Nottinghamshire U18s twice fell to defeat against Warwickshire in a T20 double-header at Worksop, despite notable contributions from Lucas Stentiford and Byron Hatton-Lowe with the bat and impressive bowling performances from Ben Panter and Abneer Irfan. 

The visitors sealed the win with a boundary from the last ball of the match in the first fixture, despite Panter almost snatching victory from the jaws of defeat with three runs to play with in the final over.

It spelled a dramatic conclusion to a low-scoring affair, with the Green and Golds tasked with defending 124, owing to a 46-run contribution from Stentiford. 

It was Stentiford and Freddie McCan who opened for the hosts, but the latter was the first to depart at the end of the second over, having made 13 from 9 balls. 

It brought Qundeel Haider to the crease, and the pair shared a 64-run stand, albeit with strokemaking proving a challenge.

With the opening ball of the 13th over Stentiford was caught by Alec Price off the bowling of James Cooper, with Notts 82 for two, scoring at a little under seven an over. 

It proved difficult to press on at the back end of the innings with Isaac Parkin falling cheaply, and a run-a-ball 22 from Hatton-Lowe, along with 28 from Haider, carried the Green and Golds to their final total.

Warwickshire similarly found the going tough in reply, and 33 runs from the opening five overs were marred by four wickets for the home side; one each for George Park and Parkin, and two for Panter.

A 30-run stand between Tom Mousley and Alec Price helped to steady the ship for the West Midlands outfit, though, the pair meeting the requirement of steady accumulation, despite an Irfan maiden. 

Price was dismissed by Parkin, caught by Haider looking to accelerate, but the shift in intent paid dividends, with Warwickshire taking 28 from three overs, and well-placed on 88 for five with six overs to go. 

Haider and Park struggled to stem the flow, and the visitors pressed on to leave themselves three runs required to win from the final over. 

Panter tested the nerves of the batsmen, dismissing Dinuk De Silva and taking the prized wicket of Mousley for 57 within his first four balls, but a single from the penultimate ball pulled the away side level before Farhaad Ali found the rope to claim the win for his side. 

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Batting first in the second fixture, Warwickshire scored freely as they went about setting a commanding target of 165, with Daniyal Khan’s 68 from 51 balls the highlight. 

In reply, McCan got the home side off to a good start with 29 from 18 deliveries, but, save for Hatton-Lowe’s quick-fire 42, Nottinghamshire were unable to match the visitors’ tempo, and fell 21 runs short. 

Aled King’s opening over set the tone for Warwickshire, who flew to 63 from their first five overs. By the time Irfan bowled Harrais Azrim (24) in the ninth over, the visitors had scarcely slowed, and, by the halfway stage, had amassed 88.

Irfan struck twice more in his spell to finish with figures of 3-17 from his four overs, but the damage was done elsewhere, Khan in particular taking a liking to the Nottinghamshire attack, with contributions from Ashish Chakrapani, Roshan Balaji and Adnaan Riaz. 

Sam King was run out in the first over as the Green and Golds went about their chase, but McCan and Stentiford rallied for the hosts, adding 36 before Stentiford was caught by Azram off the bowling of Riaz in the sixth over.

Haider and McCan fell soon after, but Hatton-Lowe and Parkin gave Nottinghamshire hope with a 58-run partnership, including 23 from the former in the 14th over. 

However, when Hatton-Lowe fell an over later, Notts’ momentum halted.

Parkin was caught in the 16th, leaving the Green and Golds requiring 40 from 25 deliveries, a task which ultimately condemned Nottinghamshire to their second defeat of the day. 

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