Notts Outlaws bowler Ajmal Shahzad says that the positive atmosphere in the Trent Bridge dressing room can help the team continue their winning ways.
Notts face Worcestershre Rapids at Trent Bridge on Friday (play starts 6pm) aiming to build on their comprehensive win over Lancashire in their opening fixture in the NatWest T20 Blast.
“The dressing room is buzzing because of the back to back wins against Northamptonshire and Lancashire in different competitions,” said Ajmal.
“Worcestershire are one of those sides that may not have as much depth as others but they have some outstanding players who can take a game away from anyone." Ajmal Shahzad
“We made good plans in both games and followed them to the letter which is especially pleasing.”
Shahzad, who has played in 15 matches for England, compared the atmosphere generated by 10,917 fans at Trent Bridge to that of an international fixture.
“We love T20 cricket and the Friday formula seems to be working so far,” he said.
“It felt like an international with such strong support and to line-up with everyone in the ground behind us helped us on our way.”
The Outlaws have been installed as the bookies favourites for the competition but Shahzad insists that they have a lot of work to do to fulfill that tag.
“We’re not getting carried away because we think we need to win 10 of our 14 matches if we are going to get a home quarter-final,” he said.
“The only advantage we have is that we have put in a good performance on TV and other teams have seen how e performed and know that we mean business.”
Worcestershire suffered defeat in their NatWest T20 blast opener but bounced back with a hard fought victory in the LV= County Championship. Mystery spinner Saeed Ajmal took 7-19 in the second innings to underline his credentials as a potential match winner.
“Worcestershire are one of those sides that may not have as much depth as others but they have some outstanding players who can take a game away from anyone,” said Shahzad.
“Daryl Mitchessl, Saeed Ajmal and Moeen Ali fall into that category and we know that teams that play in division two of the championship often target limited overs cricket and enjoy a lot of success.
“We’ve got a very different setup with a focus on everyone in the team and if three or four of our batsmen come off then we’re going to be hard to beat.”
Outlaws supporters have until midnight tonight to secure discounted tickets for Friday's match.
Notts Outlaws NatWest T20 Blast fixture and ticket information:
v Worcestershire Rapids – Friday 23 May 6pm BUY TICKETS
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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