As the Outlaws' latest Vitality Blast quarter-final draws near, trentbridge.co.uk casts a glance back to the most memorable T20 knockout ties under the Trent Bridge lights.
2006: Outlaws (213-6) beat Northants (150-6) by 63 runs.
Fleming, Hussey, Read, Patel – the Outlaws side of 2006, much like today’s, possessed many players capable of taking a game by the scruff of the neck.
And it was Hussey who bolstered his reputation as one of the finest practitioners of the game’s shortest format on this occasion.
The Aussie hit almost 2,000 T20 runs for his adopted county, and the 71 he scored against Northants in the 2006 quarter-final were amongst the most crucial.
A strike-rate of 208.82 would be astonishing in the Vitality Blast today; in the embryonic days of Twenty20, it was simply phenomenal.
Notts cruised home by 63 runs, aided in no small part by a miserly four-over spell of 2-16 from Ryan Sidebottom.
2010: Outlaws (141-9) beat Sussex (128-7) by 13 runs.
A visit from the defending champions, a defiant rearguard action, a nailbiting run-chase – the 2010 quarter-final between the Outlaws and Sussex had it all.
From a perilous position at 98-6 in the 15th over, the Green and Golds hauled themselves to 141-9, with Chris Read and Ryan Sidebottom piercing the field with regularity.
And exemplary game-management from Darren Pattinson (3-17), Samit Patel and man-of-the-match Steven Mullaney strangled the Sussex chase.
This was an evening where the story of the game was told in the economy column, Patel conceding just 20 from his four overs (and claiming the scalp of Chris Nash) and Mullaney 18.
In a format where even one loose delivery can prove terminal, the trio remained immune to the pressure, ensuring the champions would fall 13 runs short.
2016: Outlaws (162-7) beat Essex (123 all out) by 39 runs.
A game which ultimately resulted in a comfortable victory for Notts appeared set to be anything but as Essex began their chase.
The visitors were making sedate progress towards a target of 163 before quick thinking from Steven Mullaney ran out Jesse Ryder when backing up.
Ryder's dismissal triggered a widespread loss of composure among the visitors, and Samit Patel was merciless.
Three wickets in four balls for the Outlaws icon transformed the contest, with Nick Browne and Ashar Zaidi being lured into mishits before Tom Westley’s stumps were rearranged.
In a storied T20 career, Patel’s final analysis of 4-20 remains his finest for Notts, and that he did it when his side’s chances of progression seemed to be receding is a testament to his big-match temperament.
The left-armer's heroics allowed a 13,500-strong crowd to relax, the visitors dismissed 39 runs short with more than an over to spare.
2017: Outlaws (152-5) beat Somerset (151-6) by five wickets.
Twelve months on from his heroics against Essex, Patel exerted arguably a greater influence over the quarter-final clash with Somerset, standing out with bat and ball to keep the Outlaws on track for their maiden T20 title.
The wickets of James Hildreth and Michael Leask stymied the Somerset innings just as they were looking to accelerate.
The visitors ultimately made 151-6 and in a year that had seen the Outlaws breach the 200 mark with regularity, it was a total which appeared under par.
But the chase proved far from straightforward.
The Trent Bridge crowd were stunned as the home side approached the halfway stage at 66-4, Wessels, Hales, Moores and Taylor having all departed cheaply.
Patel and Christian, however, were able to wrestle back the initiative with a 54-run stand.
39 of those runs came in three overs as the pair put the Somerset attack to the sword.
After man-of-the-match Patel departed, Steven Mullaney joined his T20 skipper to shepherd the Outlaws over the line.
2019: Outlaws (165-0) beat Middlesex (160-8) by ten wickets
A weatherbeaten Trent Bridge crowd were treated to one of the most comprehensive batting performances ever put in by the Green and Golds last September, as Chris Nash and Alex Hales marmalised the Middlesex attack.
Chasing 161 for a place at Finals Day, the majority of the Outlaws’ storied batting line-up were able to remain safely seated in the dug-outs as the Notts openers completed the rout inside 17 overs.
Hales top-scored with 83 from 47 deliveries, including six fours and seven sixes.
One maximum, lofted high over the head of Toby Roland-Jones and into the Pavilion, was worth the price of admission alone. Roland-Jones’ rueful smile as he walked back to his mark betrayed his sense of misfortune at coming up against an Outlaws opener at the top of his game.
Nash, meanwhile, was named man-of-the-match after hitting an unbeaten half-century on only his second T20 appearance for the Outlaws.
The former Sussex man’s dismantling of Mujeeb ur Rahman was testament to his determination to seize his opportunity, contributing to a final tally of 74 runs from 53 deliveries.