Royal London Cup Notts v Yorkshire at Trent Bridge April 28th

Royal London Cup Notts v Yorkshire at Trent Bridge April 28th

Neil Whitaker reports

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE Outlaws march to the semi finals of the Royal London one-day  cup continues with their fifth win in the competition as they beat the Yorkshire Vikings by four wickets with 15.3 overs to spare.

Vikings coach Andrew Gale said: “The match sums up our performance’s in this tournament.  I thought we had a grip on the game at first but you can’t afford to lose wickets regularly  when you are playing good sides.  You can’t afford to give them a sniff of victory. We needed one or two guys to get a big score.

We needed something special in the field to win and I am pleased the lads put up a fight and made it hard for them but we were fighting a losing cause but we needed something to bowl at.  Now we have got to win our last three games.  I think we should have won our games against Lancashire and Derbyshire which would have given another four points so it’s disappointing.  We just feel that by not winning those two matches that we have put more pressure on ourselves.  All we can do is go into the next game with clear mind if we do that we will win all three games.”

The Outlaws  dominated the match from the 17th over of the Vikings innings and apart from a blip in the 14th over of their chase the result was never in doubt.  The result means that the Vikings will have to depend on other counties if they are to make the playoff eliminator.

After winning the toss and deciding to bat the Vikings lost their first wicket in the second over when Tom Kohler-Cadmore went down the wicket to off spinner Matt Carter  and speared him to Ben Duckett on the deep mid wicket boundary.

Gale added: “We decided to bat after winning the toss because the Outlaws have posted 400 plus twice when they have batted first so we wanted to them under pressure.  I still think it was the right decision but we needed to score over 300.”

Adam Lyth and Harry Brook added 108 for the second wicket and then the  Vikings lost six wickets for 59 in 15 overs.  When Lyth  cut the first ball of the match  from Luke Fletcher to the cover boundary you would have put money on it being another big score at Trent Bridge.   He easily pulled James Pattinson over square leg for the first six of the match, two balls later he repeated the shot but this time it was more squarer and found Duckett on the boundary who he dropped the waiste height chance.  He swept Outlaws skipper Steven Mullaney over square leg for his second six which brought up his fifty.

Brook was happy to let Lyth dominate the partners but he too had his moments especially when drove Pattinson to the extra cover boundary to bring up the Vikings 50 in the ninth over.  Carter got his second wicket when Brook rocked back to pull him and was bowled to set the rot in for the Vikings innings. Without adding to the score Lyth tried to cut Samit Patel but the  ball was too close to him and top edged it to stumper Tom  Moores standing up 

Jack Leaning got a leading edge to a short ball from Pattinson and the ball looped to Carter at mid on.

Gary Ballance and Jonny Tattersall were the Vikings last hope for a big score  and they kept the scoreboard ticking over but the partnership was broken when Ballance pulled Jake Ball to that man Carter, this time on the square leg boundary who outstandingly well to take the catch moving to his left and not step over the line.

Tattersall had a life on 15 when he edged Fletcher but Moores couldn’t  take the catch but in the next over the Outlaws got rid off him.  He had to reach to pull Ball, when a cut would have been better, and found Duckett at deep mid wicket.

With only five bowlers to bat the remaining 22 overs the Vikings did well to top 200.  Matthew Waite made 32 out of the 49 runs made while he was at the crease and was the ninth out when he backed away and got bowled by Pattinson.  With Vikings skipper Steven Patterson they added 28 valuable runs before Patterson backed away from Fletcher as he did so often during his innings and was bowled

Mat Pillans top edged a drive off Ball and Joe Clarke took a running catch with the ball over his shoulder in the covers.  The Vikings had more than seven overs to bat when the Outlaws wrapped it up when Moores took a low catch of Fletcher to dismiss Josh Poysden.

Chris Nash got the Outlaws chase off to a great start by driving the first ball from Waite straight past he bowler to the boundary.  On 12 he tried pulling Duanne  Olivier  but ended up heading it to fine leg for a leg bye.  The blow didn’t effect him to much as he lazily flicked Patterson off his legs for six over mid wicket.  He hit a much bigger six off Olivier into the Hound road stand.  Just when it looked so easy for the Outlaws Nash clipped Patterson off his legs to Pillans at mid on who stuck out his right hand and it stuck.

Duckett flicked Patterson off his legs for an even bigger six into the Hound road stand.  After hitting consecutive boundaries off Olivier.  Duckett got a leading edge toPillans and the ball spooned to Ballance in the covers.  Jake Libby gloved the next ball to Tattersall down the legside.  Pillans trapped Clarke leg before with an inswinging yorker.

Mullaney and Patel  added 63 for the fifth wicket in 13 overs.  Mullaney top scored with an unbeaten 54 but on four he edged a drive off Pillans just wide off Kohler-Cadmore slip it would have been a dolly catch for second slip.  On 19 he went down the wicket to Poysden  and drove him to Kohler-Cadmore at but he could only parry it.

After hitting Leaning for a straight six he hit the next two balls for consecutive fours.  The first, a late cut brought up the fifty partnership with Patel.  After adding 63 for the fifth wicket and with 30 runs needed for victory Patel top edged a cut off Waite to Tattersall.

Mullaney reached his fifty off 55 balls with a huge six over extra cover off Pillans and it left the Outlaws needing three to win.  Moores tried to finish it with one big hit but found Olivier at deep backward square leg.

Over 14,000 tickets, a record for white ball domestic cricket at Trent Bridge, were sold before the match but some ticket holders because of the weather on Friday and Saturday didn’t turn up.

SCORECARD