Leicestershire Foxes Metro Bank Cup at Grace Road Win 2 points

 

JAMES TAKES THE SENIOR ROLE, AFTER HUTTON WITH JUNIORS HARRISON AND LOTEN IMPRESS WITH THE BALL

Notts went to the top of Group A with a 4-wicket victory over Leicestershire on the DLS method today. 

The match was reduced twice due to two stoppages due to light drizzle on a cloudy and cool day in Leicester with the sun making a brief appearance late in the afternoon.

An unchanged Notts won the toss and inserted Leicestershire on a slow seaming pitch. Leicestershire were without the injured Finan, but have not really been hit by call ups from the wretched Hundred with only Parkinson and Rehan Ahmed missing.

There was a bit of light drizzle before the start but play got underway on time with Paterson (Pavilion End) and Hutton opening the bowling. Former Notts man Budinger was dropped on 10, a very hard chance for the diving Patterson-White at mid-on off Hutton. In his following over Hutton had Patel (9) caught at cover by Montgomery, 27 for 1 in the 6th over. Hill survived a very confident leg before shout off his first ball from Hutton. Budinger (24) edged Hutton to Schadendorf behind the stumps, 38 for 2 in the 8th over. Loten took a wicket with his first delivery, the ball scuttling through and removing Hill's off stump, 41 for three in the 9th over. Leicestershire reached 48 for 3 off 10 overs.

The outstanding Hutton took his third wicket having Ackermann leg before for 8, 52 for 4 in the 12th over. Handscomb hit two boundaries off Hutton's seventh over and Paterson replaced him for the 16th over. Mulder drove Paterson down the pitch and the bowler deflected the ball onto the stumps and non-striker Handscomb was run out for 21, 74 for 5 after 17.4 overs. Rain immediately stopped play at 12:13 with Mulder on 3. Mulder getting off to a slow start scoring one run off his first 17 deliveries he faced.

Play resumed at 12:37 with the match now a 47 over affair. Loten removed the big hitting Kimber lbw for a 6-ball duck, 78 for 6 after 19 overs. Rain stopped play at 12:46 with Leicestershire 79 for 6 off 19.2 overs with Mulder on 8 and Scriven on 0. Notts were well on top, Hameed sensibly sticking to his seamers in helpful conditions.

Play resumed at 13:14 with the match further reduced to 44 overs per side. Mulder and Scriven were happy at first to mainly deal in singles.

Harrison and Patterson-White came on for the 22nd and 23rd overs respectively. Montgomery replaced Harrison for a solitary (30th) over which cost nine runs. Harrison returned for the 32nd over. Patterson-White conceded nine and ten off his 4th and 5th overs respectively and Hameed brought back Loten. The Yorkshireman struck with his second ball having Scriven (25) caught by Hameed pedalling back from mid-off, 140 for 7 in the 33rd over. The 7th wicket had added 62 in 14 overs.

Loten was given a solitary over with Patterson-White returning for the 35th over. Mulder got to his 50 off 67 balls with a six over square leg off Harrison. The sole boundary off the leg-spinner who bowled well on a seamers wicket. Loten (9 2 27 3) returned once more for his final over and conceded three runs and a leg bye. Loten had bowled accurately throughout his impressive bowling stint. Patterson-White (7 0 45 0) switched to the Bennett End, Walker hitting him for six over long on, Two balls later, Mulder hit him for a straight six, 13 off the 28th over. Paterson conceded six singles off the next over. Walker (14) was caught at wide long off by Hameed off Harrison, 183 for 8 in the 40th over. Forty-three valuable runs had been accrued off 7 overs for the eighth wicket. Hutton returned to the 41st over with Mulder hitting him for a straight six over the Pavilion. Harrison (9 0 34 1) conceded four plus a leg bye off his last over. Wright (7) skied Paterson (9 0 51 1) to Hameed in the covers, 203 for 9. Paterson going for five off his last over. Hutton who took a career best 7-26 in the corresponding fixture last year conceded nine of his last over, to finish with figures of 9-2-42-3 having broken the back of the Leicestershire innings by taking three of the first four wickets to fall. Leicestershire closed on 214 for 9 off 44 overs. Leicestershire heavily indebted to a 92-ball undefeated 84 (5x4, 3x6) from Wiaan Mulder who hit the ball hard and straight. Josh Hull on 3. Leicestershire had recovered from 78-6 on the back of Mulder’s innings, Notts doing little wrong with the ball or in the field and being well led once more by Hameed. It had been a good toss to win on a slow seaming surface with a short boundary on the Park Hill Drive side of the ground.

Notts required 206 runs off 44 overs using the DLS method. Unsurprisingly given the nature of their line-up and the pitch conditions, the Foxes kept to all seam attack throughout the Notts innings with the brisk, tall left arm seamer Hull, particularly impressive. The 19-year-old from Huntingdon having career best figures of 9–1-43-4 in third List A game.

Mulder (Pavilion End) and Wright opened the bowling. In the second over, Slater (4) played on to Wright, 9 for 1. Martindale was joined by James, nine runs coming off the 7th over bowled by Mulder. Roman Walker came on for the 9th over. The powerplay ended after 9 overs with Notts 36 for 1.

