Background
Notts Outlaws meet Worcestershire Rapids on Friday evening (6pm start) in their latest match in this season’s NatWest T20 Blast competition.
In the early standing Notts currently sit proudly at the top of the North Group, on run-rate. They are one of five sides on 2 points after the opening weekend, just ahead of other winners Durham, Leicestershire and Northants – plus Lancashire, who lost at Trent Bridge a week ago, before bouncing back to defeat tonight’s opponents a day later.
Worcestershire Rapids face their third away match in a row this evening and will be hoping to turn their fortunes having lost to both Durham and Lancashire last week.
The visitors come to Trent Bridge for the first time under their new name, the Rapids – having changed their name from Worcestershire Royals over the winter.
You Need To Know
This match starts at 6pm on Friday evening – not 6.30pm, like last week’s game – SO DON’T BE LATE.
Head To Head
Over the years Notts Outlaws and Worcestershire have only met on four previous occasions in T20 cricket, with the two county sides usually playing their qualifying matches in different groups.
The four previous clashes were played in 2010 and 2011 – two home and two away - with all four contests being won by the Outlaws.
Notts have pulled off two 6-wicket successes, as well as victories by 10 runs and 25 runs in their current clean sweep over the New Road side.
Last Time
The last time the two counties met in T20 action in Nottingham was on 15 July 2011. Notts won the toss and batted and made 167-6, having been 35-3 with the early losses of Tamim Iqbal (0) Alex Hales (1) and Samit Patel (0), with Jack Shantry taking all three wickets on his way to figures of 3-31.
Adam Voges (55 from 40 balls) and Riki Wessels (33 from 28) led the recovery and punchy knocks from Chris Read (20 from 17) and Steven Mullaney (35 not out from 20) took the Outlaws to a defendable total.
Darren Pattinson (3-20) and Luke Fletcher (3-34) had the visitors on the backfoot from the early stages of their reply. Moeen Ali (41) and Daryl Mitchell (45) tried to rebuild the innings but Worcestershire were always up against an ever-rising run-rate and failed to bat out the innings, being bowled out for 142 in 19.3 overs, leaving Notts victorious by 25 runs.
Voges’ knock had been decisive and he was the worthy recipient of the man of the match award.
History
Worcestershire are, along with Derbyshire, one of only two counties yet to advance all of the way to our domestic T20 Finals Day. Their best run in the competition is to the quarter final stage, which they have reached on three occasions, most recently in 2012.
Notts Outlaws lost in the 2006 Final and went out at the semi final stage in 2010.
Played For Them Both
Phil Jaques played 18 matches in this competition for Worcestershire between 2007 and 2010. The Australian, currently on the staff at Trent Bridge, scored 445 runs at an average of 31.78 whilst with the New Road side, registering three half centuries and a top score of 78 not out.
At the beginning of this month Alex Hales spent a brief period on loan to Worcestershire, playing one championship match and making scores of 15 and 63 against Glamorgan at Cardiff.
Others to have played for both counties in recent years include Chris Tolley, Bobby Chapman, Paul Pollard, Nadeem Malik, David Lucas (pictured) and AJ Harris.
History
Whilst everyone at Trent Bridge awaits the first three-figure score made by an Outlaws batsman in this competition (Michael Lumb’s 96 v Durham last year remains the highest), Worcestershire fans have been able to witness four separate hundreds over the years.
Graeme Hick scored two of them, both against Northants Steelbacks, hitting 116 not out in 2004 and 110 three years later.
Ben Smith scored 105 against Glamorgan in 2005 and Vikram Solanki delivered against 100 against the same opposition in 2009.
Leicestershire duo Jim Allenby and Brad Hodge, as well as Wes Durston of Derbyshire, have scored hundreds against Notts Outlaws and last summer Gloucestershire’s Michael Klinger scored the first T20 century against Worcestershire.
Stats
Highest Team Total
Notts 167-6 (20) (Trent Bridge 2011)
Worcs 150-7 (20) (Trent Bridge 2010)
Lowest Team Total
Notts 152 all out (20) (New Road 2011)
Worcs 113-9 (20) (New Road 2010)
Highest Individual Score
Notts 66* AD Hales (New Road 2010)
Worcs 67 MM Ali (Trent Bridge 2010)
Best Bowling
Notts 3-12 SJ Mullaney (New Road 2012)
Worcs 3-28 Saeed Ajmal (New Road 2011)
T20 Debuts
Notts - nil
Worcs RA Jones (Trent Bridge 2010)
Milestones
Samit Patel (pictured) will become the first Nottinghamshire cricketer to make 100 T20 appearances for the county when he appears against Worcestershire Rapids.
Patel is also the leading run-scorer for Notts and has registered 1980 runs in the competition.
Michael Lumb has scored an overall tally of 3,904 T20 runs, James Taylor has scored 1,477 runs and Alex Hales has hit 952 T20 runs at Trent bridge alone.
Chris Read has taken 47 T20 catches, 46 of them for Notts - and has played 49 previous innings at Trent Bridge in this competition.
Tickets
On the day prices for the NatWest T20 Blast group games, Adults £16, Under 16s £8, Under 21s £12, Over 65s £12 and Family (2+2) £40. Call our ticket hotline on 0844 811 8711.
Want the best seats in the house? Call 0844 8118712 for hospitality or click here for our £30 steak, chips and cricket package.
Coverage
BBC Radio Nottingham will be providing live ball-by-ball commentary from Trent Bridge on Tuesday. For a full list of BBC Radio Commentary click here.