One Day Cup Report: Warwickshire at Nottinghamshire
Warwickshire secured an excellent Royal London Cup victory at Trent Bridge as they defeated holders Notts Outlaws by 108 runs.
Having chosen to bat, Warwickshire totalled 295 for nine. Given a great platform by Ed Pollock’s List A-best 56 (29 balls, seven fours, four sixes), they built on it steadily. Sam Hain followed back-to-back centuries with 72 (91 balls, five fours) and Adam Hose hit 51 (53 balls, two fours, two sixes).
Olly Stone and Chris Woakes then struck early to have the home side four for two and the Bears bowled well and caught immaculately to maintain the pressure on the dangerous Outlaws. Wickets fell regularly, six of them to home-grown young seamers Aaron Thomason (four for 45) and Henry Brookes (two for 44) to seal an emphatic victory which sends the Bears towards Wednesday’s day/nighter against Northamptonshire at Edgbaston in excellent heart.
On a good batting pitch, the Bears lost Jonathan Trott in the third over but Pollock found his range in the fourth which brought three fours and a six off Jake Ball. As the opener climbed into his shots, Ball, who started with a maiden, at one stage had the strange figures of 3-1-32-0.
Pollock sent Luke Fletcher’s first two balls for six on the way to a 22-ball 50 before lifting Carter to deep mid-wicket after a stand of 78 in 55 balls with Hain.
Hain and Ian Bell then added 89 from 103 balls before both perished attempting to accelerate. Bell (41, 52 balls, three fours) hoisted Patel to long on and Hain gave Carter the charge and was stumped
Hose and Tim Ambrose (38, 37 balls, four fours) also fell to catches in the deep and Chris Woakes was run out, going for a second, by Rikki Wessels. The innings rather fell away to leave Notts fancying their chances at the halfway stage but they fancied them a bit less after their openers were out within 21 balls. Stone’s seventh delivery, a swinging yorker, disturbed Chris Nash’s stumps and Woakes’s ninth dismissed Rikki Wessels, courtesy of a superb catch by Hose running in from the square-leg boundary.
Tom Moores ‘s aggressive 32-ball 33 was terminated by Thomason’s fourth ball, which he chipped to Bell at deep square leg. Jeetan Patel then became the fourth Bears bowler to take wicket in his first nine balls when his namesake Samit sliced to backward point.
That left Notts on 101 for four and it was 138 for six after two blows from Brookes. Ross Taylor (56, 63 balls, eight fours) slashed high to third man and Steven Mullaney, surprised by bounce, mis-pulled to deep mid-wicket.
Those wickets left the Bears well-placed for victory and Thomason took them to the threshold of it by forcing a series of errors from the batsmen as Billy Root, Fletcher and Ball sent up catches before another perfectly pitched yorker from Stone, to bowl Carter, rounded off the win.
