August was looking like a make or break month for Notts with six crucial Twenty20 games and three county championship games. We take a look at how they got on
Twenty20 Cup - Derbyshire at Trent Bridge 02/08
Batting first, Notts moved Tom Moores up to open and he top scored with 48. Lower down the order, captain Dan Christian bludgeoned 39 not out and Billy Root scored 28 not out as the Outlaws posted 166-5. Lockie Ferguson finished with superb figures - 2-15 for the visitors. In reply, Samit Patel took a wicket in the first over and Ish Sodhi finally showed why he topped the international T20 bowling chart earlier in the year by taking 4/17. Wahab Riaz scored 53 but he was one of Sodhi's victims as Derbyshire fell 9 runs short.
Twenty20 Cup - Worcestershire at Trent Bridge 04/08
Two days later the Rapids gave Notts a lesson in how to play twenty-over cricket. Despite losing a wicket to the final ball of the second over (and being 7-1 at that stage), Moeen Ali (65) and Callum Ferguson (102 not out) timed their innings perfectly for Worcestershire to end on a preposterous 206-2. Even with Alex Hales opening the batting, Notts were never really in the game. 55 from Steven Mullaney gave the score a little respectability but the visitors were still triumphant by a massive 72 runs.
Twenty20 Cup - Warwickshire at Edgbaston 09/08
A trip to the venue where they won the competition last year inspired Notts to a slightly better performance. Batting first a total of 152-8 was underpinned by 41 from Samit Patel and 21 not out for Jake Libby making his T20 debut. In reply, former England batter Ian Bell hit a classy 54 and Colin de Grandhomme's 49 not out steered the Bears to a six wicket victory, leaving Notts looking over the precipice of a group stage exit.
Twenty20 Cup - Yorkshire at Trent Bridge 10/08
Back at the Bridge and Notts finally discovered their touch, posting a mammoth 212-5 from their 20 overs. Jake Libby scored 58 and Tom Moores' 80 not out featured six 4s and three 6s. Opener Tom Kohler-Cadmore scored 72 but Harry Gurney took three wickets to rip the heart out of Yorkshire's middle-order and Nottinghamshire's margin of victory was an impressive 63 runs.
Twenty20 Cup - Worcestershire at New Road 12/08
Two days later, Notts showed that they could chase a score as well as setting one. The hosts set a daunting chase of 192 to win, Brett D'Oliveira top scoring with 64 while Luke Fletcher and Steven Mullaney took two wickets apiece. Rikki Wessels hit nine 6s as Nottinghamshire's innings exploded. He top scored with 55 as Jake Libby hit 37, Tom Moores 30 and Dan Christian's 28 not out saw the Outlaws over the line with 11 balls to spare.
Twenty20 Cup - Yorkshire at Headingly 17/08
Those two wins in a row meant the game against Yorkshire was a straight shoot-out for a place in the quarter-finals, the winners would be through, the losers would be out. The hosts batted first and with Adam Lyth scoring 44, David Willey 51 and Kane Williamson also getting 44, they scored a good-but-not-great 163-6. Harry Gurney was right on the money with his bowling, conceding just 16 runs from his four overs, also taking the wicket of Jordan Thompson. Alex Hales was the pick of the Notts' batters, scoring 71 not out from 56 balls. Tom Moores helped him see the Outlaws home with 43 not out from 33 balls as Nottinghamshire won by 8 wickets and managed to sneak out of the group stages.
County Championship - Hampshire at The Rose Bowl 19/08-22/08
While England were busy playing India at Trent Bridge, Notts headed off to the south coast to face Hampshire. The visitors elected to field and despite James Vince making 74, they reduced the hosts to 137-7. Then Liam Dawson scored 72 and Kyle Abbott 60 not out as Hants reached 277 all out. Steven Mullaney and Matthew Carter both took three wickets but there was a feeling of letting the hosts off the hook. Kragg Brathwaite only made five runs on debut, one of six victims for Fidel Edwards. Some lower order fun from Luke Fletcher, scoring 43 runs from 35 balls meant that Notts just about avoided the follow on. In Hampshire's second innings Mark Footitt took a wicket in the first over but Vince would score a classy 147 and Tom Alsop 99, letting the hosts declare on 399-7, giving them a lead of 510 runs. Brathwaite hit 48 runs in his second dig and there were 50s for Steven Mullaney (50) and Riki Wessels (69) but they couldn't prevent Hants winning by a crushing 270 runs.
Twenty20 Cup - Somerset at The County Ground 27/08
A visit to Somerset in the T20 quarter-final would see the Outlaws fielding first and taking a wicket in the very first over. Despite 52 from James Hildreth and 46 not out from Tom Abell, Notts weren't actually in that bad a position at the half-way point of the Somerset innings. However, those two had set the platform for captain Lewis Gregory's late assault - he hit 5 sixes, scoring 60 runs from a mere 24 balls, helping the hosts post an impressive 209-5. Notts were actually up with the run-rate well into the 13th over with Alex Hales scoring 45, Jake Libby 41 and Tom Moores a quick-fire 36. When Moores lost his wicket, there was a stutter as Jaime Overton removed the Notts middle order, taking five wickets in total. A couple of big hits from Luke Fletcher an Matthew Carter meant that Notts only lost by 19 runs but the result hadn't been in doubt for a while before that and Notts last hope of silverware for the season was over.
County Championship - Surrey at The Oval 29/08-01/09
A trip to The Oval is always pretty daunting and Surrey were on the back of six successive County Championship wins. Notts meanwhile had already started planning for next season, giving a debut to Ben Slater, on loan from Derbyshire but he will be signing permanently in the winter. Fielding first, Notts yet again got themselves into a good position, reducing Surrey to 36-3. However, as has been the case too often this year, they couldn't make that early pressure count. Mark Stoneman, recently discarded by England, scored an imperious 144, ably supported by Ben Foakes and Will Jacks (both 48), allowing Surrey to score a total of 375. Tom Curran then ripped through the fragile Notts' top order, leaving the visitors on 20-3, on his way to taking 5-28. With support from Morne Morkel (2-21) and Conor McKerr (3-21), Notts folded to just 101 all out. Sensing blood, Surrey invited Notts to bat again and despite 60 from Kraigg Brathwaite at the top of the innings, it was another procession of wickets. Morkel took 3 more and McKerr 4, condemning Notts to defeat by an innings and 125 runs.
Duck of the Month: Matthew Carter. It always feels a little harsh to select a bowler for this as they're not primarily in the team for their batting but Carter's duck in the second innings at Hampshire made it a pair of ducks in the match - definitely one to forget.
Player of the Month: Tom Moores. A distinct lack of any consistency from any of the Nottinghamshire players in August but the head coach's son produced a couple of telling contributions in the T20
September brings three more County Championship games and Notts are now looking slightly nervously over their shoulders - one decent result should ensure that Division 1 status is retained for 2019 though.
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