On Tuesday 30 May, Notts Outlaws welcome Yorkshire Vikings to Trent Bridge in their second home Vitality Blast clash of the 2023 summer.

The match is Notts’ fourth in five days as they conclude a rapid-fire start to this season’s competition, and in front of a fired-up crowd, the Outlaws will aim to back up a strong opening.

The last time they visited Nottingham for a T20 encounter in 2021, Yorkshire were comprehensively dispatched in a rain-reduced affair.

Here, we take a look at some of the more notable numbers behind the meetings between the Outlaws and Yorkshire in the shortest format.

 

Shortest-format dominance: 63.6%

There are few opponents that the Outlaws have dominated quite as much in years gone by as Yorkshire, with an enviable T20 record against the Vikings.

Of 33 completed encounters, the Outlaws have won 21 of them, representing a win rate of almost 64%; only against Derbyshire (77.1%) and Northamptonshire (69.2%) have Notts enjoyed greater success.

The Outlaws’ first T20 victory over the White Rose came in the sides’ second meeting in the format at Trent Bridge in July 2004, where 91 off 35 from Mark Ealham helped the hosts complete a successful chase of 208.

 

Nail-biting victories: 4

The Outlaws have loved a close-run game against Yorkshire down the years, with two wins coming by just three wickets, and a further two by only three and four runs, respectively.

All four occurred on home turf, with the win by four runs in 2007 standing as the Outlaws’ narrowest T20 win by runs for eight years, until a two-run victory over Derbyshire beat it.

The three-run victory was far more recent, coming in 2019 as 2-29 from Harry Gurney, and Luke Fletcher’s 2-31, helped defend a total of 148/7.

Meanwhile, the two wins by three wickets occurred in 2004 – which was the aforementioned first Notts victory over the White Rose in T20 – and 2016.

In the latter clash, Chris Read plundered 35 from just 17 balls to reignite a faltering chase of 161 and see the Outlaws over the line with two balls to spare.

 

 

Hales’ first Outlaws ton: 101

When Yorkshire visited Trent Bridge in 2017, it was just over a week after the Outlaws had smashed a then-team-record total of 227/3 against Derbyshire.

The visitors’ efforts, posting 223/5 after being put in to bat, were admirable enough as Adam Lyth hit a 30-ball 59 and Shaun Marsh contributed 47 off 28.

However, against a Notts outfit that had no shortage of evidence of the power they packed, the total was easily overhauled, driven by Alex Hales’ maiden Outlaws T20 century.

Hales biffed his way to a 47-ball 101, marking, at the time, only the second time that a Notts batter had hit a T20 century after Riki Wessels in that aforementioned Derbyshire clash eight days prior.

Brendan Taylor contributed 41 off 26, alongside a 15-ball 34 from Wessels, as the Outlaws fired on all cylinders, racking up 177/3 in the 15th by the time Hales fell, and eventually overhauling the target with five balls to spare.

 

Hales’ bucket hands: 4

Regretfully, there were no fans in to witness this statistical bonus thanks to it occurring in the depths of the Covid-afflicted 2020 season, but Yorkshire’s visit to Trent Bridge brought about another happy outlier for Hales.

Notts won the match by six wickets, overhauling Yorkshire’s 190 all out with four balls to spare, but it was Hales’ exploits in the field that helped the clash to stand out.

Opener Hales claimed four catches during the course of the Vikings’ innings, pouching all of Joe Root, Will Fraine, Jordan Thompson, and Mat Pillans.

That drew him level with Will Smith against Surrey in 2006 as one of only two Notts fielders to have taken four in a single T20, as the boundary-riding opener helped Luke Fletcher to claim then-best figures in the format of 5/43.

The Outlaws faithful will need no reminder of what the side went on to achieve in those behind-closed-doors days, with hopes that the success can be repeated once more – though this time, in front of crowds.