Notts top North Group with another win
Nottinghamshire continued their march to the Friends Provident t20 quarter-finals with a confident 32-run victory over Warwickshire
Cricinfo staff
27-Jun-2010
Nottinghamshire continued their march to the Friends Provident t20 quarter-finals with a confident 32-run victory over Warwickshire. In-form skipper David Hussey, the leading runscorer in the competition, hit three sixes and two fours on his way to 56 from 38 balls in partnership with Samit Patel (38) as the hosts totalled 149 for 6, with Warwickshire seamer Neil Carter picking up 3 for 28.
Hussey then delivered a wicket maiden in his only over as the visitors made a mess of the run chase, with five batsmen reaching double figures but no-one bettering Jim Troughton's 23 as they collapsed to 117 all out. Left-arm spinner Graeme White claimed 3 for 23 and medium-pacer Steven Mullaney 2 for 19 from his four overs, as the home side picked up their eighth win in the competition.
Nottinghamshire batted first on a used track offering some bite and turn for the spinners but it was the Warwickshire seamers who struck first, with Alex Hales, Ali Brown and Matt Wood all dismissed in the powerplay overs. Two sixes and a four from Patel off Imran Tahir's second over increased the tempo before the legspinner had his revenge to remove the former England international lbw.
Hussey joined in with three driven sixes of his own before drilling Darren Maddy to deep midwicket, while Carter bowled Mullaney in the final over.
Warwickshire stumbled from the very start of their innings as Carter fell in the first over to Darren Pattinson, who also had Darren Maddy caught in the third over, while Hussey bowled England hopeful Jonathan Trott for a scratchy 15 off 22 balls. Having only reached 44 with the loss of three wickets at halfway, boundaries were desperately needed but a succession of Warwickshire batsmen perished attempting to clear the ropes.
The last six wickets tumbled in the final seven overs, with the highlights being wicketkeeper Chris Read's sharp stumping of Troughton off Mullaney and Patel's direct hit to run out Botha off his own bowling. White cleaned up the tail with three catches in the deep as Nottinghamshire went six points clear at the top of the North Group, having played two more games than Lancashire, who are in second place.