Foxes unbeaten run comes to an end at Trent Bridge

BLAST 5 | Notts Outlaws win by 5 wickets. Leicestershire Foxes 123 for eight v Notts Outlaws 124 for five.

SCORECARD | Available from Cricinfo HERE.

POINTS | Notts Outlaws 2, Leicestershire Foxes 0

REPORT | A frustrating evening for the Foxes at Trent Bridge as their unbeaten run in the 2020 Vitality Blast came to an end against Notts Outlaws.

The Foxes made the short journey to Trent Bridge for a Friday night clash under the lights against Notts Outlaws with an unchanged squad following the abandoned match against Yorkshire Vikings earlier in the week.

Leicestershire Foxes captain Colin Ackermann won the toss and opted to bat first.

Harry Dearden and Gareth Delany opened the batting for the Foxes. The first two overs were quiet for the pair on a slow wicket with the Outlaws injecting spin early into the match.

In an attempt to push the score, Dearden [6, 12b, 1x4] was looking to play Jake Ball all the way the over the leg-side, but he edged it high and was comfortably caught by Joe Clarke.

Arron Lilley joined Delaney in the middle and had an immediate impact hitting a boundary off his first delivery.

Delany quickly added a further three boundaries – coming off Pakistan international Imad Wasim - to his total in the fourth over, followed by a maximum and another four in the fifth off Patel.

However, Patel got his own back on the Irishman by claiming his wicket with the final ball of the fifth over, after a diving catch from Steven Mullaney. Delany departed for 25 from 15b [4x4, 1x6].

Colin Ackermann [10, 11b, 1x4] joined Lilley in the middle. The partnership did not last long, thouhg, as he looked to drive Mullaney back down the wicket for four, but impressive reactions from the bowler caught the drive to his right. Ackermann departed, caught and bowled Mullaney.

George Rhodes’ innings only lasted three minutes, as confusion between himself and Lilley gave the Outlaws’ field enough time to run-out the new batsman. The Foxes were now sitting on 55 for four after 8.2

At the half-way point of the innings, the Foxes were 63 for four. Lilley added another boundary to his score with an off-side drive, but one delivery later was dismissed after Chris Nash caught his top-edge off Imad Wasim, even if it was at the third attempt. Lilley posted 22 off 18 [2x4, 1x6], and the Foxes were now heading into their lower order as they searched for a partnership.

The slower wicket was proving to be a challenge for the Foxes. Hill [14, 17b] was the next Fox to go with a comfortable catch made by Ben Duckett, bowled by Ball. Mike then came in and looked to make an early impact by sending Fletcher over mid-wicket for four. But as was the story of the night for the Foxes, Mike [8, 6b] was bowled later in that same over.

The Foxes’ 100 was brought up in the sixteenth over with Tom Taylor and Callum Parkinson in the middle.

Taylor added a maximum to his total in the next over as he sent Fletcher sailing all the way over the leg side and into the Yu Energy stand.

His stand didn’t last much longer, though, as he was caught and bowled by Imad Wasim after the spinner finally got one to turn. Taylor went for 19 off 17 [1x6].

Will Davis [4, 10b] and Parkinson [12, 13b] then brought the Foxes’ innings to a close as they finished with an under-par 123 for eight.

Parkinson opened the bowling for the Foxes and had an immediate impact to bowl Chris Nash [0, 3b] with just his third delivery.

The second wicket could have fallen in the third over, however having seen the ball late in the darkening sky, Delaney dropped the catch of Joe Clarke as he top-edged Ackermann into the leg side looking for a maximum.

Delany was made to rue his fumble immediately, as Alex Hales succeeded in doing what Clarke tried, smashing Ackermann high into the stand behind Irishman.

This signalled time for the Outlaws’ to motor on, with Hales claiming sixteen of the seventeen runs posted in the fourth.

At the end of the powerplay, the Outlaws had posted 62 for two with the wicket of Hales [44, 16b, 4x4, 6x4] rounding off the first six overs of the innings.

Delaney made the breakthrough bowling to Hales who slogged a shot which was caught at long on by Taylor.

Clarke could have gone in the next over off Mike, as he skewed his shot to point with an outside edge, but Taylor could not take the chance.

However, Taylor redeemed himself in the next over dismissing Clarke himself, as the batsman nicked his delivery through to Hill who took the grab. Clarke went for for 19 off 20.

The Foxes attack were restricting Notts’ run count and the fourth wicket followed in the ninth over from Mike bowling to Moores.

The wicketkeeper-batsman looked to pull Mike through the leg-side but saw his edge skew high into the offside where Delaney was on hand to pouch it. Moores went for 1 off 3.

The Outlaws then reached the half-way point of the innings, sitting on 75 for four.

Leicestershire could only claim one more wicket before Outlaws reached the target of 124 as Delany fired one into Duckett who looked for the reverse sweep.

The delivery alluded the batsman’s swing and crashed into the outside of the off stump. Duckett went for 14 off 18 with the Outlaws on 103 for five.

The next partnership of experienced duo Dan Christian [33no, 26b, 3x4, 2x6] and Steven Mullaney [7no, 4b, 1x4] saw the home side over the line with five overs exactly remaining in the tie.

They took 13 from the fifteenth over to claim the Outlaws’ five wicket victory.

FIGURES | Parkinson 4-0-25-1, Taylor 3-0-7-1, Ackermann 1-0-14-0, Griffiths 1-0-17-0, Delany 3-0-37-2, Mike 3-0-21-1

FOXES | Ackermann (C), Davis, Dearden, Delany, Griffiths, Hill (wk), Lilley, Mike, Parkinson, Rhodes, Taylor.

OUTLAWS | Nash, Hales, Clarke, Duckett, Moores (wk), Christian (c), Mullaney, Wasim, Patel, Fletcher, Ball.

IMAGES | Thanks to John Mallet of Outside Off for supplying images throughout the game.