Middlesex thrashed by dominant Notts

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Notts 368-2 (45 ov) beat Middlesex 80 (13.3 ov) by 77 runs (D/L method)
(Middlesex 0 pts, Nottinghamshire 2 pts)

Middlesex were crushed by an astonishing onslaught from Nottinghamshire at Lord’s to end their hopes of qualifying for the Royal London Cup quarter-finals.

In a remarkable display of batting, Alex Hales smashed 141 while James Taylor (100 not out) and Samit Patel (37) added 122 from the final 50 balls as Notts made 368-2 from a 45-over innings punctuated by rain.

More bad weather shortened the Middlesex reply to just 16 overs and Duckworth-Lewis calculations set them a target of 158.

But Panthers never came close to threatening that figure from the moment Harry Gurney took two wickets in two balls in the third over.

He repeated the feat late in the innings as the home side crumbled to 80 all out, Eoin Morgan top scoring with 19.

It means that with one match remaining, Middlesex are unable to make the top four in group B.

Panthers’ bowlers were taken to the cleaners by Nottinghamshire, who were 55-0 after 10 overs when rain first hit at Lord’s, losing five overs from the visitors’ innings.

Hales hit 19 fours and four sixes in his superb 96-ball 141 as he and fellow opener Michael Lumb (81) put on 217 in 31 overs for the first wicket.

It ended when Hales hit Dawid Malan to cover, while Roland-Jones (above) accounted for Lumb.

Taylor and Patel then inflicted further punishment with 13 fours and seven sixes in the last seven overs, the final maximum coming off the last ball to give Taylor his century.

The players were forced off by rain five balls into Panthers’ reply and when the pitch was finally playable the hosts set about their D/L target.

Paul Stirling fell three balls after the restart while Gurney removed Malan and Ryan Higgins in successive deliveries.

Morgan’s 19 came off 14 balls but he was unable to spark Middlesex into life as wickets fell at regular intervals, ending their slim hopes of one-day silverware this season.

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