Jack Haynes’ unbeaten fifty followed twin four-wicket hauls for Daniel Sams and Matt Montgomery as Notts Outlaws downed North Group leaders Durham by seven wickets to keep their Vitality Blast quarter-final hopes alive.
Chasing 157 to win on a slow pitch, Haynes steered the Outlaws home with an unbeaten 55 off 40 balls with two sixes, backed up by Moises Henriques (43 off 33) and Joe Clarke (43 off 26).
Australian seamer Sams (4/26) and off-spinner Matt Montgomery, with a career-best 4/30, led for the Outlaws with the ball as Durham were all out for 156 in precisely 20 overs.
Graham Clark passed 300 for the season with three sixes in his 27-ball 44, with finisher Jimmy Neesham making 29 off 17.
Clark cleared the ropes three times in the first four overs but Durham lost three wickets in the powerplay.
Left-handers Alex Lees and Ben McKinney both fell to top-edges as they attempted to club Montgomery’s off-spin over the short legside boundary.
Moments later, though, the standout piece of fielding of the night went to Haynes, who took a one-handed catch at mid-off from Sams’ bowling as Colin Ackermann was dismissed first ball.
From 52-3 after six, Durham were 70-4 after 10 as the Outlaws spinners applied the brakes and saw Clark caught on the wide long-on boundary, giving Montgomery a third wicket.
A somewhat tortured 18 off 30 by Will Rhodes ended with a second brilliant catch by Haynes on the midwicket boundary as Durham reached 104 for five from 15.
Ollie Robinson (22 off 17) hit Montgomery straight to cover before Sams picked up his third with Kasey Aldridge missing a full, straight one.
Olly Stone then ran all the way to the 30-yard circle to claim a superb high caught-and-bowled as Matt Potts departed for one.
Neesham fell to another excellent boundary catch as Sams claimed his first four-wicket haul for Notts and Nathan Sowter was run out off the final ball of the innings.
Matt Potts had Freddie McCann caught behind and left-arm spinner Callum Parkinson conceded just seven in his two powerplay overs, but Ackermann went for 21 as Clarke twice cleared the ropes on the off-side.
The Notts skipper did fall for 43 attempting to scoop Aldridge in the eighth, but he and Haynes had already added 63 from just 37 balls by that point.
The Outlaws were bang on the required rate at 79 for two from 10 and sensible batting by Haynes and Henriques brought the target down to 38 from the last 30 balls.
Durham struggled to create a chance, as the Australian all-rounder cleared long-off for six off Aldridge and hauled another off Neesham before slicing the same bowler to fall for 43.
By then, though the Outlaws were well on track, with Haynes completing his fifty from 38 balls before Tom Moores pulled Neesham for the winning boundary with eight balls to spare.
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