Tabraiz Shamsi lauded the depth of the Trent Rocket line-up after he and Alex Hales fired the East Midlands-based outfit to a 25-run victory over Oval Invincibles at Trent Bridge.
The South African took 2-21 after Hales’ 22-ball half-century helped the Rockets set 181/4 off their 100 deliveries. The opener was backed up by leading run scorer Dawid Malan blasting 38 off 29 and consolidated by skipper Lewis Gregory combining with Colin Munro to add 41 off the last 19 balls.
“Alex is unbelievable, I don’t even have to say it,” Shamsi said.
“When he is batting, anything is possible. He is the one who has been smashing it, but Malan and the guys who have followed have been brilliant.
“There are a lot of match winners in our team, I’d rather be in their team than playing against them!
“Our batters have been brilliant for us all season and they put up a brilliant total for us to defend and the bowlers before me and after me were unbelievable. We don’t rely on one player.”
Despite Jordan Cox countering with an unbeaten 66 off 31, Invincibles couldn’t recover from losing their first three wickets for 32 in 35 balls with left-arm wrist spinner finding a notable degree of turn for his pair of wickets, including that of Jason Roy.
After Rockets were put in, Malan had the six counter ticking from ball four but spent the next 40 largely admiring his teammate as Hales delivered an extraordinary display of his clean hitting skills.
Hales, who survived an lbw review first ball, took a particular liking to Sam Curran, plundering three of his four maximums off the left-hander, whom he hammered 20 runs in one set of five.
He had gone past 10,000 career short format runs in the previous set and looked unstoppable. His fourth six - off Sydney Thunder teammate Mohammad Hasnain - sailed over the roof of the Fox Road stand and into the Nottingham night.
But after he’d gone for 59, picking out the fielder on the midwicket boundary as Hasnain took his revenge, Rockets lost some momentum and it needed Gregory and Munro’s enterprise at the death to set the Invincibles a testing chase.
In between, Malan’s 29-ball 38 had ended when Jason Roy grabbed a very low catch in the covers that needed an umpire review to confirm, Tom Kohler-Cadmore miscued to point and Daniel Sams flicked one straight to deep square leg.
The test facing the visitors soon became bigger still.
Will Jacks was fresh from his brilliant unbeaten 108 not out last time out but Sam Cook had his number on this occasion, denied his wicket on an lbw review in his first set and watching him survive a top-edged pull before bowling him with a perfect yorker.
When on 20 from 17, Roy ran into a ripper from Shamsi that knocked back his leg stump. The overseas bowler had Billings leg before with one that fizzed through three balls later.
“It was really nice to get the wickets,” Shamsi added.
“My job is to contribute by taking wickets, but not only that, to keep the lines tight too.
“It is a hard ground to defend on, so in my first game here I am very happy.”
Curran built himself a start but perished for 27, getting away with a steepler that Tom Moores spilled only for the wicketkeeper to redeem himself next ball with a stumping that won instant forgiveness from bowler Samit Patel.
It could have been better in the field for the Rockets, with Cox shelled at short third on 32 and Sunil Narine on 16 by the Moores diving to his left in the same Luke Wood over, but with 66 needed from 20 balls, despite Narine launching a free hit over the rope at wide long on, the winning line proved too far away for the Invincibles.