Notts captain Haseeb Hameed credited the spirit and determination shown by his Outlaws side despite defeat by Glamorgan in a closely fought contest at The Gnoll, Neath.
Hameed top-scored for the Outlaws with 89 - Freddie McCann scoring a List A best of 48 - before Eddie Byrom and Colin Ingram both tallied centuries to guide the home side to a third One Day Cup win out of three, despite the very best efforts of an array of Notts bowlers.
“It was just one of those days and we tried everything we had at our disposal to try and take those wickets,” Hameed said post-match, “but we can’t take credit away from Glamorgan because they did play really well. They utilised the conditions to their advantage really well.
“For us it’s about drawing a line under it and moving onto Guildford.”
The two sides both were keen to bowl on the moist morning surface, Glamorgan winning the toss and putting their visitors in to bat, a flip of a coin which dealt Notts a tough hand in South Wales, but Hameed was quick to consolidate that such elements of chance are part and parcel of the sport.
“I do think we had the tougher end of the conditions; when we batted, it was heavily in favour of the bowlers due to it being overcast and the wicket having plenty of juice in it. The sun then came out and the movement in the wicket just wasn’t the same as the first innings.
“But that’s cricket - sometimes we get the right end of the conditions and we’re well on top. Today was one of those instances where it was tough to start with, but the fact that we still stuck in there and got ourselves to 274 meant that we still had a competitive total.
“It wasn’t quite enough in the end, but credit to the boys for fighting in the way that they did.”
The intelligent display shown by the home side exemplified how home conditions can be utilised - a skill which the Outlaws too demonstrated in their back-to-back victories at Welbeck only a few days ago.
“When you’re on the road, it’s a different challenge as the home sides have more knowhow in terms of how to play in those conditions at those grounds.
“That’s the beauty of playing home and away and what makes cricket so exciting. We’ve got another one on Sunday at Guildford and the lads are really up for it, especially since things didn’t go quite right today.”
Hameed was also keen to highlight the continual perseverance of batting all-rounder Freddie McCann, whom only a split second of misfortune - a bottom-edge catch off his boot by Smale - denied a maiden List A half-century in a resolute batting display, the youngster bowing out with a new best score of 48, before also joining the bowling attack towards the closing stages of the contest.
“Freddie has been really impressive,” Hameed said, “It’s his first year on the professional staff and it seems like he’s developed a lot in that timeframe. It takes a lot to bat well in this competition, and today he did really well to dig in a bat well in those conditions.
“For him to then come on and bowl the way that he did, the energy he put in with the ball shows he’s an exciting player.”
A line has been drawn in the sand, Hameed says, as the Outlaws now look to return to winning ways in the south: “We’re two from four, and we’re certainly not out of the picture for knockouts qualification. We’ve got a couple of home fixtures to look forward to next week, but first we’re going to Guildford to try and get a positive result.”
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