TAYLOR TON DOWNS HAMPSHIRE

An outstanding innings of 115 not out (77 balls 7x4 7x6) by James Taylor powered Notts Outlaws to their first CB40 win of the season.

Taylor’s career-best one-day knock helped his side to a total of 277-4 against the Hampshire Royals at The Ageas Bowl in Southampton, with the home side falling 12 runs short, being restricted to 265 all out in reply.

In 27 previous List-A matches, no other Nottinghamshire batsman had ever scored a century in Hampshire but Taylor pressed the accelerator to stunning effect to smash that record, with his last 90 runs coming from just 32 deliveries.

Samit Patel also enjoyed a fine match, scoring 66 before taking the first three Royals wickets to fall, to collect figures of 3-47.

After Chris Read had won the toss, and chosen to bat, Notts suffered a huge blow by losing a wicket to the fifth ball of the contest. Michael Lumb (0), who spent five seasons at Southampton before moving to Trent Bridge, failed to impress against his former employers by falling lbw to the swing of Kabir Ali.

Fresh from his startling exploits against Sussex, Riki Wessels drove his first delivery confidently to the boundary and sped to 18 before chipping Dimitri Mascarenhas to Simon Katich at midwicket.

The initial 8-over power-play ended with a score of 41-2 on the board, with Alex Hales’ stunning straight drive off Ali, the most eye-catching of the six boundaries gained.

Samit Patel pulled Chris Wood away to bring up the fifty at the start of the eleventh over and then gave himself room to punch Mascarenhas for a couple of off-side fours.

The pair rotated the strike nicely and brought up their 50 partnership from just 58 deliveries as Notts advanced to 83-2 at the end of the 16^th.

Six more runs were added before the home side struck again with Liam Dawson collecting a wicket in his first over as Hales (33) was bowled attempting a slog sweep.

James Taylor, averaging 49.5 in List-A cricket, joined Patel and helped him maintain the tempo against accurate spin bowling from each end.

Patel’s 15^th domestic one-day fifty came from just 63 deliveries faced and came on the back of his unbeaten half-century at Hove on Monday.

He twice lifted Danny Briggs for one-bounce fours over extra cover but then fell for 66, bottom-edging Dawson onto his stumps, to leave Notts on 135-4 in the 27^th over.

Adam Voges, who had a brief stint with Hants back in 2007, joined Taylor, with Notts in need of some late innings impetus.

A face familiar to many of the Notts side, their former batsman Bilal Shafayat, briefly came out to act as a substitute fielder for the home side.

The 150 was brought up in the 31^st over and the first maximum soon followed as Taylor launched Sean Ervine over the leg-side fence.

Both batsmen got hold of Briggs at the start of the batting power-play. Voges gave himself room to lift it over the off-side and then Taylor hit the same bowler for 6-4-6 as 23 came from the over.

Taylor’s 10^th fifty at this level came from 52 balls, an innings that began slowly, with his second 26 coming from just 7 balls.

Notts had gone from 150 to 200 in only 27 deliveries and Taylor continued the assault by playing a ‘ramp’ shot up and over the ‘keeper for four off Wood.

The England Lions captain continued to use his crease, to the bemusement of the Hants attack, as he plundered his way past Patel’s score and into the 70s.

With three overs remaining in the innings, and Notts already on the par score for the ground – 227 – light drizzle began to fall.

Another over saw the 100 partnership come up, from just 67 balls. Taylor’s third six was his biggest, clubbing Ervine clean over the seats and onto the concourse.

Back in 1989 Franklyn Stephenson and Duncan Martindale put on 111 at Trent Bridge, the previous best fifth wicket stand for the county against Hampshire.

That record was expunged from the record books as Taylor and Voges went on to post 142.

Usman Afzaal’s unbeaten 95 in 2000 was the highest score by a Notts one-day batsman in Hampshire but Taylor wasted little time in over-taking that effort, going from 90 to 100 in two hits off Ervine, with his century coming from his fifth maximum.

He hit two more, as the innings drew to an explosive conclusion, although Carberry, at long leg, put down the centurion from the penultimate ball.

122 dynamic runs had come from the closing eight overs of the Outlaws innings, with Voges ending on 32 from 30 deliveries.

When Hampshire responded Carberry and Adams got them away to a fast start, bringing up the fifty with the first ball of the eighth over.

Adams (51), the Hants skipper, raced to his 50 from 33 deliveries but then popped Patel up to Taylor on the off-side.

The same bowler struck again in each of his next two overs, as Vince (2) lofted into the hands of Voges at extra cover and then Katich (5) was given out lbw.

Carberry’s fifty came from 45 balls but he played an extremely risky shot and fell for 54, scooping Steven Mullaney to Darren Pattinson at short fine.

Pattinson, playing his first match of the season after a back injury, had leaked runs in his opening spell with the ball but his excellent catch was a pivotal moment of the evening.

With 104 still needed from 12 overs the fifth wicket fell, as Dawson (17) failed to beat Lumb’s throw from the deep and was run out without the need of it being referred to the third umpire.

Ervine became the third home player to pass his fifty (53 balls) but against an ever-rising run-rate he was then incapacitated by a painful blow to the knee from Andy Carter.

Notts had taken 61 runs from their 4 batting power-play overs but Hampshire’s hopes of something similar were dashed as Ervine (68), clipped Paul Franks to Carter at short fine. Wood (3) didn’t last long, mishitting a slow bouncer from Pattinson to Patel at mid on.

Michael Bates (4) was run out by a diving direct hit from Pattinson but Mascarenhas played some lusty blows to leave 22 needed from ten deliveries and then 15 from the final over.

The former England One Day International missed the first ball and could only get a single from the next.

Kabir Ali (2) was then clean-bowled by Pattinson. Briggs scored a single and Mascarenhas (48) holed out from the fifth ball of the over, with Wessels taking the catch at long off.