Notts Outlaws face their final group match in the qualifying stages of this season’s Royal London One-Day Cup, when they meet Warwickshire Bears at Trent Bridge on Wednesday 20th August (2pm start).
The match is vitally important as both county sides can ensure a place in the knock-out rounds with a victory. One point for a tied contest or a no result would also suffice for each county.
The Outlaws go into the match on the back of a record-breaking performance against Middlesex last week. Alex Hales and Michael Lumb’s opening stand of 217 was a county first wicket record, as Notts posted 368-2, their highest-ever team total in one-day cricket. It was also the highest score any side had ever made in the limited-overs format at Lord’s.
Head To Head
Nottinghamshire and Warwickshire have met on 56 previous occasions in one-day competition, with the fixtures taking place in a variety of competitions scheduled from anything between 40 and 60 overs per side.
The head-to-head balance is tipped slightly in Notts favour, with 28 victories to the Bears’ 23. Five matches have remained incomplete, either washed-out totally or abandoned after starting.
At Trent Bridge there have been 26 meetings, dating back to their first John Player League clash in 1970.
Notts have been successful on 14 occasions, including the two most recent meetings, in 2010 and 2013.
Warwickshire’s last success, in 2008, was their 10th win in Nottingham and the matches in 1983 and 2007 were washed out.
Last Time
The Outlaws and the Bears were paired together in the same qualifying group of last season’s Yorkshire Bank 40 competition. Notts won on a wet, gloomy evening at Edgbaston and were topping the group when the return was played at Trent Bridge on 16th June 2013.
Warwickshire made 238-7 after winning the toss, with Darren Maddy and Tim Ambrose each passing fifty. Harry Gurney, with 3-41, was the pick of the Notts’ attack.
Alex Hales and Michael Lumb had both been dismissed when Samit Patel walked to the crease at 34-2. Sharing in a third wicket stand of 125 with James Taylor (46) Patel took the game away from the visitors with a glorious knock which eventually reached 129 not out (123 balls 12x4 4x6), the highest score-ever by a Notts batsman against Warwickshire in limited overs cricket.
Ed Cowan was run out for 10 but Chris Read helped Patel to the winning line, as Notts clinched a 6-wicket success, with 5 balls to spare.
History
In a 1982 Benson and Hedges Cup match at Trent Bridge Basharat Hassan was unbeaten on 99 not out at the end of the Nottinghamshire innings, against Warwickshire.
It was one of only two instances of a Notts batsman making that score in List A cricket, Paul Johnson v Durham in 1996 being the other.
Played For Them Both
Vasbert Drakes spent the 1999 season on the Trent Bridge staff and produced, arguably, the most stunning bowling performance in domestic one-day cricket.
Playing against Derbyshire at Trent Bridge, the Barbadian star was entrusted with bowling the final over of the match with only 10 runs needed.
To everyone’s sheer astonishment, Drakes produced a once-in-a-lifetime finish. He yorked Phil DeFreitas with his first ball, removed Adrian Rollins’ middle stump with the next and had James Pyemont given out lbw for his hat-trick.
For good measure a full-length delivery then took out the leg stump of Simon Lacey. Four wickets in four balls – the only time it has happened for a Notts bowler in the shortened format of the game.
A dot ball and a single ended the over, enabling Notts to defeat their closest rivals in the most dramatic fashion imaginable.
Drakes played 16 one-day matches for Notts and 18 for Warwickshire, who he joined in 2001.
Others to have appeared for both counties include; Deryck Murray, Dilip Doshi, Eddie Hemmings, Daniel Vettori, Anurag Singh and Mark Wagh.
Stats
Highest Team Total
Notts: 265 (Edgbaston 1979) – 251-5 in 1985 is the highest on home soil
Warwicks: 294-6 (Edgbaston 1994) – 276-9 in 1993 in their highest at TB
Highest Individual Score
Notts: 129* SR Patel (TB 2013)
Warwicks: 123* JA Jameson (TB 1973)
Best Bowling
Notts: 5-24 K Saxelby (TB 1989)
Warwicks: 5-21 MAV Bell (TB 1993)
Did You Know?
Nigel Murray, son of the former Nottinghamshire, Warwickshire and West Indies wicketkeeper Deryck Murray, is the Trent Bridge Ticket Office Manager.
Milestones
Alex Hales’ century against Middlesex last week was his 6th for Nottinghamshire in one-day cricket, equalling the number that Derek Randall scored for the county. Only Paul Johnson (13), Chris Broad and Tim Robinson (both 9) and Clive Rice (7) have scored more.
Riki Wessels needs only 12 more runs to reach a milestone of 3,000 in one-day cricket.
Tickets
Tickets are available at a cost of £14 for Adults, £10 for Senior Citizens & Under 21s and £7 for Juniors, and all tickets from Notts Outlaws v Surrey will be honoured for this game.
Coverage
The match will be screened by Sky Sports 2.
BBC Radio Nottingham will be providing ball-by-ball on-line commentary, via the BBC Sport website.