Mick Newell has urged Notts Outlaws to push on and secure qualification for the knock-out stages of the Friends Provident Trophy as quickly as possible.

Notts sit top of Group A after beating Worcestershire Royals at Trent Bridge by four wickets and with four games remaining, it looks like it will be a three-horse race between Notts, Worcestershire and Hampshire Hawks for the two quarter-final places.

A win tomorrow over Hampshire at the Rose Bowl would put Notts in a strong position and Director of Cricket Newell wants to see his players produce more of the bowling and fielding that restricted Worcestershire to just 209 from their innings on Sunday.

He said: “It was a good win over Worcester and we played well in large parts, so we need to replicate that at the Rose Bowl.

“All the bowlers chipped in and we looked good in the field. It looks like it’s between three teams for qualification and a win at Hampshire would set us up very nicely for the trip to Ireland at the weekend.”

Newell also warned against complacency and has asked all-rounder Samit Patel to produce a true match-winning knock after getting out with a poor shot to spark a middle order collapse against Worcestershire.

“We will need to cut out the poorer patches and avoid any blip with the batting,” added Newell.

“Mark Wagh and Samit had put us firmly on course for victory but when Mark was run out, Samit should have knuckled down to see us through.

“Those are the kind of situations where he should be hitting the winning runs and finishing 90 not out, particularly as he has international aspirations.”

Newell has named a 12-man squad for the match, with Ryan Sidebottom added to the XI who played at the weekend.

Squad to face Hampshire:
Mark Wagh, Ali Brown, Alex Hales, Samit Patel, Adam Voges, Will Jefferson, Chris Read (capt/wkt), Paul Franks, Mark Ealham, Andre Adams, Luke Fletcher, Ryan Sidebottom.