14/06
WILY PATEL THE DIFFERENCE
Outlaws confidence shot, plans tactically off
Notts lost their third successive T20 game in a week with visitors Derbyshire gaining a deserved 46 run victory in what could be best described as a flyweight contest. Two poor T20 sides battling it out. Canny Samit Patel was the point of difference between the teams bowling a fine spell of 4-0-14-3 including 10 dot balls – Clarke the lone beacon of hope in a sorry Notts batting display. Notts, who appeared to be a team short of confidence, did not help themselves by bizarrely only bowling Patterson-White for two overs on a “pace off” strip. The Notts batting order appears to be in a mess. The team further hindered by the fact that they are probably getting less out of their two overseas players than any other team in the Blast. The high risk signing of 38-year-old Henriques has not paid off as he was sadly missing once more with his bad back. The performances of Sams so far have been to say the least extremely disappointing.
Notts won the toss and elected to bowl in front of a disappointing sized and flat crowd on a perfect summers evening. Struggling McKerr was finally dropped. Lord, impressive 24 hours previously for the Stiffs at Leicester, made his T20 debut.
Donald hit Pennington (Radcliffe Road End) for four through point, five runs off the first over. Montgomery dropped a sharp caught and bowled chance when Donald was on five the next three deliveries were all hit for four. A two followed and then another four (square leg), 18 off the 2nd over. Jewell hit Pennington for four through extra cover, six off the 3rd over. Sams conceded two singles in his opening over. Jewell edged Lord's first delivery for four. Donald hit Lord for six over square leg; 13 off the 5th over. Jewell hit Sams for four through extra cover and Donald then hit him for six over square leg. Donald hit Sams for four through mid-wicket, Montgomery failing to get his hands on a difficult chance. Derbyshire 61 for 0 off 6 overs. A good start for the visitors.
Harrison bowled Jewell (18) with his first delivery (61 for 1), five off the 7th over. Lord was given the 8th over in preference to the expected Patterson-White. His over went for 11- Donald reached his 50 off 25 balls with a straight six off Lord, 11 off the 8th over. Donald hit Harrison for successive sixes over square leg, 15 off the 9th over. Patterson-White was finally given a go for over number 10, Donald hitting him for four towards long off. Donald (73 off 34 balls) fell next ball caught by Harrison running in from the mid-wicket ropes, 99 for 2, seven off the 10th over.
Madsen (8) skied Harrison to extra cover with Patterson-White taking the catch, 99 for 3. Some terrible fielding on the ropes by Lord saw Patel donated a four towards fine leg off Harrison, eight off the 11th over. Patel hit Lord for four through extra cover. The next ball was pulled for four through square leg by Patel. Lord finally got his man when Patel (14) skied him to James at long off who took a fine tumbling catch (117-4), 10 off the 12th over. James conceded five plus a leg bye in the 13th over – his solitary over of the innings. Guest reverse swept Patterson-White (2 0 16 1) for four, nine off the 14th over. Andersson (10) was lbw to Harrison (4 0 32 3; 134 for 5), four off the 15th over. Whiteley, who struggles against spin, was fed a diet of continuous seam bowling as he added a match winning unbroken 65 for the 6th wicket in 5.3 overs with Brooke Guest against what can be best described as very ordinary bowling. Whiteley hit Lord (4 0 46 1) for six over square leg and Guest smashed him for four through mid-wicket; 12 off the 16th over. Whiteley hit Pennington for four through square leg, 10 off the 17th over. Whiteley hit Sams for six over long on. Guest hit him for four through long leg, 13 off the 18th over. Guest thick edged Pennington (4 0 31 0) for four through third man and then hit him for a lofted straight four; 10 off the 19th over. Sams (4-0-50-0) bowled a dreadful 20th over going for 18. Whiteley hitting him for four through extra cover. Guest clubbing him for four through mid-wicket and finally Whiteley smashing him for six over mid-wicket off the last delivery of the innings, 18 off the last over. Derbyshire 199 for 5 off 20 overs with Guest on 37 and Whiteley on 35. The total seemed at least 20 over par. Subsequent events proved this.
Ghazanfar (Pavilion End) removed James for a 2 ball duck caught at mid-wicket by Hudson-Prentice, 1 for 1. James, in a unfamiliar pinch hitter role has scores of 1, 0 and 0 this last week. A dreadful piece of fielding from Aitchison saw Clarke gifted a four through long on, seven off the first over. Clarke thick edged Aitchison for four through third man, six off the second over. Haynes was lbw to Ghazanfar for 2 (13 for 2). Clarke hit Ghazanfar for a low six over extra cover, 9 off the 3rd over. McCann (2) was bowled off his pads by Hudson-Prentice (22 for 3). Clarke scooped the Sussex loanee for 4. Seven off the 4th over. Notts finally went off script by promoting Montgomery up to number five. This resulted in Notts having their best phase of the match with 65 being added for the fourth wicket, although not without good fortune, in 6.2 overs.
