Foxes produce clinical win at Trent Bridge
Fri 20 Jul 2018
RESULT | Vitality Blast game 6: Leicestershire Foxes 193 for 6 beat Notts Outlaws 176 for 9 by 17 runs
SCORECARD | Available through ESPN Cricinfo
REACTION | Ben Raine spoke to the Foxes media team after the game
HIGHLIGHTS | In-play highlights are available throughout the 2018 season
POINTS | Notts Outlaws 0, Leicestershire Foxes 2
REPORT | A brilliant innings from Ben Raine and a traditional Leicestershire Foxes squeeze resulted in a superb 17-run Vitality Blast win against Notts Outlaws.
Raine produced the goods for the second Friday night in succession, this time scoring 83 off 43 balls (6x4, 5x6) as the Foxes put a competitive 193 for six on the board at Trent Bridge.
The innings took Raine’s run-scoring exploits to 219 off 96 deliveries in away T20 games so far – an incredible strike rate of over 228.
Riki Wessels (58, 30b) got the chase off to a flyer but spin duo Callum Parkinson (4-0-28-3) and Mohammad Nabi (4-0-27-1) bowled beautiful spells as the Foxes ramped up the pressure outside the powerplay.
Muhammad Abbas weighed in with a career-best three for 32, including the key wicket of Notts Outlaws captain Dan Christian, and Head Coach Paul Nixon will have been proud of the way the team defended their total - it was reminiscent of some of the Foxes T20 sides that he used to play in.
The Foxes was unchanged and batting first for the third game in succession after Christian won the coin toss under heavy skies.
Notts made a tidy start as four came off the first over from Samit Patel before Neil Dexter struck two fours over mid-on and Cameron Delport steered down to third man in the second.
A total of 18 runs came off the next offering, including a brilliant six carved over backward point by Dexter, and the openers each pulled to the ropes in the fourth.
The duo shared 48 in 4.3 overs before Dexter (30, 17b) chipped a slower ball from Harry Gurney to Will Fraine in the covers.
Delport (21, 15b) departed in the next over in unfortunate fashion; the batsman moved to the leg-side only to see the ball cannon off his pad into the base of off stump.
The Foxes was 53 for two at the end of the powerplay and, after a period of singles from Mark Cosgrove and Raine as they got themselves in, the all-rounder then launched a couple of mighty maximums in the vicinity of mid-wicket.
He also leant into a beautiful cover drive when Steven Mullaney entered the attack but the all-rounder then claimed the third wicket as Cosgrove inside edged on to leg stump.
There was a costly moment for the Outlaws in the 11th as Raine was dropped at deep mid-wicket on 26, and the left-hander produced another terrific cover drive to bring up the team’s hundred in the next over.
Raine then smacked another brace of huge sixes to mid-wicket in racing to 50 off 28 balls (2x4, 4x6) as the Foxes moved to 135 for three with five overs to go.
Ackermann (29, 20b), who had knocked the ball around and to sensibly hand the strike back to Raine to that point, put his foot on the accelerator. He struck Ish Sodhi for four and six before lofting the leg-spinner to Christian at cover to end a useful alliance of 57 in six overs.
Although Nabi (4, 4b) carved Jake Ball to deep extra cover, Raine continued to pepper the boundary, including two fours and his fifth six in the 18th, before being bowled by the England seamer at the end of the penultimate over.
Zak Chappell (9*, 8b) and Tom Wells (1*, 1b) took ten off the last to ensure the chase would be above nine-and-a-half per over.
There was a good start as Nabi trapped Fraine (1, 3b) right in front at the end of the first over, and both the off-spinner and Abbas bowled well in the first three overs.
Raine nearly dismissed Wessels on 20. The batsman, who really went for his shots, drove uppishly to cover - but the chance went to ground.
The opener went on to record 50 of the first 54 runs scored from 22 deliveries, hitting six fours and a trio of sixes along the way. Wicket-keeper Tom Moores then struck a couple of fours and a huge six over mid-on as the duo shared 70 in 35 balls.
In a key passage of play, the set batsmen were dismissed as Moores (23, 11b) picked out Chappell at long-on from the bowling of Parkinson, and Raine enticed Wessels to hit straight to Delport at point.
The Foxes kept a tight rein on the Outlaws with two new batsmen at the crease - and the pressure paid off.
Patel (13, 17b) hit the returning Parkinson to Raine at deep mid-wicket in the 12th over before Abbas bowled two successive tremendous in-swinging deliveries to bowl Christian (8, 12b) and Ball (0, 1b).
All told, the Outlaws had lost five wickets for the addition of 40 runs in seven overs, and the Foxes was now firmly in the driving seat after seizing control of the middle period.
Mullaney (9, 8b) cleared the ropes in the 15th but perished as he looked for the same outcome, Wells pouching the catch at long-off.
Billy Root (23, 17b) and Jake Libby (28*, 16b) did their best but the rate continued to climb. Abbas collected his third wicket before Raine fittingly had the final say when bowling Sodhi (5, 4b), meaning the Foxes join fourth-placed Outlaws on six points from as many games.
TEAM | Dexter, Delport, Cosgrove, Raine, Ackermann (capt), Nabi, Eckersley (wk), Wells, Chappell, Parkinson, Abbas
FIGURES | Nabi 4-0-27-1, Abbas 4-0-32-3, Raine 4-0-47-2, Chappell 4-0-40-0, Parkinson 4-0-28-3
PHOTO | Thanks to Ed Melia for the photo of Ben Raine batting
* Our next Vitality Blast home game is against Derbyshire Falcons on Friday, July 27! The best value tickets are available in advance – a family ticket for 2 adults and 3 under 16s is available for £37 before 11.59pm on Thursday. Secure your seat at the Fischer County Ground today HERE
