Notts Outlaws confirmed their place in the quarter-finals of the Vitality Blast for the 12th time in 14 years after defending a total of 168 to beat Leicestershire Foxes by four runs at Trent Bridge
Wiann Mulder made 83 and Rishi Patel 37 for the Foxes, but could not build well enough on a strong start as two wickets each from Imad Wasim, Shaheen Afridi, Matt Carter and Calvin Harrison restricted them to 164/8.
Wicketkeeper Tom Moores top scored for the Outlaws for the second match in a row with 68 from 40 deliveries to earn his side an away tie with Somerset as they bid to clinch a place at finals day for the seventh time.
Captaining for the first time after Steven Mullaney (side strain) was ruled out, Alex Hales won the toss and opted to bat first. As his first scoring shot sailed over the extra cover boundary for six he would have had hopes of leading from the front with a trademark innings.
But after a start bristling with intent Hales fell on 26 when he drilled a Finan full toss straight to extra cover. Joe Clarke had already gone and Matt Montgomery was bowled without scoring as Roman Walker struck in his first appearance of the season.
A powerplay 52 for three became 58 for four in the seventh as Lyndon James was well caught at point. At 77/4 from 10, Moores got the scoreboard moving with four and six off Colin Ackermann but Haseeb Hameed lost his middle stump to Tom Scriven for a workmanlike 23.
Moores continued in the vein of his stand-out innings in Friday’s defeat to Birmingham Bears as he and Wasim added 52 for the sixth wicket.
Shaheen Shah Afridi perished first ball going down the pitch after his countryman had departed and Moores holed out in the penultimate over as Outlaws finished 168 for eight.
In reply, Peter Handscomb chipped Afridi straight to mid-on with the first ball of the innings, but he could not repeat Friday’s extraordinary four-wicket opening over and the Foxes were well placed at 70 for two from six, albeit with Patel gone, victim of a brilliant one-handed grab by Hales at wide mid-on.
Mulder was dropped at backward point off Jake Ball on 39 but leg-spinner Calvin Harrison kept the Outlaws in the game with two wickets for just two runs in the 10th, watching Ackermann give an easy catch to cover before bowling Lewis Hill behind his legs as the Foxes touched halfway at 92 for four.
Two wickets for Imad Wasim as the Outlaws spinners applied the brakes saw Louis Kimber and Nick Welch fall cheaply seeking to break the shackles and at 103 for six, still 60 short and with 42 balls left, the Foxes were under pressure for the first time in the match, although a couple of good blows by Scriven and 15 in one over by Mulder off Harrison brought that down to 32 from the last 24 deliveries.
Yet only 12 runs off the next three with Scriven top-edging Matt Carter to short fine leg and a third catch for Hales on the run to remove Roman Walker left 20 to get off the final over bowled by Ball, which Mulder opened with a six over backward point but ultimately proved four too many.