Montgomery pulled Aitchison for four over mid-wicket and scooped him for four through long leg, 11 plus a leg bye off the 5th over. Clarke skied Hudson-Prentice into the mid-wicket region keeper Guest and Ghazanfar comically collided going for the same catch, one run to Clarke. Ghazanfar briefly departed but no damage was done to either player. Clarke lofted Hudson-Prentice for a four through long on and Clarke then smashed him for a straight six, 14 off the 6th over. Notts 55 for 3 at the end of the powerplay.
Montgomery got a straight four off Brown, nine off the 7th over. Patel went for a five and a leg bye off his opening over. Montgomery hit Brown for four through extra cover bringing up the 50 partnership off 29 balls. Clarke lofted Brown for 4 through extra cover. Clarke on 46 was dropped by Madsen at extra cover off Brown the ball going to the boundary for four. Notts 84 for 3 off 9 overs – just three behind the DLS par score. The rest of the innings turned out to be a complete disaster six wickets being lost for 66 runs in 11 overs with the two Derbyshire spinners to the fore. Notts having earlier decided their own slow left-armer was only worthy of two overs.
Montgomery charged Patel and was bowled middle stump for 27 (87 for 4), 4 plus a leg bye off the 10th over. Notts’ best white ball player of spin now departed. Patel brilliant with the ball using all his guile and experience.
Clarke hit Ghazanfar for four through extra cover, nine off the 11th over. Moores, chewing up dot balls once more, took three balls to get a single off Patel. He had heaped pressure on his batting partner and it was no surprise when next ball Clarke (59 off 36 balls; 7x4, 2x6) was caught on the point ropes by Brown off Patel (99 for 5), 2 off the 12th over. The game well and truly over.
Moores finally connected hitting Andersson for four through point, nine off the 13th over. Patel was far too good for Moores (12) and he comprehensively bowled him (111 for 6). Patel wheeling away in celebration pointing to his pocket. Great celebration Samit - Moores who had faced 15 balls had been well and truly been in that pocket! Three off the over. Ghazanfar (4 0 26 2) conceded a single off his last over, Patterson-White taking six balls to get the single. Sams (9) hit Hudson-Prentice for six over point but perished trying to repeat the same shot caught by Brown on the point rope (120 for 7); 11 off 16th over.
Harrison hit Brown for a lofted four through long off, nine off the 17th over. Hudson-Prentice conceded six singles in the 18th over. Harrison lofted Aitchison for four through fine leg hit him for a four through long off; 11 off the 19th over. A further two wickets fell in the last over. Patterson-White (13 off 20 balls) was caught and bowled by Brown hitting the ball into the night sky, 151 for 8. Off the final delivery Lord was comically and symbolically given the team’s performance bowled for 1 attempting a scoop shot. Notts a sorry 153 for 9 with Harrison 22 not out. The two Derbyshire spinners who had joint figures of 8-0-49-5 had deservedly won them the game. Derbyshire after five defeats had gained their first win.
With four away games on the trot to come things will not get any easier for Notts. Unless Henriques regains fitness or Sams somehow discovers some form a second Northern Section wooden spoon for Notts looks a distinct possibility. The coach having failed to remedy last seasons failings. With an unlikely six wins required in the last eight games to realistically qualify for the knock outs, the likes of Martindale, Seecharan and Schadendorf now deserve their chance. They cannot possibly do any worse! MAG
13/06
Dave Griffin in his daily address has observed that the boundaries at Trent Bridge are in short again today, so another slogfest tonight.
I watched last night Somerset chase down, with non-too little help of a former Derbyshire pair of hands with a hattrick of dropped dollies, 230 runs on their postage stamp ground. Middlesex served-up a series of errors and not just du Plooy's fumbles before the wheels inevitabily came right off, the hosts eventually making light work of their target. The comedy of errors, seemed so familiar.
I'd prefer games, a contest where the bowlers have some chance, but if that's what Joe Public wants...
... after all England amassed 250 odd this week which was plenty but when the West Indies were scoring sixes at will in reply against the cream of English T20 exponents, allegedly, you wonder where the limit will come.
Falcon Squad of fifteen.
