Samit Patel hopes he doesn’t have to bat against the Vikings at Trent Bridge on Friday but, if he does, he’s determined to fire the Outlaws to victory.

The 31-year-old’s input with the blade in recent white ball matches has been minimal.

He wasn’t required to bat in the victories over Worcestershire and Derbyshire, between times scoring an unbeaten 17 in the six wicket win at Northampton.

As a spinner bowling the first over of the opposition's innings, however, Patel has had plenty on his plate, and is enjoying the responsibility.

“I’ve not been able to bat so bowling is probably my first string at the minute and, in terms of taking the new ball, so far so good," he said.

“I’ve been keeping it simple; bowling at the right pace and making sure I don’t give them anything they can easily hit.

“You've just got to be a bit more clever bowling the first over - and you have to really bowl the ball instead of just trying to put in the right area. It’s important not to give the batsman width to free his arms.

“With the bat, Riki Wessels, Dan Christian, Michael Lumb and Greg Smith have been going well.

“It doesn’t matter whether I’m getting a bat as long as we keep winning, but I always need to be ready.”

Away from the bat and ball, meanwhile, Patel has been part of a fielding unit that has noticeably upped its game in recent performances.

“It just seems to have clicked for us,” he said. “It’s definitely gone up a notch.

“We pride ourselves on fielding and on making as few mistakes as possible. Saturday's game against Worcestershire was pretty much a complete performance.

“I know it won't be like that every day, but we’ve got to try and turn up and do the same on Friday night."

The Outlaws will be without Jake Ball for Friday’s match against the Vikings, as the Welbeck Wizard is making his Test debut at Lord’s.

Yorkshire, on the other hand, have recently welcomed back a number of current international stars, and Patel is aware of the danger.

“They're a good team to do well against, with a lot of international players, including Williamson, Rashid, Plunkett, Willey and Bresnan.

“Yes we are playing good cricket at the moment; but we have to continue that and make sure we keep doing the basics.

“We need to be on our game against them because they're dangerous - and our crowd can play a big part in that.

“Hopefully I won't get to bat, but if I do I'll try to make it a winning one for them.”

Notts Outlaws squad to face Yorkshire Vikings (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

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