Outlaws hope Hales can make difference
NOTTS Outlaws players are frustrated by their recent form but still confident they will qualify for the knockout stages of the Vitality Blast.
Defeats in four of the last six games mean the holders are under pressure to stay in the competition with four group matches to go.
A record of five wins and five defeats shows how desperately inconsistent the team has become. But last year, eight wins from 14 fixtures was not only enough to go through but enough to win the North Group.
That is not lost on assistant coach Paul Franks, who says the squad is well aware of where they stand heading into Thursday’s trip to Birmingham Bears, with a home game against Yorkshire Vikings to follow on Friday night.
“We’re realistic. We know we’ve not played consistently well enough. Within games we’ve played well but we’ve not done it for long enough,” he said. Last year, we had things that went well, like the Hales/wessels opening partnership. They gave us great starts but we’ve only had them together once this year.
“We’ve been looking for combinations. You don’t have much time in T20 cricket generally. You might have three days between games where you’re looking for the right things for the team.
“Certain players haven’t done as well this year but we’ve won five and lost five. Last year, we won eight and qualified. We can still qualify again. We’ve not had a run of wins that gives you breathing space and now we have to front up.
“We know what they’re capable of. They’re potential high performers, so I don’t think about what can go wrong. That sends the wrong message. All the coaching staff work to give everyone the best chance to succeed. I’ve never met a coach I respect who doesn’t strive towards that.”
Seamer Jake Ball misses both games with a side strain, while fellow seamer Luke Wood is on loan at Worcestershire.
Notts have named a 14-man squad with limited options to
NOTTS HAVE LACKED CONSISTENCY BUT CAN STILL QUALIFY, SAYS FRANKS
change a team which was thrashed by 72 runs by Worcestershire last time out.
However, Franks insists he and head coach Peter Moores will not make changes for the sake of it.
“You are looking to be consistent with selection all the time. We’ve got Alex Hales back now,” he said.
“He’s been an outstanding player for us. We hope he can make a difference. There’s always a temptation to make changes when you lose but you have to decide whether you’re just doing it for the sake of it.
“I still feel we have the right combinations, so we carry on. We’re striving to improve. Even when we win we look at what we can do better.”
Notts Outlaws squad to face Birmingham Bears and Yorkshire Vikings (from): Jake Libby, Steven Mullaney, Riki Wessels, Alex Hales, Harry Gurney, Matt Milnes, Luke Fletcher, Samit Patel, Tom Moores (wkt), Paul Coughlin, Will Fraine, Dan Christian (c), Ish Sodhi and Billy Root.