Notts Outlaws were yet to assume their mantle as a force to be reckoned with in the shortest format when the Twenty20 Cup rolled around in the summer of 2006.

Their three attempts to progress to the quarter-finals of the domestic competition had all fallen short; four other counties were in the select group to have achieved a hat-trick of group stage finishes.

And so, the Outlaws could have been forgiven for their exuberant celebrations when, at the first attempt at knockout T20 cricket, they beat Northamptonshire by 63 runs at Trent Bridge to secure their passage to Finals Day, held at the same venerable venue. 

It was a win masterminded by David Hussey, who battered 71 from 34 balls. Samit Patel, meanwhile, smashed 65 from 38. 

“Samit was just a little pup when I first met him,” Hussey said on a recent Talk of Trent Bridge special. 

“But he had the courage to walk over and introduce himself on the media day at Trent Bridge and say: ‘Hi, I’m Samit Patel, I bat, bowl and field,” 

He would prove it in spades in the years that followed. 

On this fateful night, the pair added 121 for the third wicket after Graeme Swann had departed early and captain Stephen Fleming was undone by Sourav Ganguly.  

The partnership vindicated Fleming’s decision to bat first, as the Australian hit five sixes and five fours before he was bowled by Lance Klusener, and Patel took the Outlaws past 200 before he was run out. 

A cameo from Chris Read handed Notts a final total of 213; a commanding score in the 20th year of the Blast, let alone the fourth. 

The visitors’ chase was made more difficult when Ryan Sidebottom ripped through the Steelbacks top-order, Ganguly – now the President of the BCCI – was caught by Swann, while Hussey held the catch presented by Rob White. 

And all of Charlie Shreck, Mark Ealham, Paul Franks and Swann joined Sidebottom in bowling with the accuracy and guile required to get the Outlaws over the line. 

Bilal Shafayat (25), now a Notts coach, was dismissed by Swann, while Shreck and Ealham claimed the wickets of David Sales and Ben Phillips respectively. 

Franks conceded 17 from his two overs towards the death, while Patel had one of his more expensive days with the ball – something he's seldom repeated in the years that have followed.

And besides, it mattered little given the state of Northamptonshire’s batting. The visitors finished 150/6, Klusuner left unaided with an unbeaten 72 from 52 balls. 

As for the Outlaws, they would wind up with a runner’s up medal that year. After beating Surrey by 37 runs at a packed Trent Bridge, Leicestershire won the final by just four.

But Notts’ run of group-stage qualification had begun, and their golden years lay ahead.

******

Be More Outlaw: The 2022 Vitality Blast at Trent Bridge

Sunday 29 May, Lightning vs Southern Vipers (Charlotte Edwards Cup): Secure your seats...

Monday 30th May, Notts Outlaws vs Northamptonshire Steelbacks: Secure your seats…

Tuesday 31 May, Notts Outlaws vs Lancashire Lightning: Secure your seats…

Friday 17 June, Notts Outlaws vs Birmingham Bears: Secure your seats…

Tuesday 21 June, Notts Outlaws vs Leicestershire Foxes: Secure your seats…

Thursday 23 June, Notts Outlaws vs Derbyshire Falcons: Secure your seats…

Friday 1 July, Notts Outlaws vs Durham: Secure your seats…