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Tale of a Trophy
“Not a lot was said out loud, everyone
was a little shaken, but we were already
thinking about regrouping.”
In the same way that Samit Patel had been
the architect of Glamorgan’s downfall in
the competition’s final, the spin of Moeen
Ali derailed the Outlaws in a rain-affected
tie atTrent Bridge. After restricting the
visitors to 220 from their 40 overs, Notts
couldn’t get started, falling to 182 all out.
“It was just a complete disappointment,”
said Patel.
“Having to look back over how well we’d
played before that, to not being able to
chase down a total of 220, it wasn’t like us
at all.”
Another defeat swiftly followed, this
time a high-scoring encounter at Sussex,
leaving only a trip to Kent to secure their
passage to the semi-finals, with the in-form
Northants not far behind. Fortunately,
Hales’ 74 led Notts to a five-wicket win
and a semi-final at home to Somerset,
familiar foes in knockout cricket.
If the nerves in the dressing room had
matched those in the stands before the
start of play, it didn’t show on the field.
Notts set their marker early, Gurney having
MarcusTrescothick caught behind in the
first over. From then, the Outlaws didn’t
look back. Jake Ball took 4-25 as Somerset
were skittled for 119, and Notts required
less than 26 overs to knock off the total at
a canter.
“For me, the highlight of the entire
summer was that semi-final,” said Ball.
“To go out there and get my career-best
figures in front of the Sky cameras was
huge for me.That was our most complete
performance: to blow away Somerset in the
way that we did was proof that we lived up
to expectations.
“They’re always billed as our old enemies,
and to see them off in style gave us a huge
boost going into the final. As it turns out
we needed it, the final was nowhere near as
straightforward as it was billed to be.”
Samit Patel was quick to praise the
Outlaws bowlers for their performance that
evening, before scoring the winning runs
himself with a typically expressive knock.
For him, the swagger running through the
team that evening was justified in its result.
“You have to earn the right to play that
way, and win that way,” he said.
“The way that you start big games like that
says a lot, and Harry knockingTrescothick
over in the first over just set the ball rolling.
“He’s a batsman who can score double-
hundreds in one-day cricket so to get rid of
him early was huge for us.
“We showed
no fear and
delivered the
goods.”
Samit Patel