Notts Outlaws failed to advance to the Friends Life t20 Finals Day after losing their quarter final by 47 runs to Essex Eagles at Trent Bridge.
In front of a crowd of 12,106, a record Notts’ home t20 attendance, the Outlaws slipped to their third consecutive defeat at this stage of the competition in the last three years.
Essex made 187 for six, after being put in, with Ryan ten Doeschate scoring 82 and Ian Butler taking three for 23 and Jake Ball 2-38.
In reply, Notts’ openers were quickly out of the blocks and put 42 on in the first three overs but then 35-year old David Masters accounted for Alex Hales, Michael Lumb and James Taylor inside eight deliveries.
David Hussey led the fightback with 61 before becoming the first wicket to fall in a Shaun Tait hat-trick as Notts folded for 140 in 17.2 overs.
At the toss Notts had announced a side that included Riki Wesssels in place of Steven Mullaney.
The Essex openers added 26 for the first wicket before Jake Ball struck in the fourth over. Hamish Rutherford (10) fended at a delivery bowled from around the wicket and the edge comfortably found the gloves of Chris Read.
New bat Mark Pettini began with boundaries off his first two deliveries, although both appeared to be fine snicks down the third man fence.
Pettini (13) hit another four, this time off Harry Gurney – but then was trapped in front lbw by Butler.
New bat Ravi Bopara immediately assisted in another Notts wicket – pushing Butler to mid on, he appeared to call Greg Smith (21) for a run but then changed his mind. The opener was in no-man’s land as Lumb accurately under-armed the ball into the stumps from eight yards.
The six-over power-play had brought a score of 52-3.
Butler thought he’d got ten Doeschate with another lbw shout but umpire Nigel Llong turned down the appeals – replays showed the ball to be clipping.
ten Doeschate began the 11th over by lifting Graeme White over the long on ropes for the first maximum of the evening and he swept the next ball for four as the run-rate moved up to 8 per over.
Bopara brought up the team 100 and the fifty partnership in the next over, pulling Samit Patel away for another six.
The return of Ball ended the stand on 72 as Bopara (38) picked out Butler in the deep. Consecutive ten Doeschate maximums off the same bowler took him past fifty (30 balls, 3x4, 3x6).
James Foster (8) fell in the 17th over, caught by White, in the deep off Butler, whose over only cost two runs – critical at that stage.
ten Doeschate hit two more maximums before falling, with three overs of the innings remaining, picking out Ball at long on to give Butler his third wicket.
Notts reply saw a flailing Lumb, playing his 150th t20 match, dropped at slip by Pettini off Napier’s first ball of the innings. The unfortunate bowler then saw Hales deposit his second delivery into the crowd at midwicket.
Napier’s second over went for 23 – 19 of them to Hales (31), who then fell at the start of the fourth, skying Masters to Smith at deep midwicket.
The same bowler then accounted for Lumb (19), caught behind by Foster, standing up to the stumps.
Taylor (0) survived an appeal for caught behind off Topley, but didn’t have as much luck when he found Smith on the ropes.
Patel (2) miscued a return catch back to bowler Tait to leave Notts on 64-4 in the eighth. Skipper Hussey shrugged off the setback to slam his countryman away into the Larwood & Voce Stand.
The tenth over saw a slight delay as the umpires instructed a ball change. Only steady progress was made, resulting in 70 being required from the last five overs.
Hussey was dropped by Phillips in the deep, on 47, then moved to his fifty (33 2x4 2x6). the fielder made amends in the same ten Doeschate over but it was due to the athletic reflexes of Bopara who flicked the ball back to him, to dismiss Wessels (22).
Read was run out by Tait without scoring, leaving 51 required from 4 overs.
Hussey’s brilliant knock ended on 61 with ten Doeschate catching him in front of the William Clarke Stand off Tait.
The Australian fast bowler had made his Test debut at Trent Bridge in 2005 and found another reason to cherish the ground as he then had Butler (1) caught and White (0) yorked to claim a hat-trick and end with figures of 4-29.
Gurney (0) was bowled by Napier to herald the start of the celebrations for the travelling supporters.
Essex will now face Northants Steelbacks in the semi final at Edgbaston a week on Saturday.
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