Captain Joe Clarke thrashed a fourth half-century of this season’s Vitality Blast before 17-year-old Farhan Ahmed helped Notts Outlaws seal a thrilling one-wicket derby-day win over Leicestershire Foxes at Trent Bridge.
With two runs needed in pursuit of 189 and nine wickets down, last man Ahmed dug out a Logan van Beek yorker and scampered a nerve-shredding two to give Notts their first-ever one-wicket win in T20 cricket.
To add to the drama, Ahmed was short of the crease when coming back for two as Tom Scriven’s throw arrived, only for wicketkeeper Ben Cox to drop the ball and allow Ahmed in.
Clarke had earlier set up the chase by hammering 50 in 24 balls inside the powerplay, including eight boundaries, while Tom Moores’ innings of 42 came off 30 and contained six boundaries.
Within the Foxes’ innings, Calvin Harrison and Daniel Sams claimed the wickets of Sol Budinger and Rishi Patel, respectively, as they posted 188-2 after winning the toss.
However, their score proved narrowly not enough, as the Outlaws powered through tricky conditions before sensationally holding their nerve to seal victory with one ball to spare.
Having initially enjoyed a confident start in restricting the visitors to 18 from the first three overs, the Outlaws were forced to fight their way back into the contest.
Patel and Budinger remained unbeaten through the first half of the innings, posting their century partnership in 62 balls, before Harrison produced the breakthrough.
Finding some turn to beat the bat, Harrison teamed up effectively with Moores, whose rapid wrists behind the stumps saw Patel stumped for a 34-ball 51.
Moments later, one brought two as Sams then struck to see off Budinger for 56, splattering the opener’s furniture to end a 45-ball knock and throwing in a roar of delight in celebration.
That was as far as the hosts got in the wickets column, as Sams finished with 1/34 and Harrison collected 1/37, but the run rate did remain consistent as the Outlaws battled hard with the ball.
Ultimately, the Foxes were kept below 200 as Pakistan batter Shan Masood struck 40 not out and Rehan Ahmed added a further unbeaten 30.
In response, Clarke slammed another half-century at the top of the order to kickstart the Outlaws chase and see them to 62-2 after six overs.
Spinners Liam Trevaskis and Louis Kimber put the brakes on somewhat following the end of the powerplay to drag the visitors back into the contest, with the Outlaws requiring another 112 to win from the final ten overs.
However, Moores and some crucially colossal hitting from Daniel Sams, who added 33 from just 12 balls, put the chase back on track as the latter stages approached.
The duo shared in a stand worth 54 from just 24 balls for the fifth wicket as, at one point, 51 runs came off just 18 balls, meaning that with four overs to go, the Outlaws required 34 more.
Regular wickets stretched out the drama even as Moores hammered van Beek for back-to-back sixes to start the 18th over of the innings, before his wicket ramped up the nerves.
Dillon Pennington and Liam Patterson-White added a priceless further four runs for the ninth wicket across the first three balls of the final over to take the Outlaws to within two.
However, the tension then reached white-knuckle levels once more as the latter fell to a Sam Wood catch off van Beek, leaving the equation at two off two.
The prodigious Ahmed, though, once again displayed skill and maturity beyond his years to partner Pennington in seeing the Outlaws over the line in the most dramatic of circumstances.
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The Outlaws are back in action on Friday 11 July, as Durham visit Trent Bridge (6.30pm) as part of a Vitality Blast double-header. Secure your seats here…
