Derbyshire Falcons locked horns with Nottinghamshire Outlaws in the 69th match of the Vitality T20 Blast 2023. However, Derbyshire failed to break the T20 jinx against Nottinghamshire. The Outlaws controlled their nerves to claim a three-wicket victory in a tight game. The Falcons fought till the end in defending a modest total of 142/6. But Pakistan cricketer Shaheen Shah Afridi smashed two sixes in the second last over as the Outlaws got home with eight balls to spare. Derbyshire remains without a T20 victory over Nottinghamshire since 2015.
Nottinghamshire won the toss and invited Falcons to bat first. The opening duo of Haider Ali and Luis Reece gave a steady start to the home team by adding 44 runs for the first wicket. Jake Ball provided the first breakthrough to the Notts by removing Reece for 15. At the same over, Ball dismissed Luis de Plooy for 2. Derbyshire couldn’t recover after losing key battera at the start and managed to reach only 142/6. Haider (42) remained the top scorer for the side.
In reply, Alex Hales and Joe Clarke provided the blistering start to the Notts and smashed 40 runs in just four overs. Once Clarke got out, Notts started losing the plot. They lost three wickets in the next nine runs. Hales then got a reliable partner in the form of veteran player Samit Patel. The duo stitched a partnership of 38 runs and took the total to 87.
Mark Watt, a left-arm spinner, came into the attack and stole the limelight with his clever deceptive bowling.
Generally, a cricket pitch is off 22 yards. But the delivery on which Watt dismissed Hales was from 25 yards. He bowled the white leather from a few steps behind the crease, taking everyone by surprise. Vitality Blast uploaded the video of the same on their social media account and captioned it as “Who needs to use the crease?!”
Here’s the video:
Who needs to use the crease?!
Mark Watt bowls Alex Hales while delivering the ball from 25 yards! 🤨 #Blast23 pic.twitter.com/qAXz56pcB0
— Vitality Blast (@VitalityBlast) June 9, 2023
