Tom Moores robustly driving four through the covers on a T20 night at Trent Bridge is always something to be admired, but it is hardly a rare occurrence.
However, on one particular sunny June evening in 2022, the left-hander’s strike off the bowling of Derbyshire off-spinner Mark Watt represented a very memorable moment.
As the ball careered towards the boundary in front of the corner where the William Clarke and Radcliffe Road Stands meet, the scoreboards ticked forward to show a Notts total of 230/5.
That was, and almost a year later still remains, the Outlaws’ highest-ever total in the shortest format, and the sweet irony that it came against the neighbours was not lost on the thousands in attendance.
The eventual total posted was even higher still, at 247/6, and it represented not only a record for the hosts, but the tenth-highest score ever seen in the T20 Blast since the competition’s inception two decades prior.
In hindsight, the signs that something special was about to unfold were always present, as the Falcons’ decision to field first after winning the toss spectacularly backfired.
Australian import Hayden Kerr opened the bowling for the visitors, but he may have found himself wishing he hadn’t burdened himself with the 10,000-mile flight, as his opening over was dispatched for 11.
Sam Conners’ first set of six, however, was twice as brutal, shipping 22 as the Outlaws hit their groove, and Hales crowned the carnage’s commencement with back-to-back maximums behind square off the final two balls.
Hales’ next six, hoisted high into the Radcliffe Road Stand back over Mattie McKiernan’s head, came at the end of the fifth over and brought up his half-century in just 22 balls, by which time the Outlaws were 68 without loss.
Even Hales’ removal, caught by Luis Reece at long on off the very next ball he faced, did little to halt the hosts’ steamrolling of the Falcons attack, with 18 coming off the final over of the powerplay.
Three consecutive fours off the blade of Ben Duckett, taken in typically swashbuckling fashion, saw Wayne Madsen’s second over, the tenth of the innings, go for 15 to put the Outlaws on 124/2 at halfway.
If the visitors were again hoping for some respite with the removal of Joe Clarke, who struck 38 from just 17 balls, they were once more to be sorely disappointed, as his replacement Steven Mullaney kept the tempo sky-high.
Not content with two back-to-back fours in a total of 14 runs off the 13th over, Mullaney slammed the first of three consecutive sixes just four balls later as he plundered 20 off the 14th before falling for a 20-ball 45.
Outlaws captain Dan Christian then found time to plant his compatriot Kerr into the Larwood and Voce Stand, prior to an understated single from Samit Patel bringing up the 200 with more than three full overs still remaining.
The previous all-time Notts T20 high score of 227/3, which had also been set against the Falcons five years prior, had been in danger from the start, but was officially smashed when Moores dispatched Watt in the 19th over.
Though it included the dismissal of Duckett for an innings high score of 63, that penultimate set of six proved to be the second-most expensive out of all 20, as the Outlaws targeted a strong finish.
To the joy of the watching partisan crowd, finish strongly they did, as Moores struck two more boundaries off the final two deliveries of the innings to ensure the Outlaws were left on cloud nine.
The Falcons’ individual figures reflected the punishment, as only two bowlers could claim an economy rate below 10 per over, while George Scrimshaw, the only man to take more than one wicket, still returned a costly 2-62.
In response, Derbyshire’s chase was everything the Outlaws’ rampant blasting wasn’t, as the visitors lost three wickets to fall firmly behind the eight ball at 44/3.
It was the returning Zak Chappell and stalwart Patel who did the bulk of the damage, taking three wickets apiece, as the duo, alongside an economical 2-17 from Mullaney, strangled any hope the Falcons had of pulling off a spectacular chase.
Leus du Plooy and Brooke Guest hit out with scores of 35 and 40, respectively, but scalps were falling with all too much regularity to give the visitors any chance.
Their faintest of faint hopes was then duly extinguished in merciless fashion when Patel returned a double wicket maiden in the 15th over, and although Guest battled through to an unbeaten end, the game was long gone.
A final over from Matt Carter saw the Falcons end far short of their target, on 153/9, as Notts continued their dominant record against the neighbours by claiming their 26th derby victory in 34 completed attempts.
Such is the nature of the packed T20 Blast schedule, the celebrations took place on the team coach to Durham later that night, where the Outlaws were due to play the following evening.
The good news for the travelling party was that just over 25 miles of their journey north would take them through the county boundaries of Derbyshire, where they could outwardly celebrate another job very well done.
