Surrey Metro Bank Cup at Welbeck CC Loss

 

NOTTS SNATCH DEFEAT FROM THE JAWS OF VICTORY

with match thrown away as inexperienced lower order lose their heads

Notts slipped to a three-run defeat under the DLS method against Surrey at a dark and windy Welbeck today. Needing a routine 20 runs to win off 4 overs with 5 wickets they completely lost their heads against the leg spin of Cameron Steel and the slow left arm of Dan Moriarty after Matt Montgomery had all but seen them home with 62 (off 45 balls, 5x4, 2x6).

Notts won the toss and put Surrey in. They decided to rest Dane Paterson and include Toby Pettman in the Eleven. Surrey without a win in the competition gave a debut to 17-year-old Charterhouse pupil Luke Griffiths.

The game started in light drizzle. The crowd was poor with no more 750 in the ground. Sibley fell for golden duck to the third delivery of the match, caught at second slip by Harrison off Hutton (Spion Kop End), 1 for 1. The sole run a leg bye. Rain stopped play at 11:06 with Surrey 1 for 1 off 1.3 overs.



Play recommenced at 12:29 as a 40 over game. Patel and Burns initially played Hutton and Pettman with caution. In the 6th over, Patel smashed Pettman for six over mid-wicket, 11 off the over. Surrey 27 for 1 at the end of the 8 over powerplay. Loten (4-0-33-1) replaced Pettman from the Charlie French End for the 10th over but proved disappointingly expensive. James replaced Hutton for the 11th over. Loten was hit for six over mid-wicket by Patel in the 12th over. Burns (29) hit Loten for successive fours in the 14th over but perished off the ball of the over caught by Montgomery on the deep mid-wicket ropes, 66 for 2. Three overs later, Patel (40 off 47 balls, 3x4, 2x6) was caught on the square leg ropes by Slater off James, 79 for 3 off 17 overs, Patterson-White conceded a single off his opening over. Notts ground fielding had once again been somewhat indifferent and things got worse when Ben Foakes was dropped on 14 off James an easy chance to Montgomery on the square leg ropes. Two balls later, Steel hit James for 6 over mid-wicket, nine off the 21st over.

Surrey reached 100 in the 23rd over with four for Steel off Harrison. Foakes hit Harrison for 4 and 6 down the legside off successive balls, 13 off the 25th over. Steel hit Patterson-White for 6 over long on in the 28th over, 10 off the over including two byes. Steel was dropped on 31 by Pettman at short third man off Harrison, a sitter. The second unforgivable dropped catch of the innings and like the Foakes dropped effort earlier proved a very expensive one with the 4th wicket adding 121 in 19 overs.

Foakes reached his 50 with successive boundaries off Pettman in the 30th over. Hutton returned from the Spion Kop End in the 31st over and conceded 15 including a six over backward square leg for Foakes. Harrison changed to the Charlie French End. James (8 0 39 1) returned for the 33rd over for his final two overs. Patterson-White replaced Harrison for the 34th over. Surrey reached 200 in the 35th over. Foakes (68 off 64 balls, 4x4, 3x6) smashed the ball straight back to Patterson-White (8-0-33-1), 200 for 4 in the 36th over. Geddes (5) was caught on the mid-wicket ropes by Martindale off Pettman, 218 for 5 in the 38th over. With McKerr coming in at number seven , Surrey long tail had been finally reached, long after it should have been, thanks to the two dolly catches that were put down.

Steel (67 off 66 balls, 5x4, 2x6) was caught at deep extra cover by James off Hutton (8-1-45-2), 227 for 6 in the 39th over. McKerr hit Pettman for 6 over long on. Griffiths (4). was caught by Harrison at long on off Pettman, 238 for 7. Moriarty hit his only ball for six over mid-wicket. Pettman (7-1-50-2) had conceded 13 off his last over. Surrey 244 for 7 off 40 overs with McKerr on 14. Like Friday, Notts had allowed the opposition an above par total and Surrey were the favourites at the interval despite on paper having a weak bowling line-up.

Notts required 241 by DLS method. Dunn (Spion Kop End) and McKerr opened the bowling. Martindale hit two boundaries in three balls in Dunn's second over. Dunn (2.2-0-16-0) went lame after two balls of his third over, Geddes (2.4-0-8-0) completed the over. Surrey had lost their most experienced bowler, and this was clearly a major boost to Notts chances. Martindale (15) was caught at first slip by Sibley off McKerr, 30 for 1 in the 8th over. Notts 34 for 1 after the 8 over powerplay.

Steel came on for the 10th over and conceded 11 runs including two boundaries for James. Majid came on for the 11th over with Notts reaching 50. Slater (32 off 44 balls, 2x4, 1x6) pulled Majid for six over backward square leg in the 13th over but fell next over tamely hitting Steel to Sibley at mid-off, 65 for 2. A poor dismissal from a well-set batsman. James was dropped off Majid on 26 by the novice Griffiths at long off, an absolute sitter. Another expensive drop but unlike the Notts dropped catches did not cost Surrey the game.

