Nottinghamshire thrash Worcestershire as Samit Patel makes history

Patel's figures of 3 for 4 from four overs with one maiden - as Worcestershire were restricted to a paltry 86 for 8 in their 20 overs - were the most economical four-over figures by any bowler in English T20 cricket history

Trent Bridge: Worcestershire 86-8, Nottinghamshire 89-0 - Nottinghamshire win by 10 wickets

Scorecard

Alex Hales smashed 60 off 24 balls as Nottinghamshire thrashed Worcestershire by 10 wickets to go top of the North Group on a night of records in the Vitality Blast at Trent Bridge.

Veteran allrounder Samit Patel, who became the first English player to complete the double of 250 wickets and 5,000 runs in Twenty20 cricket when he took 2 for 14 as the Outlaws beat Derbyshire last week, became the first bowler to take 100 wickets at Trent Bridge in the format and only the second to take 100 wickets on any single ground in the world.

And his figures of 3 for 4 from four overs with one maiden - as Worcestershire were restricted to a paltry 86 for 8 in their 20 overs - were the most economical four-over figures by any bowler in English T20 cricket history.

The Outlaws’ margin of victory set an English T20 record too, Hales seeing them home with 82 balls to spare with his 11th four, eclipsing the previous biggest win by that measure when Hampshire beat Gloucestershire by seven wickets at Bristol in 2010 with 75 balls remaining.

Hales reached his half-century from just 18 balls, having hit two sixes as Nottinghamshire, who had limited their opponents to just 20 for four in the six Powerplay overs, reached the end of their Powerplay needing just two more runs to win at 85 without loss.

The big-hitting opener took 24 in a single over off the former Nottinghamshire spinner Ish Sodhi, going four-four-six-four-six as a crowd of just over 3,500 showed their appreciation.

^{Alex Hales smashed a half century for Nottinghamshire}

Joe Clarke finished on 26 from 14 balls at the other end, the players leaving the field in time to watch England (or Scotland) in action in the Euros.

Asked to bat first, the Rapids lost Brett D’Oliveira to his first ball, edging Patel to slip with a tentative push, and were three down for six after four balls of the left-arm spinner’s second over after Tom Fell was stumped and Riki Wessels sent a leading edge into the hands of backward point. Ben Cox hit Jake Ball to mid-off to leave them 11 for 4.

Jake Libby and Ross Whiteley added 46 for the fifth wicket, but Whiteley’s drive down the ground off Calvin Harrison’s leg-spin was the only boundary between them and were both out in the 13th over, as Steven Mullaney had Whiteley caught at long on and Libby at point.

Ben Dwarshuis picked up the only other four of the innings as he cut Jake Ball to the rope but Ball hit back by dismissing Ed Barnard, caught at long off, and then bowling Dwarshuis next ball in the next over, none of the Outlaws bowlers conceding in double figures in any of the 20 overs, the Rapids’ total their lowest for a full 20 overs in the history of the format.

Bangladesh’s Shakib al Hasan is the only other bowler in world T20 cricket to take 100 wickets at a single ground, having claimed 135 at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, in Mirpur.