Notts Outlaws bowed out of The Banks Barbados T20 Cup after losing to Yorkshire by 38 runs at a very hot Windward Cricket Club.
Captain Andrew Gale was the man who hurt the Outlaws, scoring a punishing 111 (63 balls 82 mins 13x4 3x6) out of a total of 192-4. In response Notts could only make 154, being bowled out with the final ball of the eighteenth over.
Neil Edwards top-scored for the Outlaws, with 59 but his dismissal signalled the end of any realistic challenge.
“That sort of score should be gettable on a good wicket but we lost Michael Lumb when he was going nicely and then Neil went at a crucial time,” said Nottinghamshire Director of Cricket Mick Newell.
“We’re disappointed to have gone out of the tournament but we now have some time to re-group ahead of two days of red ball cricket at the weekend.”
Notts struck an early blow even before the game had started. For whatever reason, the team coach was assigned a police motorcycle escort to speed them to their destination.
All obstacles that were in the way, including the unescorted Yorkshire team coach, were made to wait as the Outlaws convoy cruised across the island.
Barely eleven hours after coming off the field after the quarter final win over Barbados, it was a case of assessing the walking wounded before a side was announced.
That announcement showed two changes. A slight calf twinge forced Chris Read to stand down, joining Andy Carter who picked up a tight quad in the win over Barbados.
Paul Franks returned to skipper the side with Jake Ball also bolstering the bowling attack.
The Yorkshire openers began in punishing fashion. Both left-handers timed the ball crisply from the off with Joe Sayers hitting the first six of the contest in just the second over.
After six overs 57-0 was the total and although Notts spilled a couple of opportunities in the outfield, a good, true batting wicket was certainly helping the flow of runs as the pair put on 108 together.
Franks entered the attack in the twelfth over and made the breakthrough as Sayers (34) found Edwards on the ropes.
Graeme White bowled the dangerous Jonny Bairstow (1), by which time Gale had passed his fifty and begun another useful stand, this time with McGrath (25)
Ben Phillips eventually got him, thanks to an outstanding, diving, one-handed catch by Ball at long-on.
Gale reached his century before falling in the final over to Harry Gurney, setting Notts 193 to win.
Nottinghamshire’s reply brought 39 runs from the first four overs but then Lumb (25) and Phillips (5) both fell to change bowlers Root and Wardlaw.
Edwards had launched a vicious aerial assault against Rashid on his way to making 94 on Monday. This time he greeted the leg-spinners arrival into the attack with consecutive boundaries, warming up for the next over when he launched Rafiq twice over the midwicket fence for sixes.
In the 40-over game earlier in the week Wessels had fallen to an outstanding catch by Adam Lyth, catching the ball over the ropes, tossing it up and then diving back inside the field of play to compete the dismissal.
Lightning struck twice with Root making a carbon copy catch to send back the same batsman. Wessels’ (11) most printable comment was ‘How’s my luck going at the moment?”
Elstone (7) was stumped off Rashid with Notts well ahead at the halfway mark but with four wickets down. That became five with the crucial departure of Edwards (59), shortly after reaching a splendid half-century from 32 balls.
The Carnegie spinners then took a strangle-hold on the game, with Mullaney (9), Franks (2) and White (5) falling in quick succession.
Turner (7) and Ball (7) both perished to catches in the deep as the run-rate rocketed, with innings finally ending after just 18 overs.
Yorkshire now face Warwickshire in the main final with Hampshire meeting Derbyshire in the plate final.
Notts Outlaws: Franks, Lumb, Edwards, Phillips, Wessels, Elstone, Mullaney, Turner, White, Ball, Gurney
Yorkshire: Gale, Sayers, McGrath, Bairstow, Balance, Root, Rashid, Rafiq, Wardlow, Sidebottom, Hannon-Dalby