Mentioning no names:
As these fixtures against Derbyshire are the ones that attract the attention of the less regular viewers, here's a little context to the on going bickering surrounding Notts Outlaws and their non-challenge for glory.
Since the pandemic, half a decade ago now, Notts have lost a number of experienced T20 players, mainly owing to age (who could have predicted that, cricketers having birthdays). This was proposed as an excuse for non-qualification for Finals Day, then for even reaching the quarter finals stage, something Notts supporters almost took for granted, but most certainly saw qualification as a mark of either a good campaign or of a failure.
Notts with a (perhaps unfair) reputation for poaching players from other counties, failed to plug those gaps in their squad from external sources, instead relying on their internationally reknown and respected head coach to mold a successful side.
The head coach has managed to achieve that (success) in the County Championship so far in 2025 with the help of some inspired overseas signings by the director of cricket.
Meanwhile back with the Blast:
The failures continued with 2024 hopefully being the low point, where the campaign was kicked off with five straight defeats something the head coach managed to match during his winter job in the Big Bash at back end of that year, another five defeats at that competition's start on the bounce. One glimmer of optimism for Notts fans, the coach's team eventally scraped into a play-off place in the end, earlier this January.
I note Derbyshire Falcons have 5 defeats from five outings this season. Is six the turning point?
So to this year for the Outlaws, those gaps still haven't all been filled, but the head coach has focussed all attentions on a core of fifteen players. The point of dismay, the supporters' bewilderment, the team repeated shooting themselves in the foot and bone of contension is what is the best eleven from those fifteen?
We have two overseas players in the Blast, signed for their global reputations. One apears to be carrying an injury (pre-existing?) but both have only shown flashes of what they are capable of.
Game one saw a new, counter-intuitive opening pair and that experiment paid off and Outlaws chased down a huge target against a weakened Bears side. Since game one, that opening pair haven't repeated those exploits but the coach has stuck with it. By most measures it can now be said that the experiment has failed.
In every game so far, the bowlers have stuck to a game plan and have been on the wrong end of a hiding each time, except in the game at Derby. Commentators assure us that the plan is the head coach's but with only a 1 in 5 success rate, we're not going to achieve many wins with the plan, especially if we're getting off to poor starts batting in 4 out of every 5 games. We need a new plan and new eleven or at least a new ordering of the eleven.
I've not mentioned the (white) elephant in the room, but if the captain was fit enough to keep wicket too, as he has done in franchises around the world, no one would be pointing fingers at the head coach's son, who in spite of probably being the most experienced T20 player of the domestic players in our fifteen man squad, performance-wise with the bat doesn't warrant selection anymore. Statistically, if the current keeper had scored at the pedestrian scoring rate of just 103 against Yorkshire the other night, owing to the number of balls he actually chewed-up in that innings (at a rate of 86), we would have won. It's not the lad's fault and the argument will last as long as both he and his father are employed by NCCC.
An East Midlands clash of the Titans tiddlers, eighth verses nineth on Friday night.
Pravda confirms that it's the same squad of fifteen off Silver Fox's tablet of stone.
82 NOT OUT
ReplyDeleteSurely Liam PW or Freddie M will open with Clarke? Lyndon J is simply not an opener -fine player though he is . His confidence could easily be affected by a run of low Blast scores and thus a loss of form . McKerr is just currently not up to the standard expected and must be dropped.
Hose , who scored over 90 against us a few days ago said our attack was very easy to score off , with the same type of ball being served up time after time .
There's no surely about it, Richard.
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ReplyDeleteAnonymous wrote "Awful performance last night . Oh the definition of insanity , doing the same things and hoping everything will change . Lyndon James is not a t20 player . Conor McKerr looks dreadful. Pick Sam King . He must be itching for a chance" - shame they didn't leave a name.
DeleteWell il writing this from the ground where the last 16 balls need to all go for 4 for us to win.
ReplyDeleteI’m struck by a number of things.
Why LPW only got 2 overs I’ve no idea. Derbyshire started well, then struggled , but the last partnership has pretty much won them the game.
At least Lyndon got a bowl. And he did ok. For one over. Longer than he lasted with the bat which is a real pity and I’d agree with another post on here which suggested this is now confidence damaging.
Tom kept ok but he’s never a number 6 batsman. Tonight - up against it admittedly- he tried to smash every ball. He never works a single or tried to find a gap. His dismissal was inevitable.
Some pride being restored with the bat by LPW and Harrison but over as a contest and with it our hopes of progressing I would think.
