Nottinghamshire

Trophy win papers over Championship cracks

Victory at Lord's turned an average season into a good one - but looking forward there must be cause for concern over Nottinghamshire's four-day form

Andrew Butler

Oct 1, 2013, 5:07 PM

"I love it when a plan comes together", so goes the famous catchphrase of Hannibal in the A Team, and you could hear those words echoed by many Nottinghamshire fans across the country as we secured our first piece of Lord's silverware since 1989.

Three years ago the members demanded a Lord's final, and since that moment Mick Newell has gone about assembling a side that would get Notts there. So once the euphoria of having won the competition had slightly wound down, what followed were appreciative nods in the direction of the director of cricket - we asked for it, and Newell delivered.

I think most would agree that Notts probably deserved it after the one-day season we've had. The crushing blow of losing to Essex in the Friends Life t20 quarter-final clearly conjured a demon that had to be exorcised, and the Yorkshire Bank 40 was the only place to do so. The demolition of Somerset in the semi-final showed the prowess of the team, and once Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad were made available for the final, our very own A Team had arrived.

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Notts hope a high bounce follows their hard fall

Defeat in the Flt20 quarter-final was hard to take and had a bad knock-on effect with losses that threaten to derail Notts' YB40 campaign. A positive reaction is needed

Andrew Butler

Aug 19, 2013, 1:06 PM

OK, I jinxed it. I admit it. I return to this column with my tail firmly between my legs, and promise to never write such an arrogant piece again.

It was all going so well for Notts in the one-day competitions - we breezed through to the quarter-finals of the T20 after beating Yorkshire and Lancashire comfortably, setting up a money-spinning home tie against Essex, a team so inconsistent this season you wondered if they would even find the right ground on the day.

On paper it should have been a breeze. On paper the likes of Michael Lumb, Alex Hales and David Hussey should have easily seen us home. Oh, how I wish sometimes sport was played on the proverbial paper. As it turned out, it was a crushing defeat, a deflating disappointment in front of 12,000 people, a toothless performance from a team that usually have no problems in ripping their opponents apart.

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Test and T20 has Notts aglow

Nottinghamshire supporters may be forgiven a bit of gloating after stealing the FLt20 limelight and basking in England's Ashes win

Andrew Butler

Jul 16, 2013, 12:44 PM

"Any danger of anyone actually giving us a game in this season's T20?" I shot off into the Twittersphere.

"It's OK, you'll bottle it eventually," came a jealous response from a Leicestershire-supporting mate.

There's an uncharacteristically arrogant swagger amongst us Notts fans right now, five games into the T20 season, as four comfortable wins have fired the Outlaws into second in the North Group, with two games in hand on Lancashire. We are now seen as the team to beat and, if the opening fortnight is anything to go by, the Outlaws may as well put in a request to the tournament organisers that they change the rules to a 20/18 format, just to give the opposition a chance.

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Questions of the high order for Notts

The concern over the top three will become more vociferous should they continue to fail, but when the rest of the team keeps digging in and doing the business with the ball, Notts look good to continue their fine form

Andrew Butler

Jun 11, 2013, 12:09 PM

I enter through the back door to get into the fan's forum on day two of the County Championship game against Surrey. Late as usual, I arrive just in time to see an old lady take to her feet, glaring at Notts coach Mick Newell. "Why can't our openers bat?" she asks, bluntly.

Fair point, I think to myself, as Newell begins to explain how the openers need to find a bit of form, how they haven't got it quite right so far this season, before adding that we actually haven't been blessed with 200-run opening partnerships since the days of Gallian and Bicknell.

It is a growing concern, that aside from an excellent knock of 81 from Ed Cowan against Sussex and Michael Lumb's superb 135 last week against Yorkshire, the top three have just three scores of over 50 between them in the previous eight County Championship innings.

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Notts find one-day could be their way

After a shaky start in the Championship and a perfect opening to the YB40, one-day cricket could be Notts' best chance of silverware this season

Andrew Butler

May 18, 2013, 1:24 PM

They say three is a magic number, and last Sunday saw Nottinghamshire pull off their very own hat trick, as they made it three wins from three matches in the YB40, leaving them top of Group A and finding themselves pondering whether the one-day format could be the way to go this season.

Mick Newell said prior to the start of the season that the County Championship was still the priority, but judging on performances in that format compared to those over the past week, fans may rightly be thinking that the best chance of silverware this season may be in the limited-over competitions.