Jennings century clinches quarter-finals berth for Lancashire
Lancashire 187 for 3 (Jennings 103*) beat Nottinghamshire 185 (Williams 3-32) by seven wickets
A second century within the competitors from skipper Keaton Jennings clinched Lancashire’s place within the quarter-finals of the Metro Bank One-Day Cup after they completed their Group A programme with a 3rd straight victory.
Jennings completed on 103 not out because the Red Rose county wrapped up a seven-wicket win with 55 balls to spare. The outcome places them on 10 factors and though Kent might equal that with a win over Hampshire, they might nonetheless undergo to Friday’s eliminator on superior run price.
Veteran Steven Croft made 38 on his first look of the season, sharing a 102-run stand for the second wicket earlier than George Balderson’s unbeaten 31 helped Jennings end the job.
The residence facet had stumbled to 42 for five earlier than Liam Patterson-White (39) and Sammy King (37) led the best way in a lower-order fightback to 185 all out.
Tom Bailey, Balderson and left-arm spinner Jack Morley took two wickets every. Will Williams, the New Zealand-born seamer, completed with 3 for 32 after taking two wickets within the opening powerplay to scale back the Outlaws to 18 for 3 after opting to bat first.
Just one boundary scored and three wickets misplaced added as much as a depressing opening powerplay for the house facet as Lancashire’s new-ball bowlers made essentially the most of early situations on an outground that has been residence from residence for the Outlaws within the competitors, though not a contented one, all three of their matches right here having resulted in defeat.
Ben Slater, after a number of play-and-misses, lastly nicked one off Tom Bailey to be caught behind earlier than Williams, Lancashire’s main One-Day Cup wicket-taker this season, beat left-hander Ben Martindale with an inswinger that hit him in entrance and bowled right-hander Lyndon James, who provided no shot to a different that got here again. Hameed’s clip via midwicket for 4 in the identical over was the one second of reduction.
Desperate to seek out calmer waters, the Outlaws suffered extra blows when Matt Montgomery, recent from the unbeaten 92 that saved his facet alive within the competitors in a thriller in Canterbury final week, was leg earlier than taking part in throughout one from Bailey, and Hameed, having hinted at a fightback by greeting Balderson with two fours, perished after seemingly fascinated about a 3rd however altering his thoughts after which failing to get his bat absolutely out of the best way.
A few partnerships gave the innings at the very least a level of respectability. Patterson-White and 20-year-old Sammy King, who has a few Second XI tons of to his identify lately, added 50 for the sixth wicket earlier than King, having slog-swept left-arm spinner Jack Morley for one six, holed out trying one other after taking part in properly for his 37.
Patterson-White then added 56 with Dane Schadendorf (32) earlier than each had been out within the area of 4 balls in related vogue, making room to chop. Some late hitting from bowlers Tom Loten and Brett Hutton gave themselves slightly extra to defend.
Lancashire regarded to have the higher of the situations after they batted. They knew too that they could possibly be extra measured of their strategy whereas the balls had been new and although they had been solely six forward of the house facet on runs on the finish of the primary powerplay, their solely casualty was George Bell, who miscued Brett Hutton to cowl.
The strategy appeared to be paying off handsomely on the midway stage, with Lancashire 98 for 1 in contrast with the Outlaws’ 85 for five. Jennings had accomplished a 72-ball half century during which his solely present of outright aggression was a six pushed again over the bowler’s head when James took over from Dane Paterson – fortunately none the more severe for a nasty-looking fall within the third over of his opening five-over spell – and Lancashire had been forward of the required price.
Patterson-White induced a second or two of jitters with two wickets in two balls, breaking the second-wicket partnership after it had added 102 in slightly underneath 23 overs by inducing a skinny edge that spelt the tip of Croft, caught behind and having Dane Vilas caught at slip, the previous Lancashire captain trying to chop his first ball.
But Jennings and Balderson ensured there have been no additional scares, Jennings upping the tempo with three fours in the identical Paterson over to maneuver into the 80s, going into the 90s together with his twelfth boundary earlier than finishing his second hundred in his final 4 innings from 123 balls with 13 fours and that one early six, earlier than Balderson’s boundary off Patterson-White secured the win.