Notts Outlaws produced a brutal display of bowling to skittle Somerset for 119 in the Royal London Cup, paving the way for a 10-wicket win at the Cooper Associates County Ground.
Sol Budinger and Ben Slater blazed unbeaten half-centuries to conclude the fixture with 38 overs of Notts’ innings remaining, after the hosts were dismantled batting first.
Four wickets in the opening five overs, including three in six balls, ripped the hosts’ top order apart, with none of the top five making it to double figures.
A brief show of resistance from James Rew and captain Ben Green lifted Somerset to 62/6 from 17/5, but three wickets each for Zak Chappell and Dane Paterson, and two apiece for Liam Patterson-White and Brett Hutton, saw the West Country county dismissed inside 36 overs.
Haseeb Hameed’s decision to bowl first in a sun-baked Taunton was vindicated with early wickets.
Matthew Renshaw was caught brilliantly by Paterson racing round the third-man boundary in Chappell’s opening over, with his top order colleagues following him back to the dressing room in a frenzied collapse.
With the final ball of the fourth over, Steven Davies edged Hutton through to Montgomery at first slip for six, before Goldsworthy chopped Chappell onto his own stumps two deliveries later, and James Hildreth feathered through to Schadendorf without scoring to give the Grantham-born bowler his second wicket.
When George Bartlett was caught by Montgomery four overs later, Somerset were left reeling.
Rew and Green restored a semblance of calm, however, the latter driving handsomely straight to move into the double figures and repel the charge of a rotating seam trio.
It was spin, instead, which prised the breakthrough in the 21st over after a 45-run fifth wicket partnership.
Skipper Green was undone attempting to cut a full Liam Patterson-White delivery which cannoned into his off stump, and the left-armer had his second five overs later when a deceptive piece of bowling saw Aldridge skip past a flighted delivery leaving Schadendorf the simplest of stumpings.
Rew, who batted commendably for his 48, brought the hosts’ hundred up with his sixth boundary, through mid-wicket off Hutton, but then got a leading edge to the same bowler which saw the ball loop to Fateh Singh at third man.
Peter Siddle edged another catch to Montgomery at slip having made 14, and when last man Sonny Baker was yorked by Paterson, Somerset had been bowled out in 35.4 overs, equalling their lowest ever List A total against Notts.
In response, Slater took 14 runs off the opening over of the Outlaws' innings, hitting three fours off successive balls from Jack Brooks.
The opening pair brought up a half-century opening stand inside seven overs against the experienced bowling attack of the aforementioned seamer and Siddle.
Slater hit the first six of the game with a top-edged pull off Aldridge and Budinger quickly followed suit, heaving Baker over wide long-on twice off successive balls.
Slater put three figures on the board with a pulled six off Aldridge and was first to his fifty, off 46 balls, with 7 fours and 2 sixes.
Budinger’s half-century occupied only 25 deliveries, with the same boundary count, as the Outlaws completed a one-day annihilation.
*****
The Royal London Cup Final
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