Mick Newell has urged his Notts Outlaws side to be ruthless against the Leicestershire Foxes tomorrow.
The Nottinghamshire Director of Cricket watched his side romp to successive victories against Northamptonshire and Worcestershire over the weekend, and has praised their performances in all three facets of the game.
“We were excellent on both days and dominated both matches,” he said.
“We took wickets regularly over the course of the two matches and that restricted the opposition’s scoring.
“We've been working really hard to make ourselves as good as we can be in the field, and on getting fielders in the right places.
“Having Chris Read behind the stumps allows Riki Wessels to be out in the field, so that makes a difference, and so does the 100% commitment the players are putting into their fielding, which is great to see.
“With the bat, the top six are doing the work,” Newell continued. “We only needed six batsmen down at Northampton and three against Worcestershire on Saturday.
“That's what we want to see: the batters doing the hard work with the bat, the bowlers doing the bowling and Samit (Patel) linking the two together.”
South African leg-spinner Imran Tahir won the man of the match award from the six wicket victory over Northamptonshire, after achieving frugal figures of 3-13 from four overs.
A day later it was Riki Wessels that collected the champagne in recognition of his unbeaten 80 off 35 deliveries.
“We knew Imran was going to be a high-quality T20 cricketer,” said Newell. “He's made a reputation all around the world because he’s a fantastic cricketer.
“Even on Saturday when he didn't take wickets, he creates dismissals for other people with the pressure he builds, and he played a part in two run outs as well.
“It was great to see Riki finish a the game like that,” the Director of Cricket added.
“From the striking of the ball when Worcestershire were batting, I wasn’t sure whether it was a good pitch or not.
“Riki hit the ball so cleanly, he made it look like an absolute belter.”
Despite a run of form that has seen the Outlaws win their last five completed T20 matches, Newell believes the Foxes will provide dangerous opposition should the Outlaws be not quite on their game.
“We need to keep winning,” he said. “We don't need to be taking our foot off the gas.
“We want to win again because we want to secure that quarter final place as soon as we can.
“They've got a lot of experienced players, a lot of good white ball cricketers in their side, especially with Mark Pettini and Neil Dexter coming in over the winter.
“They're a good T20 side that's not quite firing at the moment - and nothing will fire them up more than playing against Notts, we're expecting a tough challenge.”
With the Outlaws having scorched their way to second place in the table, the possibility has become apparent of securing a home fixture in the last eight.
“We need to secure some more wins from our remaining four matches,” said Newell. “If we get two or more, we might get a home quarter-final.
“From a Club’s perspective that would obviously be financially beneficial, we think ten or 12 thousand would come to watch, and also because our team likes playing at home.”
Notts Outlaws squad to face Leicestershire Foxes (from): Dan Christian (c), Luke Fletcher, Harry Gurney, Brett Hutton, Michael Lumb, Steven Mullaney, Samit Patel, Chris Read, Greg Smith, Imran Tahir, Brendan Taylor, Riki Wessels and Sam Wood.
Notts Outlaws NatWest T20 Blast Fixtures & Ticket Information
Vs. Yorkshire Vikings – Friday 15 July 6.30pm BUY TICKETS
Vs. Leicestershire Foxes – Friday 29 July 6.30pm BUY TICKETS
Need more information? Call our ticket office on 0844 8118711.