Hameed (15) hit Moriarty for a straight six in his opening over, but once again the out of form Hameed did not impress. Hameed (15) mistiming his sweep shot off Moriarty and skied to Geddes at deep mid-wicket, 99 for 3 in the 20th over. Hameed, a red-ball-specialist, needs to either open in the 50 over format or not don the green and yellow strip, it is not his game to come in down the order. James and Montgomery then added much needed impetus to the innings adding 67 in 10 overs. Montgomery the only batsman in the Notts Eleven capable of hitting and rotating the strike against spin. James dealing with the paceman.

A cut boundary for James off Majid saw Notts to their 100 in their 21st over. A cut for two for James off Majid (8-0-49-0) saw him to 50 off 43 balls. Moriarty returned for the 27th over, Montgomery hitting him for six over mid-wicket. McKerr came on from the Spion Kop End for the 29th over. Griffiths had his first bowl in the 30th over and after James (71 off 66 balls, 7x4) had slogged over mid-wicket for four he was out next ball top-edging the 17-year-old right-arm seamer high into the sky with Foakes taking the catch behind the wicket, 166 for 4. James who had batted well, will be disappointed with the manner and the timing of his dismissal. An undefeated match winning ton, very much there for the taking.

Notts needed 74 for the final 10 overs. McKerr conceded two off the 31st over. Montgomery hit Griffiths for consecutive boundaries, 10 off the 32nd over. McKerr conceded eight off the 33rd including a leg glanced boundary for Patterson-White. Griffiths (3-0-30-1) then went for 14 including a straight four and a six over mid-wicket for Patterson-White. Montgomery hit McKerr (8-0-38-2) for a 6 over backward point, but in the same over Patterson-White (21) was caught at deep mid-wicket, 208 for 5, 11 off the over. Moriarty conceded nine including an edged four for Montgomery. Notts now needed 20 off 4 overs, it should have been a cake walk as Surrey captain Burns had only his spinners to bowl.

Montgomery (62), going for a legside hoick, was leg before to Cameron Steel, 221 for 6 off the first ball of the 37th over. Burns brought his field in. Harrison cover drove Steel for 4, but rest of the 37th over were dot balls. It was déjà vu next over with Schadendorf sweeping Moriarty for 4, but the other 5 balls not being scored off. Twelve needed off 12 balls, but with the alarm bells now starting. Harrison took 5 off 4 balls off Steel (8-0-41-3), but then Schadendorf (8) was caught lowdown at backward point by Patel. Hutton then hit a single.

Six were required off the last over bowled by Moriarty (8-0-55-3). Two singles were obtained by Hutton and Harrison. Notts needed a lofted boundary to win. Hutton (2) tried it but did not quite get hold of it and he skied it with Sibley taking a good diving catch back pedalling from mid-on, 237 for 8. Loten came in at number 10, but given three goes at finding a boundary failed each time. Ball one was a dot ball. Loten tamely hit the penultimate ball straight to Patel at short mid-wicket, but Harrison had shot off down the pitch wanting the run and he was run out. Four still required, Loten went for a big heave-ho of the last delivery, missed it and was stumped. Three wickets in 4 balls and not a single run scored. It wasn’t so much Surrey winning it, Notts had well and truly thrown it away as the lack of experience in the lower order, not helped by the daft signing of loanees for the T20 Blast, being well and truly shown. The dismissal of Montgomery was absolutely crucial the only Notts batsman in the last two games being able to manoeuvre spin bowling around.

Notts probably need to win all their last three games to qualify. On Friday they had lost to a much superior team. Today lost after an indifferent bowling and fielding performance. They came surprisingly close against a weak Surrey team minus a crocked bowler. James and Montgomery had batted well, but each will be disappointed they did not see the job through.

Perhaps the multi-tasking Rocket Man should consider signing an overseas batsman for next year’s 50 over competition and give the members value for money on their season ticket with at least two games thrown in at Trent Bridge for good measure. Remember the colours of the members owned Team are Green and Gold not Yellow and Red! MAG

13/08

No over-night additions to the squad? Perhaps Charlie Watts, Ronnie Wood or Bill Wyman however they'd fit in better with the Outlaws T20 squad., as they're all tried and tested, household names that would appeal to the DoC. I'm sticking my neck out and ruling out Brian Jones though!

12/08

I'm told there's more chance of both Mick Jagger and Keith Richards turning out for Notts than Olly Stone this week. So no Olly and there's no James Hayes or Tom Moores either, as the guy that picks the team sticks with the same fourteen.

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

The learning curve continues for the Nottinghamshire squad, but why they need to relearn past lessons / general knowledge is beyond me.

Everyone knows that Welbeck track suits the seamers don't they? Everyone apart from the muppet that picks the Notts team it would appear, but for this next game even if he uses his carbon paper copy of a teamsheet again, he should have a extra seamer as Lyndon James should be passed his bowling *embargo and able to take a share of the workload. 

In theory Notts could request the services of most of their Trent Rocketeers and the Welsh Fireman for this match but what the team lacks is power hitting and a quality seam bowler who can give you ten overs. Perhaps Tom Moores could play as specialist batsman, as suggested in other quarters, but that might require the head coach writing out a new teamsheet.

A fully rolling Stone might be handy, but he'd have to bowl more than three balls this time, but he was lobbing about the medicine ball with Tom Loten on Friday morning pre-game.

*his embargo brought about because the same muppet that picks the team selecting unfit players who breakdown after just a session of bowling (or even less in one case), forcing the rest of the bowlers to take on a greater workload.