Notts Outlaws' clash with Northamptonshire Steelbacks in the Vitality Blast at Trent Bridge on Monday (May 30) evening was abandoned due to rain, with both sides picking up a point. There had been showers before the game, delaying the start of the match, and further rain at around 8.15pm curtailed proceedings.
Outlaws had been put into bat, and reached 140/6 after 18 overs, Samit Patel top scoring with 63, before the players were forced off, and the decision was made soon after to abandon the match. The no result moves both teams on to three points in the north group standings, with Outlaws having only played two so far.
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A rain shower at around 5.15pm meant the start of the game was delayed to 7pm, with the full amount of overs still available to each side at the time. Northamptonshire Steelbacks won the delayed toss, and put Notts Outlaws in to bat.
Joe Clarke scored his 3,000th runs off Ben Sanderson in the first over of the game. He and Matt Kelly opened the bowling for the visitors, who kept things tight in the opening two overs, which included the wicket of Clarke (3).
Opening partner Alex Hales (15) hit back-to-back sixes in the third over, before edging behind off Ben Sanderson in the fourth. Ben Duckett (7) quickly followed, top edging off Kelly at the end of the fifth.
Samit Patel and Tom Moores then started to rebuild the innings, rotating the strike with the occasional boundary, before Moores (19) picked out Saif Zaib in the deep off Freddie Heldreich just before the halfway stage of the innings.
Spin through the middle overs from Heldreich and Graeme White kept the run rate down. Samit Patel hit a six to mark 6,000 career T20 runs in the 13th though.
The 100 came up for Notts in the 14th, and Patel brought up his 50 off 34 balls soon after, hitting four boundaries in a row off Tom Taylor in the 15th. The 50 partnership followed in the 16th.
Patel (63) departed in the 17th in a similar way to Moores, picking out Zaib in the deep, this time off Kelly while looking to up the run rate, bringing a fine innings to a close. Mullaney (15) edged behind in the same over, as Kelly picked up 4/29 off his four overs, the best bowling figures by a Steelback in this fixture.
Dan Christian hit a six off the final ball of the 18th, but the heavens then opened forcing the players off the field. And play would not resume, with the game abandoned at 8.40pm.
Notts Outlaws are next in action against Lancashire Lightning at Trent Bridge on Tuesday (May 31).
Notts Outlaws: Joe Clarke, Alex Hales, Ben Duckett, Samit Patel, Tom Moores (wk), Steven Mullaney, Dan Christian (c), Calvin Harrison, Matt Carter, Luke Fletcher, Jake Ball
Northamptonshire Steelbacks: Chris Lynn, Ben Curran, Josh Cobb (c), Rob Keogh, Saif Zaib, Lewis McManus (wk), Tom Taylor, Graeme White, Matt Kelly, Ben Sanderson, Freddie Heldreich
