T20 Blast 2024 NOTTS vs BEARS North Group Match Report 07 July 2024

Birmingham Bears 61 for 1 (Yates 35*, Farooqi 1-31) batting Nottinghamshire 57 (James 15, Moeen 2-2, Garton 2-6) by nine wickets

Northern group leaders Birmingham Bears labeled themselves the team to beat for any rivals with aspirations of winning this season’s Vitality Blast as they defeated Notts Outlaws at Trent Bridge, winning by nine wickets after which bowled the home team out for just 57.

The hosts’ total is certainly the lowest in the history of the competition – the next lowest being 91 – and the fourth lowest among all counties since Twenty20 cricket entered the domestic calendar in 2003.

The Bears’ batsmen needed just 32 balls to get the job done, Rob Yates top-scoring with four fours and two sixes in an unbeaten 35 off 20 balls, smashing the winning boundary through the offside as the contest ended in just 100 minutes.

It gave the Bears their sixth straight win and eighth win overall as they try to win the competition for the first time since 2014.

With just two wins from 10 games so far, the only target for the outlaws, who were champions for the second time just four years ago, is to avoid finishing bottom of the group. All four remaining matches are away.

A first wicket in Nottinghamshire colors – an unfamiliar red on this occasion in recognition of 10 years of support from the club’s main sponsors – for Afghan left-arm seamer Fazalhaq Farooqi was the only positive from the hosts’ point of view.

The writing was on the wall as a catastrophic power play ended with the Outlaws 16 for 4 after Birmingham elected to take their chance with the ball after winning the toss.

The damage was done in the space of 15 balls as left-arm quick Garton bowled Ben Martindale and then saw Ben Slater’s first appearance in the format in three years end in just one delivery when the left-hander, tempted by some width, he cut. straight to the deep back point.

Clarke, who looked in remarkable form when he hit 79 off 41 balls on the same ground on Friday night, was dismissed off Mousley’s second ball, caught behind by an inside edge, before Foulkes, the New Zealander who played all-rounder, he still had Matt Montgomery’s leg.

Seemingly unable to break free from the grip of the Bears’ spinners in the process, the Outlaws lost Tom Moores and Jack Haynes at top, to short third man from orthodox spinner Briggs and with the arm left Jake Lintott.

Liam Patterson-White, at least, put his bat over the ball against Moeen – making his first Bears appearance of the season – but he found the player at long-on, after which Calvin Harrison was caught behind, making it one at Lintott. Lyndon James raised ironic cheers by hitting the second of two boundaries in the innings but promptly dived to deep mid-on before Olly Stone edged Moeen at short third.

Farooqi caught Ed Barnard in the middle of the third as the Bears’ lone casualty.