Nottinghamshire batsman Scott Elstone is assured of a hero’s welcome in Sunday’s Friends Life t20 quarter-final after playing a leading role in England’s victory over India in the second npower Test at Trent Bridge.
Elstone fielded as twelfth man throughout the climactic fourth day of the Test and caught Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh in addition to dropping a chance presented by Praveen Kumar and admits that the atmosphere generated by the capacity crowd left a lasting impression.
“The reaction of the crowd was incredible after the second catch and it seemed almost as loud as when they reacted to Broady’s hat-trick,” said Elstone, who steered clear of England’s post-match celebrations, preferring to return home.
“Usually my head is very clear when I’m preparing to take a catch but whilst the ball was in the air I was very aware of the crowd and a lot was going through my mind.”
Elstone had scored 31 runs in Notts Outlaws’ victory over Glamorgan in Sunday’s Clydesdale Bank 40 match but admits that his fielding standards had fallen short of his own expectations.
“I dropped a relatively simple catch at extra cover for Notts on Sunday and had a couple of misfields,” he said.
“I felt that I’d let myself down a bit and I apologised to the lads after the game.
“When I dropped Kumar the England players were very quick to encourage me but at that stage it was quite clear that we were going to win the Test.
“Having been through this experience, I feel better equipped to deal with crowd pressure and hopefully I can elevate myself to the standards that the England players set in the future.
“It has all been very surreal and my phone hasn’t stopped ringing. My Facebook and Twitter accounts have gone mad and everyone has been very positive.”
Elstone, 21, is yet to make his first class debut for Nottinghamshire but has been a regular in Friends Life t20 and Clydesdale Bank 40 matches this season.
Friends Life t20 quarter-final ticket information
Tickets are now on sale from our online ticket store, ticket hotline (0844 8118711) and the Trent Bridge ticket office.
In Advance (until 1pm on Saturday 6th August)
£15 Adults (£12 for Nottinghamshire members)
£8 Juniors & Senior Citizens (£7 for Nottinghamshire members)
£38 Family (2 adults + 2 juniors)
On the day
£20 Adults
£20 Senior Citizens
£10 Juniors
£50 Family (2 adults + 2 juniors)