James hit Wright for successive boundaries in the 12th over. Hull came on for the 14th over and bowled Martindale (26) with his fifth delivery, the left hander missing an attempted-on drive 60 for 2. Scriven came on for the 17th over and only 18 off his first seven overs. Hull splayed Hameed (4) stumps, 70 for 3 in the 18th over. At this stage Leicestershire were ahead on DLS.

James and Montgomery batted sensibly in adding 78 in 15 overs with James being the dominant partner with shots all around the wicket. James got to his 50 off 60 balls with a single off Scriven in the 23rd over. Mulder returned for the following over and had James dropped on 50 as keeper Handscomb put down the legside chance. A costly error on a wicket where each new batsman needed time to play himself in. Scriven bowled a maiden in the 27th over but Roman Walker replaced for the 29th over. Wright came on from the Bennett End with Montgomery cover driving his first delivery to the ropes. Walker (7-0-38-0) conceded 10 in the 31st over with two boundaries for James. Wright got a delivery to lift and James (82 off 90 balls, 12x4) edged him to Handscomb, 148 for 4 after 32 overs. A match winning knock.

The frugal Scriven conceded just a single off the 33rd over. The experienced Wright (9 1 35 2) was bowled out in the 34th over. Montgomery was dropped on 34 by Budinger at point off the returning Hull, a difficult chance. But he departed in the same over as left armer Hull got a delivery to lift and Montgomery (35 off 54 balls, 4x4) edged him to Handscomb , 157 for 5 in the 35th over. Montgomery had played a valuable support innings to James. Patterson-White cover drove Walker for 4 off the first delivery off the 36th over. Schadendorf, who had been somewhat bogged initially, hit the expensive Mulder (8-0-59-0) for a six over square leg, nine off the 38th over. The very next ball Patterson-White cut Hull for six over third man. Later in the over, Patterson-White (19) was bowled by Hull making room for an offside boundary, 182 for 6 in the 39th over, 24 now needed. Scriven returned but any pressure was removed with Schadendorf hitting him for consecutive boundaries through mid-wicket and long on, 12 off the 40th over. Schadendorf then hit Hull for consecutive mid-wicket boundaries off the first two deliveries of the 41st over, 11 off the over. The scores were tied. Scriven (9-2-30-0) bowled the 42nd over and skipper Hill brought all his men in the circle and Schadendorf (29 not out off 26 balls, 4x4, 1x6) played back five dot balls, he then scrambled a leg bye off the last ball with Notts 206-6 winning by 4 wickets with 2 overs to spare, Harrison 3 not out.

A pleasing win for the relatively young Notts team. The run chase being successfully completed despite their two experienced batters Slater and Hameed failing with Lyndon James taking the senior role, leading the way. The win having been set up after Hutton, Loten and Harrison had impressed with the ball on a wicket where the ball never really came on. After opening with two wins, The Foxes had been brought back down to earth with Notts winning for the second year in a row at Grace Road in the 50 over competition. Notts probably need three wins from five matches to qualify. Next up Hampshire at Welbeck on Friday. MAG

07/08

The Notts Outlaws' squad remains the same 14 (see below)

Thanks to a streaming commentary that I watched recently, if a county wishes to utilise a superfluous Hundred draftee, then the Hundred player has to have missed two consecutive games for their franchise before the request is made.

It's early days in this competition, but Leicestershire have had two solid wins over Surrey and Kent so far and sit top of the table. Their successes have been founded on experienced players doing the right things at the right times.

If Notts' squad remains the same:

Ben Slater
Ben Martindale
Matt Montgomery
Lyndon James
Haseeb Hameed
Liam Patterson-White
Dane Schadendorf
Sam King
Calvin Harrison
Tom Loten
Brett Hutton
Fateh Singh
Toby Pettman

Dane Paterson,

then we will have a blend of experience and promise to counter the likes of Internationals  Mulder, Handscomb and Ackermann doing the right things. Whether the weather has another say, who knows but that's another variable to consider and uncontrollable unlike how players perform, which will hopefully be doing the right things, but better.

Disappointingly I have heard that Pravda @TrentBridge has started blocking diehard Nottinghamshire supporters. "Rich" a once regular voice at members' forums and known by her ladyship, blocked for asking questions about the schedule that locks Notts out of its HQ for seven weeks for ECB events. Personally, I find it difficult to comprehend how any official would sanction a drafted schedule that would exclude its own organisation at the peak of the season. Yes the Club is desparate to host Internationals and the September scheduling is unfortunate but self inflicted owing to the Clubs own backing for the August white elephant. Notts CCC aren't about to start biting the hand that feeds them, but seven weeks? Excluded for seven weeks because of 6 days of ECB events, 3 H*ndred days, an ODI, a IT20 and the Final of the Metro Bank Cup.

When Notts comprehensively thrashed Kent in the championship at Trent Bridge, it was still July. Our next Championship game at Trent Bridge is practically in winter, against Middlesex which starts 26th September, a gap of eight and a half weeks between matches. That isn't the way to grow interest, but is more likely to have the opposite result.