SECOND XI T20 REPORT: Notts win both games of doubleheader
Nottinghamshire clinched victory in both games of today’s Second XI T20 doubleheader at Emirates Old Trafford with a last gasp two-wicket victory in the first game followed by a more comfortable seven-wicket success in the second.
Harry Singh hit his highest T20 score for the Second XI and Arav Shetty took a Second XI T20 best four wickets but a fifty by Ben Martindale and a late order 35 from Rob Lord helped Nottinghamshire win an exciting first game by two wickets.
Singh’s fine 80 off 54 balls contained 4 sixes and 8 fours and the Lancashire opener shared a 122-run partnership with Josh Bohannon for the second wicket following the early loss of Jack Lees for 8.
The pair reached their fifty partnership from 36 balls and took 30 more to power to their century stand with Singh the first to reach his half century from 34 balls with Bohannon reaching that landmark from 39 balls.
Bohannon fell playing a forcing drive to mid-on off Tom Giles for 52 midway through the 16th over while Singh was run out attempting a second run during the 19th over with Lancashire finishing on 168-5 from their 20 overs.
Charlie Barnard produced a smart piece of fielding off his own bowling to run out Travis Holland for 5, Freddie McCann was bowled for 8 after unwisely attempting a reverse pull off Will Williams and Haseeb Hameed chipped Barnard to midwicket for 7 to leave the Notts reply on 63-3 after 7 overs.
The bulk of the scoring had been produced by Ben Martindale who raced to his fifty off just 27 balls hitting two sixes and 3 fours. But the left hander perished after top edging a pull off George Balderson to Tom Bailey at midwicket for 55 midway through the 11th over with Notts 90-4 needing 79 off 57 balls.
The visitors middle order struggled against the spin of Shetty who returned 2-16 from his four overs with Sam King holing out to Singh for 18 and Sam Seecharan doing likewise to Williams for 12.
When Dane Schadendorf drove Barnard to Bohannon at long-off for 2 in the 15th over, the visitors task of scoring 53 from 32 balls looked tricky but some good hitting by Lord (35 off 19 balls) and Joe Pocklington (19 from 14) got them home on 172-8 – despite the latter’s run out midway through the last over – with one ball to spare.
TEAMS
Lancashire: Jack Lees, Harry Singh, Josh Bohannon, George Bell (capt/wkt), George Balderson, Arav Shetty, Ollie Sutton, Tom Bailey, Charlie Barnard, Will Williams, Mitch Stanley
Nottinghamshire: Ben Martindale, Travis Holland, Freddie McCann, Haseeb Hameed (capt), Sam King, Sam Seecharan, Dane Schadendorf (wkt), Joe Pocklington, Rob Lord, Jack Hayes, Tom Giles.
Jack Blatherwick smashed a Second XI T20 best but Notts clinched a seven-wicket victory by chasing down 152 runs in the second match of the doubleheader.
Blatherwick’s ferocious 65 off 37 balls helped Lancashire recover from the loss of both opening batters for 9 runs as he and George Bell added 85 for the third wicket. Arav Shetty was run out off the first ball of the innings when Joe Pocklington diverted a drive by Harry Singh onto the stumps at the bowler’s end while Singh was caught at long-on for 5 off Jack Hayes.
Blatherwick was quickly into his stride hitting his fifth and eighth balls for six off Tom Giles in the second over. Further sixes off Pocklington and Akand Gangotra plus five fours followed with Blatherwick reaching his half century from only 30 balls and Lancashire on 86-2 by halfway.
A further six was taken off left arm spinner Pocklington who hit back by bowling Blatherwick for 65 with the last ball of the 11th over and it was left to Bell, with 31 off 33 balls, and an unbeaten 18 off 11 balls by Mitch Stanley, including a six off the last ball of the 20th over, to take Lancashire to 150-8.
Ben Martindale and Sam Seecharan made a rapid start to the Notts run chase by taking 38 runs from the first three overs before Hassan Mughal struck with his first ball at the start of the fourth over which Seecharan cut to Blatherwick at deep backward point for 12.
Haseeb Hameed helped Martindale maintain that momentum with 34 runs off the next 15 balls before the latter sliced a drive off Mughal to Williams running back from mid-off for 30.
Having hit four of his first 5 balls faced for four, Hameed settled in to keep Notts on course for their target making 36 until lofting Shetty to Williams at long-on with Notts 106-3 midway through the 12th over.
Sam King, with an unbeaten 41 and Freddie McCann (17 not out) scored the 45 runs required to take the visitors to 151-3 and a seven-wicket victory with 14 balls to spare.
TEAMS
Lancashire: Harry Singh, Arav Shetty, George Bell (capt/wkt), Jack Blatherwick, Joe Moores, Ollie Sutton, Charlie Barnard, Will Williams, Mitch Stanley, Hassan Mughal.
Nottinghamshire: Ben Martindale, Sam Seecharan, Travis Holland, Freddie McCann, Haseeb Hameed (capt), Sam King, George Lavelle (wkt), Joe Pocklington, Akand Singh Gangotra, Jack Hayes, Tom Giles.