Essex suffer as Patel continues on his run-fest
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE’S semi-final hero Samit Patel is in the batting form of his life, according to assistant coach Paul Franks.
All-rounder Patel, 32, has struck back-to-back Championship double centuries and in between guided the Outlaws to a Lord’s final with a historic win over Essex.
Notts successfully chased down an English domestic record of 370 with three balls to spare, led by Patel (122 not) with support from Steven Mullaney (111 off 75 balls).
And after continuing his immense form with 247 in the first innings against Leicestershire this week, Franks said: “When he’s at his best he looks fantastic and at the moment he’s playing as well as I’ve ever seen him.
“The one thing you want from your players is to maintain their form when they’ve got it and cash in so I’m really pleased for him.”
Former England captain Alastair Cook scored 133 with Essex skipper Ryan ten Doeschate smashing 102 not out off 66 balls, as the hosts made 370-5.
Patel took 2-51 while Stuart Broad also grabbed a pair of wickets, but at halfway Essex had one foot on the Lord’s balcony.
The Outlaws raced out of the blocks in reply but after Jamie Porter had dismissed Michael Lumb, Alex Hales and Riki Wessels to leave them 80-3, they had everything to do.
What followed was one of the most remarkable chases seen in county cricket as Patel, first with Brendan Taylor (62 from 46) then Mullaney took the game by the scruff of the neck.
Chris Read almost blew it when he failed to score off three balls in the penultimate over but Patel gloved one down the leg side before edging another through first slip to seal victory. Notts head coach Peter Moores is anticipating a great final against Surrey at Lord’s on July 1.
He said:“The final is a great day out for everyone connected to the club from the fans to the committee to the players.We’ll go there and look to play the kind of cricket we have been. If we do that we have a good chance.The belief in each other was a big factor and we’ve got a lot of people scoring runs and playing well.”
Essex skipper Ten Doeschate admitted the Chelmsford dressing room was stunned by the result and was at a loss to explain what happened to his bowling attack.
“I really don’t have words to describe how I feel and I think the whole team feel the same way,” he said. “With the ball there are a lot of questions that need to be answered and reviewed, what we said we were going to do and what we did. I don’t know exactly why that was the case.”