Ahead of Notts Outlaws’ trip to face Lancashire Lightning at Old Trafford tonight, Joe Clarke has his sights firmly set on upsetting the apple cart.
Fresh from making a blistering fifty in yesterday’s five-wicket victory over Derbyshire Falcons, Clarke highlighted the Red Rose’s impressive home record but says that the Outlaws can upset their hosts.
“Lancashire have a strong side, but so do we,” said Clarke. “They haven’t lost at Old Trafford for a long time, so it’ll be nice to go there and put in a good performance.
“We got an early night last night, jumped on the bus this morning, and we’re aiming to go and get a positive result there.”
Both sides boast 100% records in the competition so far after the Outlaws’ derby triumph last night and Lancashire’s win over Leicestershire Foxes adding to their own beating of the Falcons last week.
Alongside his own contribution of 68 off 29 balls yesterday, Clarke was ably backed up by 51 from Matt Montgomery and 23 from overseas debutant Colin Munro.
“I think the biggest compliment I can give him is that when I was batting with Alex Hales, he said it was one of the best debut performances he’d ever seen in a Notts shirt,” said Clarke, of Montgomery’s showing.
“To get that from someone of his calibre is amazing, I think, and he keeps going from strength to strength. By all accounts, he has worked extremely hard on his red-ball and white-ball games, and that’s bearing fruit now.
“To do what he did on his debut, in front of a busy Trent Bridge on a Friday night, is amazing really, and hopefully he can keep going now. The sky’s the limit for Monty.”
Munro, who batted in the number three spot which Ben Duckett had made his own prior to the left-hander’s inclusion in England’s Test squad, also came in for particular commendation from Clarke.
In particular, the 27-year-old praised how the New Zealander and others have slotted into the Outlaws’ social group, and he believes the squad’s togetherness can play a major part in future success.
“Colin got here only last week, but he’s fitted in incredibly well,” said Clarke. “I’ve played in probably four or five different teams with Colin, and a lot of the lads know him from The Hundred.
“Shaheen [Afridi] has done the same, and so have Jack Brooks and Conor McKerr. I think it just sums up our group at the moment; we’re very tight and we love seeing new faces.
“The lads who played tonight who are new did extremely well, and hopefully with our line-up this year, we can really get the crowd going.”
