One-Day Cup
A record-breaking final at Lord’s
AS ENGLAND prepared to face South Africa in the first Test at Lord’s, with the identity of Alastair Cook’s opening partner the subject of much debate, two contenders reminded selectors exactly what they’ll be missing after dominating the One-Day Cup final.
Mark Stoneman’s sensational 144 not out for Surrey was surpassed by Alex Hales, who blasted a record-breaking unbeaten knock of 187 as he led Nottinghamshire to a four-wicket victory.
The masterful performance was the highest ever one-day score at Lord’s and the most by a Nottinghamshire player in any List-A match, as the Outlaws condemned Surrey to a third straight final defeat.
Stoneman was unfortunate to miss out on selection for the first Test despite a glut of county runs this term as new England skipper Joe Root gave Gary Ballance the nod, leaving Keaton Jennings to open with Cook.
Just one year after preparing to open the batting with Cook in a Lord’s Test, Hales too has missed out, continuing the limitation of his international opportunities to white-ball cricket since refusing to tour Bangladesh.
Hales was in brutal form from the get-go, taking the game to Surrey early on before producing a composed display to help see his side over the line for a fourwicket victory.
And the records didn’t stop there as the 28-year-old also produced the fastest-ever hundred in a Lord’s final, smashing his way to three figures from just 83 deliveries.
“It was incredible, one of the best days I’ve had in cricket,” Hales said. “The game went from one side to the other.
“They were on top to start with, we fought back really well with the ball, they took wickets early on and then we fought back as well, so it’s a great feeling to win the trophy.”
Hales’ heroics were supported by a fitting, classy half-century from Chris Read during his final appearance at Lord’s – after announcing his retirement at the end of the season following almost 20 years behind the stumps for Notts.
It could have been very different indeed for Hales and Nottinghamshire after the right-hander was dropped on just nine by 19-year-old Ollie Pope.
But having been given a lifeline, he then thumped 20 fours and four sixes off of 167 deliveries as Notts reached the 298run target with 13 balls to spare.
Before the brilliance of Hales, it seemed that Stoneman would be the match-winner for Surrey, hitting 144 off of 149 balls despite being given reprieves on 32 and 73.
And Hales is convinced his counterpart will eventually get a chance in an England shirt.
“He [Stoneman] is an exceptional player on the front and back foot – I’m sure his time will come,” he said.
Having surpassed Geoffrey Boycott’s record score in a Lord’s final of 146, Hales would dearly love another chance to test himself in the international redball game but admits it’s not an easy task.
“Opening in England is as tough as it gets in the longest form of the game,” he added. “I have mixed feelings about how I did for England.
“I missed out on a few opportunities but I feel I am moving forward in the middle order now. It is definitely somewhere I can play my natural game.”
The Outlaws had started nervously, as Surrey raced to 83 off of 11 overs, yet Steven Mullaney and the experienced left-arm spin of Samit Patel helped lower the run-rate, before the latter had Jason Roy caught for 23.
It would get even better for the Outlaws when in-form Kumar Sangakkara edged one to Read as he stood up to the stumps for Mullaney’s military medium.
But Stoneman was flying and after reaching his hundred with an edge for four, he kicked on despite wickets tumbling around him.
Having set 297, Surrey’s chances of heaping the pressure on Notts came and went when Hales was dropped by Pope and the game subsequently began to slip away.
And after Hales and Read had almost seen Notts over the line following a slight wobble in the middle order, it was left to Australian international James Pattinson to hit the winning runs and send the thousands of Nottinghamshire fans delirious.
It was a special day for gloveman Read as chants of
‘Ready, Ready, Ready’ rang out from the Notts faithful on his Lord’s swansong.
The 38-year-old has mixed emotions of playing at the home of cricket having famously, and hilariously, ducked a slower ball yorker by New Zealand’s Chris Cairns in 1999, but believes last Saturday was the perfect occasion to say goodbye to the famous ground.
“What a special place, a lot of people asked what it means to me and I’ve just had some brilliant times,” he explained.
“Winning (the YB40 trophy) in 2013, the MCC Bicentenary game last year, playing with legends of my era, and then beating Surrey here – it’s a bit of a fairytale for me.
“The first ten overs was pretty awful really. We just said ‘let’s scrap the ten overs and look forward to the next 38 or so’. We got back on track and it worked well for us.
“We managed to keep the runscoring in check and after those ten overs, we never felt out of control.”
And Surrey captain Gareth Batty paid tribute to Read for his two decades of service to Notts.
He said: “I’m really chuffed for Chris Read, 20 years in the game and to finish like that is magnificent for him.”
Batty also heaped praise on the two opening batsmen as Hales and Stoneman put on 331 of the 595 runs scored in the final.
He added: “Alex Hales was the man who took it away from us.
“You’re not going to lose too many games if a bloke goes on to get more than 180.
“It’s not very often you hit 140 and end up on the losing team. It’s bitterly disappointing for him and bitterly disappointing for all the boys – we need to dust ourselves down and move on.”