Notts: Alex Hales shoulders blame for T20 quarter-final exit

Alex Hales says he will shoulder responsibility for Nottinghamshire's FLt20 quarter-final defeat by Essex.

He smashed 31 runs off 12 balls to help the hosts get off to a blistering start, chasing 188 for victory.

But the Notts opener admits he threw his wicket away cheaply, triggering a slump which saw James Taylor and Michael Lumb dismissed in quick succession.

"I'm as much to blame as anyone," Hales told BBC Radio Nottingham.

"My own confidence was probably my own downfall - I was in the zone and hitting the ball well so I decided to keep going.

"I think the way I got out was pretty poor in the circumstances.

"We should have been chasing that down on that wicket - it was a very good wicket and we are bitterly disappointed we didn't get over the line.

"You are always behind the game if you lose early wickets and that is myself, Lummy (Michael Lumb) and Titch (James Taylor) - we need to look at ourselves, the way we got out.

"We thought what we were chasing was around par, it was an excellent wicket and we didn't bat well enough."

Hales said Notts could not match Essex for all-round performance at Trent Bridge to qualify for finals day later this month.

"We knew it was a big game and we were outperformed with bat and ball," Hales said.

The Outlaws topped their group with seven wins from 10 games, but have again failed to challenge for their first domestic Twenty20 title.

Their last appearance in the showpiece event and only time they have reached the final came in 2006.

"We are massively disappointed," Hales said.