Peter Moores feels his Nottinghamshire side have displayed their competitive spirit after securing a share of the spoils against Somerset at Trent Bridge.
Ben Slater’s unbeaten 168 secured the draw on day four, but the Nottinghamshire Head Coach feels the fightback was emblematic of the team’s approach to red-ball cricket.
“I like the way we’ve gone about things in the past few games – we’ve played solid cricket, but there’s been a bit of bite to us as a team as well,” he said.
“So we’ll look to keep that up, and we’ll go to Southport (against Lancashire) looking for a win and to try and get us into a strong position in the division.
“Southport is a good ground, it’s normally a result pitch, and as an English outground you feel close to the crowd.
“It’ll be a different experience for the lads if they haven’t played there, so it’s set fair to a really good game of cricket.”
Slater’s was the defining contribution in Nottinghamshire’s second innings, as the opener ushered his side from a first-innings deficit into a position of strength.
“I like the way we’ve gone about things in the past few games – we’ve played solid cricket, but there’s been a bit of bite to us as a team as well,”
Peter Moores
And his coach feels the innings was all the more impressive for the pressure he was under.
“Ben batted for nearly ten hours in the game, which is a mammoth effort, but it was the quality of his batting that was impressive,” he said.
“It was certainly a more straightforward pitch for a right-hander, but for a leftie like Ben with all the rough, certainly against Jack Leach, it wasn’t straightforward at all.
“I thought the way Ben played Leach was testament to the quality of his innings. To bat that long with the ball kicking out of the rough, and to do it under the pressure he was under for the majority of the innings, was a fantastic effort.”
There were significant contributions with the bat from a number of Slater’s teammates too – and Moores felt his side took advantage of key moments in the match.
“We got off to a good start on day one, then lost those two quick wickets – they bowled really well before lunch,” he recalled.
“I thought the way Ben Slater played Jack Leach was testament to the quality of his innings."
Peter Moores
“Then after lunch they didn’t bowl as well as they could, but I really liked the way Jack (Haynes) and Joe (Clarke) went about it.
“They were aggressive, they put the bad ball away, and they put a crucial 100 on together.
“Then it was a brilliant rearguard action by Olly Stone – who had a great game with the bat, never mind the ball – and Calvin Harrison, which kept us in the game.”
Harrison’s was an all-round performance once more, as he added to his first-innings 35 with three wickets and a fine take at slip to remove Kasey Aldridge.
“He made really good theatre out there as a cricketer, and bowled some beautiful balls."
Peter Moores on Calvin Harrison
“The fact that Jack Leach didn’t get a wicket in the game shows that, even though it turned, it wasn’t an easy pitch to bowl spin on,” said Moores.
“And certainly in the back half of his spell, Calvin started to be a bit more adventurous in how he went about things.
“He made really good theatre out there as a cricketer, and bowled some beautiful balls.
“And we took three great catches across the game – (Will) Young at first slip, Tom (Moores) down the leg-side, then Calvin diving across at second slip.
“It’s been a trademark of his and the team this year, we’ve taken some great catches all year, so it’s something we pride ourselves on.”
Dillon Pennington, meanwhile, continued his consistent performance with the red-ball this summer, notching a first Notts five-fer in the Somerset innings.
“It was hard work for seamers out there, so credit to Dillon for continuing to do what he’s done all season,” said Moores.
“He bowls good pace, creates bounce and puts a lot of balls in the right areas. So I was really pleased that he got his rewards.”
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Notts Outlaws' next home Vitality Blast clash sees them entertain Leicestershire Foxes on Friday 5 July.