Notts Outlaws face Worcestershire Rapids in their next NatWest T20 Blast match this Friday 3 July 2015, with the action getting underway at Trent Bridge at 6.30pm.
Winning at least four of their remaining five matches is now the clear aim for the Outlaws, according to Director of Cricket Mick Newell.
An unusually inconsistent start to their campaign has left the Outlaws with work to do in order to seal their customary place in the knock out phase and the task begins against familiar opposition.
Notts have faced Worcestershire in LV= County Championship action this week and now the two sides must pop on the coloured clothing for a match that is vital for both camps.
The Rapids go into the match in second place in the North Group, with five wins and three defeats from their eight matches played.
Head To Head
There have only been seven scheduled meetings in T20 cricket so far, between Notts Outlaws and Worcestershire, due to the two counties usually being filtered into separate qualifying groups.
The Outlaws won all of the first four matches, which were played home and away in 2010 and 2011 but last season they lost their unbeaten record.
Worcestershire won at Trent Bridge last May, whilst the New Road return, unfortunately, fell victim to the weather and not a ball was bowled.
Earlier this season the Outlaws edged a nervy affair at New Road, getting home by just 11 runs.
Last Time
Last season’s corresponding fixture was played at Trent Bridge on May 23 2014, with Worcestershire Rapids coming out on top by 24 runs.
The visitors scored 163 for six, their highest score in the T20 format against Notts.
All eight batsmen that made it to the middle had a strike rate of 100 or over, with Alexei Kervezee making 43 from 36 balls, Ross Whiteley 34 from 26, Colin Munro scored a bullish 31 from 22 and Moeen Ali made 28 from 20.
Ajmal Shahzad and Andy Carter each claimed a couple of wickets and Notts would have been confident of chasing down their target at the interval.
Things didn’t go as planned, though. When Alex Hales fell for 39, to the final ball of the 10th over, Notts were 71 for three at the halfway stage.
Samit Patel made 41 but the middle and lower order wilted against the spin of Saeed Ajmal (2-21) before Chris Russell knocked over three wickets to end with three for 32, his best figures in the format, as Notts limped to 139 for nine.
In May of this year the Outlaws scored 169 for five, with Darren Sammy making an unbeaten 36 from just 16 balls.
Samit Patel scored 30 and took the man of the match award by following up with figures of three for 17 as Worcs were bowled out for 158.
Played For Them Both
Phil Jaques played 18 matches in this competition for Worcestershire between 2007 and 2010. The now-retired Australian, who was on the playing staff at Trent Bridge last season, 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.
Jaques played three T20 matches for the Outlaws a year ago, in addition to his 11 appearances in the county championship.
Alex Hales spent a brief period on loan to Worcestershire last year, playing one championship match, in which he made 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 and AJ Harris.
Stats
Highest Team Total
Notts 167-6 (20) (Trent Bridge 2011)
Worcs 163-6 (20) (Trent Bridge 2014)
Lowest Team Total
Notts 139-9 (20) (Trent Bridge 2014)
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)
Did You Know?
Worcestershire, along with Derbyshire, are 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.
Milestones
Samit Patel (2979) needs 21 runs to reach 3,000 in T20 cricket.
Riki Wessels (2963) needs 37 runs to reach 3,000 in T20 cricket
Riki Wessels (99) needs one more appearance to reach 100 in English domestic T20 competitions (53 matches for Notts and 46 for Northants).
Riki Wessels (49) needs one more catch for 50 in T20 cricket.
Dan Christian (149) needs one more appearance to reach 150 in T20 cricket.
Luke Fletcher (49) needs one more appearance to reach 50 in T20 cricket.
Coverage
BBC Radio Nottingham will be providing full match commentary, both on the radio and also on-line, via the BBC Sport website or app.
Follow the live scorecard, regular text updates and radio commentary through your perfect match-day companion Trent Bridge Live.
Notts Outlaws NatWest T20 Blast Fixtures & Ticket Information
v Worcestershire Rapids – Friday 3 July 6.30pm BUY TICKETS
v Derbyshire Falcons – Friday 10 July 6.30pm BUY TICKETS
Need more information? Call our ticket office on 0844 8118711.