Notts beaten as Leicestershire begin title defence with a win

The Foxes had been set to defend 370 after an impressive showing with the bat in which captain Lewis Hill top scored with 80, a pivotal knock that saw him share partnerships of 79 with Sol Budinger, who made 75, and 82 with Rahane as Leicestershire totalled 369 for six from their 50 overs, having been put in on a green-tinged pitch, their score bolstered by some big hitting from Ben Cox and Ben Mike at the death.

Chasing 370 would have been a tall task for an inexperienced Outlaws side had rain not left their reply stranded on 50 without loss from 10.1 overs.

That would have consigned them to a five-run DLS defeat had no further play been possible. But after conditions improved following a two-and-half-hour stoppage, umpires Simon Widdup and Neil Pratt ruled that there was time enough for Notts to face another 3.5 overs, with a revised target of 105.

Needing 55 from 23 balls, the visitors added to the drama by retiring both Ben Slater and debutant Freddie McCann, the not out batters, in favour of big-hitters Jack Haynes and Tom Moores only to lose Haynes first ball - leg before to Tom Scriven - immediately followed by new batter Lyndon James, caught on the mid-wicket boundary.

Liam Patterson-White hammered Ben Mike to the midwicket boundary but immediately miscued back to the bowler for a simple return catch, then Matt Montgomery sliced Scriven in the air to be caught brilliantly by Mike as the ball swirled between him and Chris Wright at short third.

Moores then hammered four boundaries in four balls off Mike but the Outlaws were still 16 runs short of their target when the overs ran out. Scriven finished with three for 20.

Notts head coach Peter Moores said: “I’m not sure if we’d ever retired two players like that before. It always feels unfair to retire somebody out and I felt for Freddie McCann in particular to have that happen on debut, but it was the right decision in the circumstances.

“Credit to the way him and Ben Slater played because if it had been a full game they took us to where we were looking to be, which was 50 or 60 for none after 10 overs with a view to kicking on from there. We were happy with the situation when it rained.

“To be then coming out needing 14 and a half an over was difficult but we needed to get out there because we were losing on DLS when the rain came. They finished with seven dot balls before the rain and that was quite significant in the end.

“And to give credit to Tom Scriven, who got a bit of swing and shape on it and took two in two balls to get them off to a great start. We probably needed that over from Tom Moores at the end to have come at the start, to put a bit of pressure on them.

“It was a big chase but it was big because we didn’t bowl as well as we wanted to if I’m honest. Fletch was the pick, Farhan showed what he is about and kept his cool after being hit early on - he’s got real talent. And Rob Lord, although he didn’t always get it right, bowled with good pace and showed the talent he has got.

“The lads are hurting at the moment because we’ve lost but we’ve got a couple of home games to come and a couple of wins there can put us in a good position when we go on the road.”

Outlaws included three debutants - newly-signed all-rounder Rob Lord plus academy products McCann, 19, and off-spinner Farhan Ahmed - the brother of Leicestershire’s Rehan - who at 16 years 153 days is the second youngest player to appear in senior cricket for Nottinghamshire, behind Paul Johnson, who was 32 days younger when he made his John Player League debut against Warwickshire at Edgbaston in 1981.

If there was frustration for the Outlaws, the Foxes will have been more than happy with the standard set by their batters.

Budinger, who faced 74 balls, delivered an impressively measured performance containing 10 fours and a six, although he was expensively dropped 15 by wicketkeeper Tom Moores off Luke Fletcher.

Harry Swindells, who did not figure for the Foxes last season before his sensational match-winning century in the final, made 35 in an opening stand of 95 before mistiming to mid-on off Patterson-White.

A diving McCann eventually snared Budinger at long off, giving Notts a second breakthrough and Farhan - who conceded two sixes in his second over but recovered well - his maiden senior wicket.

That brought Rahane to the middle at 174 for two with Hill looking well set at the other end, and they advanced the score to 256 in not much more than 10 overs before Hill, who hit nine fours and a six, dragged one on from outside off stump to be bowled.

Rahane, wasting no time in giving his latest home crowd a glimpse of his quality, completed a 38-ball fifty shortly afterwards. He and Peter Handscomb added 48 before the Australian, having just cleared the long-on boundary, was athletically caught by Patterson-White at mid-off for 29 off 21 balls to give Lord his maiden scalp.

Rahane raised his boundary count to nine in a manner that suggested plenty more to come, so it came as a surprise to see him undone by a wide full toss from James, inelegantly hoicked into the busy hands of McCann at long-on.

The Outlaws might have hoped they could contain the Foxes at 350 or fewer with Rahane gone but five sixes in the last three overs - three from Cox (29 off 20) before he holed out to deep extra cover and two from Mike - one after he was dropped - provided a storming finish.

All-rounder James took three wickets for Outlaws, albeit at a cost of 105 runs.

Chris Wright, having completed his preparations in Monday’s warm-up match against Buckinghamshire, bowled his first five competitive overs of the season following his suspension for an anti-doping offence as the Outlaws began their chase.