Despite a starring performance on debut from Luke Wood, Notts Outlaws slipped to a narrow 8-run defeat to Leicestershire Foxes in the Royal London One-Day Cup.
The home side exacted a little revenge for their heavy defeat in the NatWest T20 Blast on Friday, leaving Notts with work to do in order to qualify for the knock-out stages.
Wood took 2-44 with the ball, including a wicket in his first over, as the Foxes made 279 before being bowled out. The all-rounder, who celebrates his 21st birthday on Tuesday, then made 52 to give the visitors a sniff of a chance before they closed on 271 for nine.
In the Foxes innings Niall O’Brien made 82 and captain Mark Pettini scored 50, after winning the toss and opting to bat first. All six bowlers used by the Outlaws picked up wickets, with Dan Christian finishing with 2-23 from three overs.
The day’s other results leave the Outlaws in fifth place, with a home fixture to come, against Worcestershire Rapids on Monday.
Mick Newell was decisive in thinking his side should have been able to chase down 280 for the win they needed.
“You’ve got to look at what happened in the first 30 overs of our innings and not the last 20,” said the Director of Cricket.
“I thought Luke Wood has had a brilliant day. Fair play to him on debut. And Fletch has nearly helped him there but you don’t win 280 chases very often with No.9 making 50 and No.10 getting 20-odd. You’ve got to look at the top six or seven. None of them made fifty and that’s where the game has been lost.”
Newell altered the batting order, with Brendan Taylor in at three and Greg Smith pushed down to six.
“We wanted to give the senior players the most chance to make the biggest scores but they didn’t do it,” he said.
“If one bloke gets 70, 80 or 90 and we build some partnerships then we get there, but the guys have failed to do that and I think that is really disappointing given the importance of the game and what was at stake.”
Newell then praised the performance of Wood: “He hasn’t been fit to play, so it’s not a case of non-selection. Now he is fit, the way he performed today, it’s fantastic for him to get two wickets and a fifty on debut. He brings a great enthusiasm to the team and it’s very good to have him back.”
With Jake Ball away on international duty, Wood's was a new name in the one-day side, selected for his first appearance in List A cricket. Harry Gurney also returned, having been rested for Friday’s contest.
Wood’s inclusion was his first since taking five wickets in the pre-season win over Cambridge MCCU in April. The young left-arm quick wasted little time in making an impression.
After Gurney had bowled a tidy first over, against his former county, Wood struck with the ninth ball of the morning, with Paul Horton edging behind.
Kevin O’Brien, briefly a Notts player seven years ago, followed in Wood’s next over, losing his off stump to one that just nipped back nicely.
From a position of 10 for two, the hosts staged a slight comeback before losing their third wicket in the ninth over, Luke Fletcher’s second.
An idyllic away-swinger clipped the outside edge of Lewis Hill’s bat and Read took his second catch diving away in front of first slip. It was the veteran gloveman’s 250th one-day catch for his county.
Cameron Delport arrived in the middle to monopolise the strike and the scoring by making 46 out of a stand of 58 with Pettini.
The South African looked in good touch, hitting eight fours from his 45 deliveries, before being beaten by the flight and turn of Samit Patel and finding himself leg before wicket.
Pettini, accelerating nicely, lofted Steven Mullaney over the long on ropes for the first maximum of his innings and added a couple more singles to reach his half century from 76 balls, with eight fours and his maximum.
Mullaney gained ample revenge though, as the Foxes captain went tamely with a gentle chip to Riki Wessels at midwicket.
Niall O’Brien seemed in some discomfort, frequently stretching and bending whilst at the crease. Nevertheless, he timed the ball beautifully to give the innings some much-needed impetus and reached his 50 from 58 balls with six fours.
Christian eventually entered the attack in the 44th over and removed O’Brien with just his second delivery, as Wessels safely gathered on the off side.
Michael Burgess and Rob Sayer added 43 in good time – with the latter lifting Christian for a maximum – small recompense for being clubbed for four sixes in a row by the Australian on Friday.
Christian bowled Burgess for 36, leaving the score on 271 for nine at the start of the final over.
Gurney, who was wicket-less to that point, then had Sayer caught in the deep by Greg Smith for 26 and Ben Raine caught behind for seven, after the batsmen had crossed.
Ollie Freckingham, in for the hat-trick ball, was struck on the pads to the excitement of the entire Notts contingent, but umpire Taylor ruled that the ball was sliding down the leg side.
The over ended with Jamie Sykes failing to beat Patel’s throw from the deep as he attempted to get back for a couple.
279 all out was a challenging total and in the end proved too steep a hurdle for Notts to clear.
Michael Lumb hit four boundaries as he blazed his way to 19 before edging Freckingham behind. Wessels, his opening partner, fell for 21 to a catch at deep midwicket and, when Patel was bowled by Kevin O’Brien for four, Notts were 66 for three and in need of a partnership.
Christian made 12 before being taken by a sharp catch from Delport at extra cover, to give O’Brien his second big scalp.
Brendan Taylor battled his way to 44, an innings that included three elegant lofts down the ground off the spinners. Appearing nicely set, he was then cleaned up by a Raine delivery which went through the gate and toppled over the middle and leg sticks.
Mullaney and Greg Smith added 50 for the sixth wicket before Freckingham struck again, bowling the former for 30.
Read joined Smith with 105 still needed from 13 overs but the captain couldn’t pull off one of his great escapes, although it took a sensational diving catch from Pettini to send him back for six.
A missed reverse-sweep cost Smith his wicket, trapped lbw by Sayer for 49. At that stage 76 were still needed but the two Lukes gave it a go.
Wood was sensational, hitting his way to a splendid 50 from just 29 balls with five fours and two maximums.
Fletcher joined in the fun and when he hit Freckingham for a maximum in the 47th over Notts, began to sense an almighty comeback.
13 were needed from the final over but then Wood was bowled by Delport and that – effectively – was that – although Fletcher finished with 21 from 17 balls.
With other results going against Notts, the Outlaws have slipped to fifth in the North Group table and need to be at their best against the Rapids on Monday.
Notts Outlaws will face the Essex Eagles in the quarter-final of the NatWest T20 Blast on Monday 8 August, with tickets going on sale at 9.30am on Monday 1 August.