Another ruthless display by the Notts Outlaws attack helped secure a second victory in this season’s Friends Life t20.
After dismissing Leicestershire Foxes for just 96 in their first game, they restricted the Durham Dynamos to just 114-5 at the Emirates Durham ICG.
Responding to a below par score, the Outlaws were sped to their target by an opening stand of 62 between Michael Lumb and Alex Hales, before crossing the line for the loss of only three wickets, with 22 balls to spare.
Mick Newell, the Outlaws’ director of cricket, was delighted with how the game plan had panned out.
“It was a terrific start for us to get those wickets inside the first six overs,” he said.
“We’ve won two important tosses because if you are playing in lower scoring matches in twenty20 it’s definitely better to bat second.” Mick Newell
“They rebuilt the innings through Myburgh and Muchall but they weren’t going at a rate that was ever going to get them to a really high score and we were very pleased to keep them to just 114.”
Newell praised his new ball bowlers, Gurney, Pattinson and Carter: “We’ve got three bowlers with genuine pace there and they’ve also got good skills in terms of bowling slower balls, yorkers and things like that, so at the moment it’s suiting us well.
“We’ve won two important tosses because if you are playing in lower scoring matches in twenty20 it’s definitely better to bat second.”
With five points from the opening three matches Newell admits it’s been a little easier so far, than he might have anticipated.
“We’ve not yet had a proper game in terms of a real high score and a real high chase so it s been a little bit surprising how the two games have gone but I’ll happily take seven more of these.”
The Outlaws were able to name the same team that played against Leicestershire Foxes last Tuesday after Samit Patel had been permitted to play by the ECB and had flown up to the north east on the morning of the game after leaving the England team hotel.
Inserted by Adam Voges, Durham’s power-house openers, Herschelle Gibbs and Phil Mustard, walked to the wicket under grey skies.
Mustard pulled the opening ball of the contest for four but the opening stand was only worth nine when the Outlaws struck at the start of the third over.
38-year old Gibbs (2) flailed at Andy Carter’s first ball of the match and mistimed a drive straight to Voges at widish mid off.
Brilliant early boundary saves by Patel, and then Carter, turned would-be fours into singles and the build up of pressure brought another wicket.
Mustard (9) tried to lift Harry Gurney ‘up and over’ but guided it straight into the hands of Patel at point.
Newell has asked his new ball bowlers to be aggressive this season and take early wickets in the t20. Three victims inside the first six overs would easily meet that criteria and was achieved when Carter struck again, as Ben Stokes (9) pulled to Gurney at short fine.
Steven Mullaney, fresh from his career-best 4-19 against the Foxes, emulated Carter with a first-ball wicket, as Dale Benkenstein (5) drilled to the ever-reliable Voges, to leave the home side on 30-4 in the eighth.
Johann Myburgh and Gordon Muchall eased the total to 47-4 at the halfway stage and the team half century came up in the next over.
The re-building requirements of the middle order produced a workmanlike stand of 60, brought up with the first maximum of the day.
Myburgh (45) flicked Gurney off his legs and into the stands but he paid the price immediately as he then slapped the ball into the hands of Mullaney out in the deep.
A brilliant diving stop by Wessels saved three runs in the penultimate over, which ended with the total nudging into three figures and a flurry of hard-run twos in the final over lifted the tally to 114-5 by the interval with Muchall (23 not out) and Scott Borthwick (17 not out).
Each of the five bowlers that had been used returned similar figures from their four overs, Carter 2-22, Gurney 2-28, Mullaney 1-23, Patel and Pattinson both 0-20.
Chasing 115, the Outlaws were helped on their way by two early Michael Lumb boundaries off Chris Rushworth before Alex Hales pulled Graeme Onions for back-to-back fours as 31-0 came up by the end of the fourth over.
Mitch Claydon entered the attack from the Lumley End and was unceremoniously clipped through midwicket for three by Lumb and crashed through the covers for four by Hales.
One week ahead of his ‘hoped-for’ return to England’s t20 ranks when the national side face West Indies at Trent Bridge, Hales looked in exquisite touch as he then caressed Rushworth through extra cover for four more.
The fifty stand came up at the start of the seventh over with the contest already slipping away from the home side and with several Dynamos supporters weighing up the options of heading for the large fun-fair situated just outside the ground.
Scott Borthwick’s introduction into the attack created a breakthrough for Durham in the ninth over, as Hales (30) found himself beaten by the turn and stumped by Mustard.
The ‘keeper claimed his second victim just an over later, as Riki Wessels (4) fell to Graeme Onions, top-edging an attempted pull.
At 67-2 after ten overs Notts were twenty runs ahead of where their opponents had been at the same stage of the contest.
Lumb (46) heaved Borthwick over the ropes and out towards the castle for the first six of the innings but with only 20 needed he lost his wicket, slicing Claydon high to Liam Plunkett on the off-side.
As the finishing line came into sight Voges (21 not out) and Patel (9 not out) helped themselves to a spot of batting practice, with an unbeaten stand of 23.
The Outlaws are next in t20 action on Friday evening when they travel to Manchester to face Lancashire Lightning at Old Trafford.
Support Notts Outlaws in Friends Life t20 action at Trent Bridge:
v Durham Dynamos - Friday 29 June 6.00pm
v Lancashire Lightning - Tuesday 3 July 6.10pm
v Yorkshire Carnegie - Thursday 5 July 7.00pm
v Leicestershire Foxes - Sunday 8 July 2.40pm
Click here to visit the Notts Outlaws Friends Life t20 microsite and view the Put Some Colour In Your Cricket Campaign video.
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