Leicestershire Foxes snub Notts Outlaws for spot in One-Day Cup final
Leicestershire Foxes beat Notts Outlaws by 23 runs in an incident-packed One-Day Cup semi-final at Uptonsteel Grace Road.
Hamza Shaikh made 104 from 109 balls, his second hundred in the competition, sharing a 117-run fourth-wicket partnership with Nick Kelly (53) as the Group A winners posted a challenging 303 for seven, Dillon Pennington taking three for 65 for the Outlaws.
Alex Green then took four for 40 as the Outlaws were bowled out for 280 in reply.
Asked to bat first, the Foxes lost Rishi Patel to a superb delivery from Brett Hutton and slipped from 49 for one to 64 for three as skipper Stephen Eskinazi was stumped and Rehan Ahmed caught off a top-edge for a 36-ball 31.
Kelly survived a caught-and-bowled chance to Patterson-White on 10 and the Foxes went 11 overs without a boundary yet he and Shaikh steadily accumulated, adding 117 in 23 overs before the Kiwi left-hander bottom-edged a Pennington slower ball into his stumps.
Shaikh, on loan ahead of a permanent move, accelerated impressively to his hundred, hitting seven fours and going to three figures with his second six, launched over the legside boundary off Olly Stone.
Ben Cox and Ben Green both perished on the legside boundary but the last 11 overs added 115 runs, Ian Holland hitting 29 off 16 balls.
The Outlaws’ reply began well, openers Ben Martindale and Freddie McCann putting on 63 in 11 overs, Martindale picking up seven boundaries before legspinner Ahmed’s first ball trapped him leg before for 43.
The wicket sapped the Outlaws’ momentum. Only 29 had been added when Scotland international George Munsey was caught at mid-on in the 20th off Alex Green.
Two freakish occurrences followed. Foxes wicketkeeper Cox had to leave the field in a daze after Hameed, aiming towards square leg off Ahmed’s bowling, caught him on the head with his bat in his follow through.
Fortunately, he was cleared to return after checks. In his absence, McCann was run out by stand-in ‘keeper Jonny Tattersall in a relay effort involving Eskinazi and bowler Holland after a mix-up with Hameed.
Hameed and Jack Haynes departed in consecutive Tom Scriven overs as Outlaws’ hopes faded, the former edging behind before Haynes skied to mid-off.
When Liam Patterson-White holed out to deep midwicket at 234 for six, Notts needed 70 from 48 balls. As long as Kyle Verreynne (43) was at the crease, a chance remained for the visitors, but that disappeared as he and Farhan Ahmed fell to Alex Green in the 48th.