four off Paterson but he departed next ball caught by Fletcher at long leg off Paterson (3-0-30-2), 126 for 4. Croft hit the final ball of over to the extra cover boundary, 11 off the over. Nine came off the 16th over bowled by Carter (4-0-26-0). Vilas hit Ball for six into the second tier of the Fox Road Stand, later in the over Croft him for six over mid-wicket, 17 off the 17th over. Vilas (24 off 16 balls) holed out to Clarke on the backward square ropes, Fletcher the bowler, 161 for 5 in the 18th over. Lamb (3) was caught on the long on ropes by Hales off Ball (4-0-44-2), 165 for 6. Eight off the 19th over. Croft (22 off 14 balls) hit Fletcher straight to Mullaney at mid-off, 172 for 7. Hartley clubbed Fletcher (4-0-40-2) for a straight four and ran a two off the final ball. Lancashire 178 for seven off 20 overs.

Lancashire bowled impressively in the power play. Clarke (4) swept Hartley for 4 but off the 5th ball he perished to a fine tumbling catch at wide mid-on by Croft, 5 for1, six off the opening over. Duckett (5) hit the Gleeson for 4 through wide third man but then fell caught behind by Salt to an excellent fast rising delivery from Gleeson, 10 for 2. Ball had delivered an identical delivery to Jennings earlier, but the chance had been dropped!!!

Patel, fell first ball, caught at backward square leg by Parkinson off the rapid Gleeson, 11 for 3. It became three wickets in three balls, as Mullaney pushed the ball to Jennings at mid-off and set up off for a suicidal single and was sent back by non-striker Hales, 11 for 4 and the game was as good as over. Five off the 2nd over. Hales hit Hartley for four through extra cover and then to the cover boundary, 11 off the over. Hales pulled Gleeson for 4, 5 off the over. Moores (2) fell to an excellent catch by Salt, diving high to his right off Wood, 29 for 5 off 5 overs. Salt a virtual novice before the season behind the stumps had on the night completely out performed his experienced Notts counterpart. Wood (1-0-2-1) was not to bowl again. The ex-Notts seamer had earlier been selected to England tour of Netherlands. Congratulations to him his move up north has worked well, but sadly for Notts fans it only happened because of the signing of Zak Chappell, the man that we were promised that would lead our attack for ten years……. Three years later, we are still looking for a left-arm seamer and Chappell can't force his way into a struggling Gloucester eleven. 

Gleeson (3-0-11-2) bowled the sixth over of the powerplay which including 4 leg byes off Christian s pads, 34 for 5 after 6 overs.

Rusty Hales

Hales (15) was caught on the mid-wicket ropes by Croft off Livingstone, 34 for 6. Whereas, Patel has been playing regularly club cricket over the weekend, Hales has been putting his feet up, Hales still looks decidedly ring rusty but I expect runs from him as the competition continues.

Christian swept Livingstone for four, five off the 7th over. Parkinson conceded two off the next over. Carter hit Livingstone for a straight four, 10 off the over. Parkinson went for two singles, 53 for 6 after 10 overs. The crowd was now leaving in their droves on what was now a bitterly cold night.

Carter (14) hit Hartley (3-0-23-2) for four through mid-wicket but fell leg before next ball, 57 for 7, six off the 11th over. Fletcher hit Parkinson for six over mid-wicket, 10 off the over. Fletcher hit Livingstone for a massive legside six. The off-colour Christian (12 off 22 balls) was caught on the square leg ropes by Hartley off Livingstone, 80 for 8 in the 13th over. Ball (1) was caught at long on by David off Parkinson (4-0-17-1), 81 for 9. Three off the 14th over. Top scorer Fletcher (22), now described as an all-rounder on the club website, hit Livingstone (3.4-0-34-3) for six over mid-wicket but fell to catch low down by Croft off him, 91 all out off 14.4 overs. Notts had equaled their lowest ever score in the competition, having been bowled out for 91 by Lancashire at Old Trafford in 2006. The margin of loss (87 runs) was the largest in Notts T20 history beating the 72-run defeat against Worcestershire at Trent Bridge in 2018. Lancashire have all bases covered, a batting line-up with numerous big hitters and a bowling line-up with variety.

Rejuvenation needed?

Notts now head to Derby on Friday, having heavily lost there in a warm up game 8 days ago, this will be a hard game. Changes now need to be made, Budinger should come in and serious consideration should be given to giving Evison, Schadendorf and James a go into a line up where the average age is too high. MAG

Secret Squirrel confirms it's all Led Zeppelin - "The Song Remains the Same" - different day but the same squad

Scheduling Fixtures Rule 101: Don't have back to back, on consecutive nights, T20 fixtures at the same venue; as in the event of a rain bearing weather front both games would be put at risk.

Michael Temple's ticket resevations have again gone poorly and I can't envisage there being a mass rush for tickets today, with the weather forecast as it is. 

The pre-book reserved seat requirement is not as popular as Lisa Pursehouse and Jeff Moore would have us believe. It turns out that only members in any number have bothered to book seats for games and general public sales have been very low. Members are, in the vast majority, opposed to the pre-booking of seats and have only complied because of the intransigence of the club on this matter.

The evidence is that assigned seat reservation is not popular with anyone, it is not attacting the groups of like-minded people that NEED to sit together / families, IT IS NOT WORKING. I do not suppose that the block of 60 seats for the choir that could not be heard on Friday, paid for their tickets, and they all fled before the first ball was bowled in anycase! Yes the weather has not been favourable, but when pre-booking no one knows what the weather will be like so is irrelevant as an excuse - this was pointed out in February when Trent Bridge dropped this bombshell on members initially. 

It is clear, the scheme is deterring people rather than attracting them - WAKE-UP, OPEN YOUR EYES Trent Bridge!

After a discussion with his pal, the Knowledgeable Newt, Secret Squirrel will, I am sure, keep to the same squad that last night got a soaking.

Alex Hales
Ben Slater
Sol Budinger
Joe Clarke
Ben Duckett
Samit Patel
Tom Moores X
Steven Mullaney
Dan Christian C
James Pattinson
Calvin Harrison
Matt Carter
Luke Fletcher
Jake Ball
Dane Paterson