King Ton Not Enough To Save Seconds

Despite a valiant century from all-rounder Sammy King, Nottinghamshire Second Eleven were well beaten by their Leicestershire counterparts in the latest championship match at Uppingham School, Oakham. Chasing a mammoth 455 to win, Notts finished 86 runs short of the target on the final day.

Notts started the match fifth in the table on 60 points from four games, 17 points behind leaders Middlesex. Leicestershire compiled 314-8 on the first day, with Jack Peirce taking three wickets for the county, and Calvin Harrison two. Rishi Patel top-scored with 82 in 120 balls, with 11 fours and one six, and Roman Walker was unbeaten on 58, with Hassan Azad (38), and Rehan Ahmed (34), making useful contributions.

They eventually totalled 337 in their first innings, with Walker not out on 72 in three hours, and Peirce (4-66), and Harrison (3-98), leading the bowling. Sol Budinger got off to his customary fast start with 50 off 46 deliveries, but after skipper Matthew Montgomery went for a second-ball duck, the county collapsed from 69-0 to a disappointing 192 all out in 65.1 overs. King made 48, but the off-spin of Nathan Bowley, who took 5-47, and the pace of Ed Barnes (4-34), did the damage. The home side closed on 44-1, to lead by 189 runs.

Louis Kimber was in belligerent mood the following day, making a fine 142 off 175 balls, including 11 fours and seven sixes, and with Walker hitting his second unbeaten fifty, 52 off 57, Leicestershire eventually declared on 309-8. King captured 3-34 for the county, who finished the day on a respectable 128-1 in 26 overs. Budinger blasted 68 off 63 balls, with 11 fours, and Montgomery was not out on 54 by the close. The pair had put on 121 for the first wicket.

The captain fell for 62 on the final morning, and with King batting well for 120 off 130 deliveries (13 fours and three sixes), and Fateh Singh adding a useful 43 off 41 (six fours and two sixes), Notts totalled 368 in their second innings.

The second edition of ‘The Hundred’ domestic competition gets underway next month, with the Trent Rockets hoping to triumph in this year’s tournament. As one of the 100-ball franchise teams based at Trent Bridge, the team came third in last year’s inaugural event before losing to Southern Brave in the eliminator, who went on to win the competition.

Captained by Somerset’s Lewis Gregory, the Rockets are coached by Zimbabwean legend Andy Flower, and have Marchant de Lange, of South Africa, Rashid Khan, of Afghanistan, and Colin Munro, of New Zealand, as their main overseas players. With the county stalwarts of Alex Hales, Steven Mullaney, Samit Patel, Luke Fletcher, and Matt Carter, the Rockets also have England batsmen Dawid Malan and Joe Root, and Australian Tom Kohler-Cadmore in their midst.

Last year, they won their first three matches, including the opening match by nine wickets against the Southern Brave, chasing 127 to win. de Lange had the impressive figures of 5 for 20 in his 20 deliveries, including ten dot balls. D’Arcy Short (51 not out off 41 balls), and Malan (62 not out off 43 balls, seven fours and two sixes), then easily saw the Rockets home.

Short then blasted ten fours in making an unbeaten 69 off 47 balls against the London Spirit, with the spin trio of Patel, Carter, and Khan claiming eight wickets for just 50 runs in the combined 60 balls delivered. Patel also had a fine all-round match versus Welsh Fire, conceding just 11 runs in 10 balls, before crashing an unbeaten 46 off 20 balls, with one four and five sixes, to see his team home.

de Lange and Rashid Khan both took 12 wickets each in last year’s competition, and will hope to repeat their success when the Rockets take on last year’s finalists Birmingham Phoenix in the first game on August 6. The women’s team, who came seventh last year due to run-rate, start off against the Manchester Originals on 13 August, and are captained by England’s Nat Sciver. They have Katherine Brunt, Mignon Du Preez, Meg Lanning, Alana King and Elyse Villani amongst their line-up.