Captain Joe Clarke has praised the influence of the Trent Bridge faithful as Notts Outlaws prepare to host Vitality Blast North Group leaders Durham on Friday night.

“Since I’ve played for this club, the crowds that you get are amazing, and they obviously spur on all the lads to want it even more,” said Clarke.

“It’s always great to see Trent Bridge rocking and full of people cheering us on, so hopefully they can do more of the same over our last couple of games.

Clarke leads a 15-strong squad for the visit of the north-eastern outfit, who sit atop the North Group with 28 points.

However, Clarke has full faith in the Outlaws to bite back from defeat in Chester-le-Street last week, and take particular heart from a nerve-shredding win in the interim.

“It’s a great challenge, and with the weather supposed to be a scorcher as well, hopefully we can carry on some momentum from our win against Leicestershire here,” he said.

“Durham are playing some good T20 cricket, so we’ll have to play well to beat them!

“[Last week] is fresh in the minds of both the bowlers and the batters, and we might change some of our plans that we had last time.

“All the boys will do their individual analysis of Durham, and obviously as a group we’ll speak about things we could have done better, but it’s a fresh game.”

The Outlaws currently sit sixth in the table, just four points - equivalent to one win under the new points system - off the quarter-final qualification spots.

As the Blast reaches its business end, Clarke is confident in the Outlaws’ approach as they bid to make the last eight.

“I think the idea that we’re pretty much playing knockout cricket now is the main thing,” he said. “When you think like that, it brings some extra energy and focus into the group.

“Everything is on the line now, but the boys are feeling confident. Hopefully we can find that little period where we get on a bit of a run and win our last couple of group games.”

While confident in his team, Clarke has also been in sparkling form individually in this season’s Blast, striking four half-centuries, but is not putting any upper limit on what he can do.

“I would have liked to have gone on and got a couple of higher scores, but the consistency and the confidence are both definitely there,” he said.

“Hopefully, I can keep that going and put in some match-winning contributions, and, as a team, we can carry on some momentum from Sunday!”

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