List A county cricket is set to return to Grantham this weekend, as a Notts Outlaws squad fusing homegrown Academy graduates with international stars and seasoned domestic campaigners entertains Middlesex (12 August) and Durham (14 August) in the Royal London Cup.
The charming outground setting welcomed Northamptonshire Steelbacks in 2021, and the Gorse Lane faithful, who frequented the outground in their droves, were left fulfilled after Dane Paterson bludgeoned a straight six to win the fixture.
In a drama-filled affair, the South African’s lusty blow came with Notts requiring six runs to win from the final three deliveries of the game, with only two wickets in hand. He celebrated with a nonchalant thumbs up to his victorious teamates.
“The schedule last summer was packed, and it was a new experience for me playing cricket in England, but that game at Grantham stands out in my memory for sure,” said Paterson, reflecting on the clash.
“The supporters are so close that they really feel involved in the game, and that creates a real buzz.
“I’m not necessarily known for my batting, but I can strike a clean ball, so to be able to finish the game like that, and show the lads that I’ve got it in me, was good fun.
“The crowd seemed to enjoy it and, at the end of the day, we want to entertain, so it’s great to have the opportunity to do that away from Trent Bridge, and we are looking forward to going to Grantham again.”
It was a victory made all the sweeter by the presence of five homegrown youngsters in the Outlaws’ starting team, a feature prevalent, too, in the squad which has begun the Royal London Cup campaign of 2022.
Fateh Singh, Sol Budinger, Brett Hutton, Lyndon James, Sammy King, Liam Patterson-Whiteand Ben Martindale have all been included in squads in the competition to date.
The likes of James Hayes and Toby Pettman, who have featured heavily and performed well in the county’s Second XI since joining Nottinghamshire, have also been handed regular places in the matchday 14.
Dane Schadendorf, who joined Nottinghamshire at the age of 18 in 2020, is likely to continue his run in the side with the gloves.
The fixture also consolidates Nottinghamshire’s close relationship with the Imp county.
Outlaw Matt Carter, his elder brother Andy and current Academy bowler Thomas Giles all have their roots in the Lincolnshire cricketing scene - and the National County continues to work in close partnership with the pathway system over the border in Notts.
Durham, incidentally, return to Grantham having lost to Lincolnshire in a late-July friendly.
Their squad boasts a host of players who earned Royal London Cup runners-up medals with the North East county at Trent Bridge last year, with experienced campaigner Scott Borthwick once again leading from the front.
Middlesex, meanwhile, boast a trio of internationally capped batters in their ranks available for selection in Sam Robson, Mark Stoneman and Pieter Malan.
Paterson, together with England's Haseeb Hameed, will be on hand to provide the world stage pedigree for the home side.
You can secure your seats here…
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One-Day Cricket at Grantham
List A county cricket is set to return to Grantham Cricket Club this weekend, as a Notts Outlaws squad fusing homegrown Academy graduates with international stars and seasoned domestic campaigners entertains Middlesex (12 August) and Durham (14 August) in the Royal London Cup.
Nottinghamshire members and Outlaws Season Ticket holders can enter simply by presenting their card at the gate.
Everyone else can secure seats here…