Ben Slater believes that, it is by learning the lessons and banking the experience of defeat to Middlesex that the Outlaws can emerge victorious in their next assignment against Durham.

The 30-year-old left-hander spearheaded a spirited pursuit of 356 to win against Middlesex on Friday, before ultimately perishing ten runs short of his sixth List A century as the visitors to Grantham triumphed by 27 runs.

With the fixture against the north-easterners also taking place at the Gorse Lane ground, Slater is hoping to see the Outlaws hone their application of home advantage in pursuit of two valuable points within a competition he truly values and enjoys.

“We know what to expect from the venue and conditions now,” said the Outlaws opener. 

“Hopefully we can use our knowledge of the wicket and experience of the outfield to our advantage on Sunday.
 
“I probably won’t be able to get myself off the sofa for a day after batting for 30 overs and diving around on this outfield all day!
 
But we’ll use Saturday to rest, come back refreshed on Sunday and try to get the win against Durham.”
 
Reflecting on the Middlesex defeat, Slater – who averages 56.10 with the bat in List A cricket – praised the spirit that saw Notts take the game to the wire, but acknowledged that the opening 35.4 overs of the contest, during which the visitors raced to 269-1, cost them dearly.
 
“We did well to get as close as we did,” he said.
 
“We didn’t execute as well as we would have liked to with the ball early on, but to pull it back to 350 from where we were was testament to the lads and how they bowled in the latter part of the innings.
 
“We were confident that we could knock it off – but, unfortunately, we just fell short. It was a shame to miss out after getting so close.
 
“We made it too easy for them at the beginning. We know that and – for that reason – it was a really disappointed dressing room.
 
“If we’d performed throughout both 25-over blocks as well as we did in the second one, we’d have been chasing a much lower total and it might have been a different story.”
 
With Haseeb Hameed (114) and Fateh Singh (45 off 22 balls) having also excelled in the run-chase, Slater played down his own contribution, but was fulsome in his praise of his partners in crime.
 
“I played alright,” he said. “It’s nice when the ball runs off the bat like that because, even if you get behind, you feel you can catch up. 
 
“I’d have liked a hundred, and I was desperate to see the team home as well – but, when I got out (caught in the deep off the leg-spin of Sam Robson), I felt that it was an over in which I could take the bowler down.
 
“If I could have got 15 or 16 off those six balls, it would have swung the game in our favour. I just didn’t get hold of it and I was caught on the boundary. 

“The 50-over format isn’t as gung-ho as T20, you can get real value for proper shots. Hass (Hameed) has plenty of those and he times the ball so well.
 
“We saw that with the century he scored last season against Warwickshire and we’ve seen it again today, everyone knows what he can do against the red ball, but he’s a really good white-ball cricketer as well.
 
“Fateh had a tough day against Gloucestershire,” Slater added of his teenage teammate, “and that can happen in the limited-overs game.
 
“But he came out against Middlesex and bowled tough overs really well, on what was a difficult outfield to defend, then played a gem of an innings with the bat as well. That he was able to come and do that says a lot about him and was great to see.”
 
Asked about the 683-run aggregate contest as a spectacle, Slater was keen to extol the versions of the Royal London Cup.
 
“It’s a great competition – it has been for years and years, and today was another good game, in-front of a decent crowd.
 
“Hopefully they all went away feeling entertained despite the result not going our way in the end.
 
“There’s another opportunity for us to bag a win for them on Sunday.”

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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 entertain 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…