Nottinghamshire Outlaws clinched a crucial 24-run win over Northamptonshire Steelbacks in the Vitality Blast at Wantage Road, thanks to a blistering half-century from Tom Moores and a clinical bowling performance led by Matt Montgomery.
Moores’ Explosive Knock Revives Outlaws After Slow Start
Batting first, Nottinghamshire got off to a sluggish start, managing just 33 runs in the powerplay for the loss of two wickets. But Tom Moores changed the game’s momentum with a quickfire 53 off 27 balls, peppered with five fours and three sixes.
He built a vital 43-run partnership with Jack Haynes (32), injecting life into the innings during the middle overs. Although the Outlaws were 111 for 5 after 16 overs, Moores launched a counterattack, smashing 20 runs in a single over off Luke Procter.
“𝑾𝒆 𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒇𝒕 𝒈𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒕𝒔,” 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝑴𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉.
Late-order cameos, including sixes from Montgomery, Patterson-White, and Harrison, helped the visitors post a competitive 164 for 8.
Northamptonshire Falter in Chase Despite Zaib and McManus Stand
Chasing 165, Northamptonshire started briskly with Ricardo Vasconcelos and Justin Broad finding early boundaries. But regular wickets derailed their progress, and they found themselves struggling at 50 for 4 after 10 overs.
The Outlaws’ spinners proved instrumental, with Montgomery returning figures of 3 for 22 and Farhan Ahmed grabbing 2 for 23 to tighten the screws.
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒂 𝒇𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒋𝒐𝒃; 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚,” 𝑵𝒐𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕-𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘.
David Willey launched a short-lived counterattack with two sixes in his 20-run knock, and Saif Zaib partnered Lewis McManus for a 45-run stand that momentarily raised hopes. But the innings collapsed dramatically with the last five wickets falling in just 12 balls, ending the chase at 140 all out.
Milestones and Highlights
- Lewis McManus marked his 50th T20 appearance for Northamptonshire with his 50th catch, becoming the first keeper from the club to reach the landmark.
- Daniel Sams, while not taking many wickets, contributed both with bat and ball.
- Willey’s exceptional catch and tight bowling added moments of brilliance for the Steelbacks, despite the loss.
The victory was a much-needed boost for Nottinghamshire, and a reminder of how quickly T20 games can shift with just a couple of standout performances.
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