Less than 48 hours after the final group stage in the NatWest T20 Blast, Notts Outlaws will face Sussex in the first fixture of this summer’s 50-over Royal London One-Day Cup.

All-rounder Steven Mullaney was central in propelling the Outlaws to their 40-over trophy victory at Lord’s, an honour he is relishing ahead of their tournament curtain-raiser at Horsham on Sunday.

“It’s nice, having the tag of champions,” he said. 

“Of course, there’s added pressure, everyone will be really keen to beat us and knock us off that perch. 

“It’ll be interesting, not many of us have played fifty-over cirkcet before. There are some different rules, it’s a very  different game to last year. I’m looking forward to bowling a longer spell, and putting plans into practice.” 

Horsham will play host to the Outlaws on Sunday, Sussex a side who proved a thorn in Mullaney’s side last summer. First, the broke an unbeaten run at Trent Bridge in June, before making a large total in the corresponding fixture to push the Outlaws’ qualification in doubt.

“They turned us over twice last year, both home and away, they were a bit of a bogey team for us,” he said. 

“They have power in Luke Wright at the top of the order, and Chris Nash is a very good white-ball player. 

“Chris Jordan might not play because of the Test against India, but after a poor T20 they’ll be looking to hurt sides if they get the chance.”

The Outlaws excelled through the competition last year, with Steven Mullaney’s contributions with both bat and ball helping them on their quest for silverware. With Alex Hales, James Taylor and Harry Gurney all named in the England Lions squad for August, Mullaney is relishing the chance to see new faces in the green and gold kit. 

“We’re doing well at the moment. There’s a quarter-final in the Twenty20 to look forward to, and we’re second in the Championship,” he said.

We’ll lose James (Taylor) and Alex (Hales) for a couple of Lions matches, they’re pursuing higher honours with their country, and it opens an opportunity for someone to take their spots. 

“It’s possible that we’ll see Sam Kelsall, Will Root or even someone like Jake Libby, he’s been impressive with the seconds, step in.”

 

Notts Outlaws squad to face Sussex (from): Alex Hales, Michael Lumb, Steven Mullaney, Riki Wessels, Samit Patel, James Taylor, James Franklin, Chris Read, Sam Wood, Ajmal Shahzad, Luke Fletcher, Jake Ball, Harry Gurney.

Trent Bridge officials have reduced all tickets to £1 for the Outlaws’ Royal London One-Day Cup match against Surrey on Sunday 10 August. Click here to secure your £1 tickets for Notts Outlaws v Surrey.