Notts won’t be having a Ball but it’s not an issue
Warwickshire v Notts Fri, May 5, Edgbaston, Birmingham, 11:00
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE will have to cope without England duo Alex Hales and Jake Ball but Paul Franks insist that won’t be an issue ahead of today’s trip to Edgbaston to take on fellow early strugglers Warwickshire.
The Outlaws lost their first two games of the One-Day Cup, to Worcestershire and Yorkshire, but got themselves on the board with victory over Derbyshire last time out.
They will look to make it two wins against the Bears, but will be deprived of both Hales and Ball, who have been retained by England for their one-day series against Ireland this weekend.
However assistant coach Franks is adamant that Notts have been preparing for this eventuality and will be ready and firing in Birmingham, with Greg Smith and Luke Fletcher likely to step in.
“We knew this would happen. It’s not something we’re not ready for,” Franks said.
“Other players will have an opportunity. The squad is something we need when we have England players and an Australia player in James Pattinson.
“It’s a good chance for them. We need to carry momentum into Friday. It’s a very important week.
“There’s a few boys probably champing at the bit. Tom Moores is another one looking to get his name in that shake-up as well.
“There were some good things that came out of Tuesday and some things we need to work on through this competition.
“We go there knowing we’ve won our last game and we’ve played well there before.”
Warwickshire find themselves in a similar position to Notts, having lost two and won one of their three games so far.
After a thumping win first up against Northamptonshire, there is no question as to what the problem has been, with Durham and then Leicestershire piling up the runs batting first in victories.
Durham piled up 313-5 despite rain restricting them to
39 overs, with the Bears falling way short of their target.
Then, last time out, it was Mark Pettini who smashed a Leicestershire-record 159 runs, with Keith Barker’s economy rate of 6.50 the best of any Warwickshire bowler.
That came as the Foxes racked up 363-7, which again the Bears couldn’t get near, falling short by 103 runs.
Coach Jim Troughton claims his team are working hard to put things right, but admits they will struggle to turn things around if they can’t stem the flow of runs.
He said: “The last couple of games we’ve been chasing above-par scores – it hasn’t gone well with the ball, and scoreboard pressure has got the better of us.
“It’s not for want of the guys putting in the work and trying to nail the skills, but we have to get them right as soon as we can so we give ourselves a better chance with the bat.”