Following the appeal of the matches which saw large crowds at virtually every venue, the Twenty20 Cup competition was increased from the five games per county in 2004 to eight in 2005.
As in the previous summer, the counties were split into three divisions of six, Nottinghamshire remaining in the Northern Division with the same opponents of the previous year.
The results in 2005 were exceedingly unusual, in that the top three counties were the top three from 2004 as well and qualified for the quarter-finals, while the bottom three lost out again. Nottinghamshire simply changed place with Yorkshire, coming fourth in 2004 and fifth in 2005.
The shorter the game of cricket in terms of overs permitted, the more luck has to play its part, but of the eight Notts matches, five were decided in the 19th over and of these Notts lost four and won one.
The single match which Notts won by a good margin – by 92 runs—was against Lancashire who finished at the top of the league. It was the only defeat they suffered.
The other victory, over Yorkshire, was won thanks to a splendid opening partnership of 101 between Will Smith and Graeme Swann. Swann proved the most economical bowler, with Patel topping the bowling table.
Read it is hardly necessary to point out again proved what an excellent batsman he is and for the second year running topped the averages. In contrast, Hussey, so effective at first class level and curiously Stephen Fleming only managed moderate returns.
Notts Outlaws NatWest T20 Blast fixture and ticket information:
v Durham Jets – Friday 30 May 6pm BUY TICKETS
v Birmingham Bears – Friday 13 June 6pm BUY TICKETS
v Derbyshire Falcons – Friday 20 June 6pm BUY TICKETS
v Yorkshire Vikings – Saturday 28 June 2.30pm BUY TICKETS
v Leicestershire Foxes – Sunday 20 July 2.30pm BUY TICKETS
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