All-rounder Liam Patterson-White has admitted that being given his Vitality Blast debut a fortnight ago was a moment to savour - paricularly given his on-field success, which left team mates and spectators impressed.
The Academy graduate was Notts Outlaws’ top-scorer with 44 from 21 balls in the narrow defeat to Lancashire Lightning at Trent Bridge, while he also took a wicket with just his second ball, before being involved in the DLS win over Worcestershire Rapids.
Patterson-White keeps his place in the 14-man Outlaws squad to face local rivals Derbyshire Falcons at Trent Bridge on Friday evening (6.30pm), with Sammy King also included in the party.
“Bar the result, it was pretty much everything I expected and more,” said Patterson-White of his T20 bow.
“Having my debut at home was quite a special moment for me. I had friends family here, my girlfriend was here too.
“It’s been quite a long time coming so to get that opportunity and grab it with both hands really solidifies, for me, that I’m good enough at this level.”
Having scampered to a quick-fire 44 with the bat to give late impetus to the Notts innings, the spinner then bowled Tom Bruce with just his second delivery.
“I sensed it was coming,” he said of his maiden scalp.
“After being put into bat in a difficult position, all the pressure was on them to beat our score. I didn’t feel that pressure in the moment and I could just enjoy my bowling in a way.
"After the first ball I thought I’d go a little faster and hoped he would miss it, which he did, and it was great to get off the mark that early.
“There was a bit of nerves, but in the moment it’s different because all you can think about is doing your job for the team. Being able to fully enjoy myself was the way I wanted it to be and it worked.”
Patterson-White knows, however, that much work lies ahead if he is to establish himself in the shorter format of the game for the Outlaws.
“It’s really nice as an all-rounder to be able to perform with both bat and ball," he said.
"It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, in front of a home crowd at Trent Bridge in the T20 Blast. It’s a huge thing to have ticked off for me, but that doesn’t mean I won’t stop working hard and trying to improve.
“I don’t think anyone is ever settled in T20 cricket. There’s a lot of moving parts - on and off the field - but the best thing I can do is work hard behind the scenes to come out and put on a show for everyone.”
An economy rate of 5.50 across his four overs - returning debut figures of 1/22 - was pivotal in piling pressure on the Lancashire batters.
And Patterson-White said that being able to bowl defensively - in addition to taking wickets - forms an integral part of his game plan.
“It’s win or lose cricket in T20 really. I think every bowler would agree that keeping runs to a minimum is the best way to bowl,” he noted.
“It doesn’t mean that I have to go defensive all the time, but part of my game plan was trying to hit the top of the stumps and make them go for boundaries, so that the ball’s in their court. It’s nice to sometimes go into defensive mode so that I can defend what was quite a low total in general, as well as taking wickets."
A victory by a single run via DLS over Worcestershire Rapids was a psychological breakthrough for the Outlaws after a tough run of opening games; all that matters in the T20 format, says Patterson-White, is the end result.
“A win is a win,” he added, “it doesn’t really matter about the margin because at the end of the day it’s still two points. It definitely was a lift for us because we had quite a difficult string of results, but we know there’s still plenty of hard work to put in and we’re constantly looking to improve as a group.
“We’re really looking forward to tomorrow night, it’s always a big occasion playing Derbyshire at Trent Bridge because they’re our local rivals.
“We took a lot of learnings from the reverse game against them, and I think we’ll be a lot better for it. We’re eager to go out there and get our revenge, and to try and climb that table.”
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