Solutions? If Lyndon plays he has to bowl and bat lower down. I’d open with Ben M. Iwe need to see if Clarke can captain and keep wicket (and open). That creates space for a Sammy King
For a red hot Friday night and a local rival match, the crowd from where I sat looked 2k lower than I would have guessed - so the “product” needs a revamp as far as Notts are concerned.
Hello again. From a Derbyshire stand point really enjoyed that. And in this instance very well deserved. A rare win against the big boys. We looked up for it which after our start surprised me. Notts are certainly not a bad side but lack something not sure what. I won't dare past comment on Tom! But Guest is far better.
ReplyDeleteIm sure Notts will turn it around.
Firstly Congratulations Derbyshire on a fine win for them.
ReplyDeleteOn Notts I can't understand why we didn't bat first, we know we are conceding huge scores by bowling first so we should have batted instead. Sadly we're paying the price for not freshening the T20 team a couple of years ago and some players are having to learn the hard way that T20 cricket can be brutal. I'd say we're unlikely to qualify out the group now but hopefully we'll win the odd game before this campaign ends.
Worryingly people are staring to vote with their feet as they didn't look anywhere near 10,000 there tonight.
I read a report saying justices 9k for the Yorkshire match (I’d have said more) but on that basis about 7-7.5k crowd?
ReplyDeleteNot what it once was….
The wheels really fell off the Notts T20 bus tonight. Harrison and Patterson-White bowled six overs and took 4-48, but LPW only bowled 2 overs. Why? The quicker you bowl at Trent Bridge, the faster the ball reaches the boundary. How many times over the years have Samit and Mullaney squeezed an opposing team to death with tight spin and slow bowling? Samit did it again tonight. Notts seem persistent on bowling quick, for some reason?
ReplyDeleteChasing 200 is always hard, but the coaches seem to think that that is fine. Maybe, but one or two dismissals and you are up against it.
The batting was a carbon copy of what we have all been writing on here. Lyndon James is a great cricketer, but not an opener. McCann should be opening. Moores chewed up his normal 15 balls for 12 tonight, and we stagger to 153.
Crowds are falling because what Notts are offering is predictable and of poor quality - other words could be used.
Such a shame as this team have a lot of potential, but whilst Peter Moores continues to be stubborn, then nothing will change. Whilst he picks is son, Notts are not going to get better. Or perhaps, it changes in match 14, like last season, which worked, but we then forget about why it worked and go back to plan A. So frustrating, and why 2500 supporters decided to sit in their garden and have a BBQ tonight. James
People wonder why casual supporters are turning their backs on the £24 night out Trent Bridge experience: These are the results of the Outlaws since the beginning of the 2024 competition. L L L NR W NR L W L L L . Watching professional sport you don't necessarily expect to win every game, but you would like a contest where both sides have a chance of edging a win. Of that sequence of results, most have been crushing one-sided defeats with only one match a close game. It's not entertain, no matter how loud the announcer shouts at you THIS IS FUN! Last night was grim.
ReplyDeleteDreadful watch last night. Bowling, batting and fielding all not up to scratch as a collective.
ReplyDeleteI don’t understand why we play seven bowlers. Yes, you need a spare in case someone gets tonked but not two. I’d go with just three seamers (Pennington, Sams and James) with the regular three spinners. We don’t need McKerr/Lord as well and it would allow us to play another batter.
Also agree with others that a change at the top of the order is required with James moving down the order. Why not play a pinch hitter with Clarke. I’m sure any of McCann, Sams or even LPW could do a job and hopefully put the opposition on the back foot from the start.
We’re just too predictable at the moment and so easy to play against. It’s not quite all over yet but there needs to be a change of approach if we’re to turn this round and go on a run.
Jon
82 NOT OUT
ReplyDeleteThe fortunes of the red ball side this season are partly to having a quality wicketkeeper who can also be depended on to score runs .
Can we not do the same for the white ball team .
Sorry Tom - your time is up with Notts .Time for you to do 12 th man duties.
Was a regular last year for the the 20/20 games and most County games. This year two days of County cricket.
ReplyDeleteJust not motivated to go to the one dryers as Notts dont seem to care given the awful line ups they are putting out. Clarke aside none of the top six should be in a team with aspirations to be successful, and even he should come in at number four. And the line up of bowlers really doesn't seem to make sense. Where are the Mullaney style bowlers who take pace off the ball? The bosses at Notts are not stupid and they have clearly prioritised the County games, so if they dont want to put a proper side together why should I bother.
82 NOT OUT
ReplyDeleteNotts beat the Bears on the last ball !
Well done Tom Moores
You came good at long last !
Dad Peter no doubt very relieved.
We need more victories Notts .
Can we get to the quarter finals ?