James Taylor believes the ability to bat deep has been crucial to Notts Outlaws' success in the Royal London One-Day Cup so far.

Speaking ahead of his side’s trip to Lord’s to face Middlesex, Taylor reserved high praise for the likes of Chris Read, Brett Hutton and Steven Mullaney, who have taken the Outlaws over the line in tight situations during the tournament so far.

“It is always nice when the top three do the bulk of the scoring but it hasn’t been quite as simple as that,” said the limited-overs captain.

“We have come up against some great sides that put us under pressure and it is nice that when the players down the order are asked to step up, they definitely have done that.

“They have put some valuable contributions towards the team in those games, none more so than Chris Read and Brett Hutton who stepped up to the mark against Lancashire.

“That’s the beauty of having such a strong batting line-up. You don’t want to leave it to anyone else, but if one person doesn’t hopefully another will.

“We’ve got plenty of internationals right the way through the line-up and it is up to those guys to grab the bull by the horns and win those games with some strong performances.”

The recent victory over Lancashire may have all but secured Notts’ place in the quarter-final, but Taylor insists their foot will remain firmly on the gas during the remaining three matches.

Club Captain Chris Read has been rested for the fixture at Lord’s along with left-arm paceman Harry Gurney, both of whom are likely to return to the team for the LV= County Championship trip to Worcestershire which gets underway on Friday.

Sam Wood, Luke Fletcher and Michael Lumb have been named in Mick Newell’s 12-man squad, meaning at least two of them will feature on the hallowed turf of the MCC.

“We don’t want to leave it up to other results so it is up to us, every game that we play we want to win and we definitely want to get that home quarter-final. We haven’t had a home game in about a month now so it will be lovely to get another game at home. We all know what a special place Trent Bridge is so to get another game here would be amazing.

“The guys have been in exceptional form over the last month. We’ve put in some really good performances in the T20 blast, and then the championship, and now we have found some consistent form in the one-day format.

“We have found a really good recipe that works for us. Like I said the boys are playing a really positive brand of cricket and we are getting the results we want.

“It’s that big word momentum. We are unbeaten in this competition and now we have a big game down at Lords and hopefully we can continue that.

“There has been a lot of hard work and preparation has been exceptional from the guys. Individuals have done exactly what they need to do to find their own form, and they’ve continued that, both with the bat and the ball through all three formats.

"Hopefully we can continue that against a good side in Middlesex. Everyone loves playing at the home of cricket and hopefully we can get another big win come tomorrow.”

Notts Outlaws squad to face Middlesex (from): Jake Ball, Luke Fletcher, Alex Hales, Brett Hutton,  Michael Lumb,  Steven Mullaney, Samit Patel, Imran Tahir, Brendan Taylor, James Taylor, Riki Wessels and Sam Wood.

Coverage

BBC Radio Nottingham will be providing on-line commentary on this and every Notts match throughout the season. Access the on-line coverage via the BBC Sport website or app.

Follow the live scorecard, regular text updates and radio commentary through your perfect match-day companion Trent Bridge Live.

 

Royal London One-Day Cup at Trent Bridge: Fixtures & Ticket Information

v Kent Spitfires – Monday 17 August 2pm BUY TICKETS
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