T20 Blast: Moores maximum gives Notts last-ball win
Tom Moores' outstanding 74 not out helped Nottinghamshire to victory
- Published
Nottinghamshire Outlaws' Tom Moores hit his sixth six of the innings to seal a thrilling last-ball T20 Blast victory against the Bears at Edgbaston.
With just a single needed, Moores capped his unbeaten 74 with a final flourish as the Outlaws chased down 207 to climb to fifth place in North Group in a spectacular run-fest in Birmingham.
Earlier, also at Edgbaston, superb knocks from Derbyshire's Aneurin Donald and Samit Patel earned bottom side Falcons a much-needed victory in their East Midlands derby against Leicestershire Foxes.
Meanwhile, in the South Group, Sussex Sharks convincingly beat Glamorgan in Cardiff to continue their excellent season.
Hosts Bears were put into bat by the Outlaws and in the second over lost captain Alex Davies to spinner Farhan Ahmed, who was making his T20 debut for the club.
However, a second-wicket partnership worth 116 runs between Tom Latham (69) and Dan Mousley (53) put the hosts in a commanding position.
A strong cameo from Moeen Ali, whose 34 came from just 12 balls, saw Bears past the 200 mark before Matthew Montgomery took two wickets with the final two balls of the innings.
With the bat, the Outlaws lost two wickets in the powerplay, and when Freddie McCann fell at 77-3 the hosts were strong favourites.
But a terrific fourth-wicket partnership of 107 runs between Moores and Lyndon James - who eventually fell for 50 when he was run out by Hassan Ali - steered momentum in the visitors' direction for the first time.
With six balls remaining, Outlaws still required 16 but, after Ed Barnard's full-toss was dispatched into the stands by Daniel Sams, Nottinghamshire sensed victory and Moores went airborne off the last ball despite needing only one run.
In the first part of the Edgbaston Midlands double-header, Falcons took bragging rights against the Foxes by successfully chasing down a target of 197.
Leicestershire opener Sol Budinger bludgeoned 49 from 24 deliveries to set the platform as his team looked to set an imposing target for bottom side Derbyshire.
When Budinger was dismissed by veteran spin bowler Samit Patel (2-33), the Foxes had rapidly moved to 65-2 in the early stages of the eighth over.
Rehan Ahmed and Shan Masood were dismissed in quick succession by Falcons seamer Pat Brown, who finished with 3-51, but Logan van Beek (26 not out) and Ben Cox (28 not out) put on 55 in the final five overs to hand Derbyshire a tough chase.
In reply, Derbyshire opener Donald continued where he left off following Friday's knock of 73 not out against Nottinghamshire with a terrific 60 to help them race to 80-0 after six overs.
That included the fastest half-century in the club's history from just 18 balls - beating his own previous record set in last year's competition.
Leicestershire were given a glimmer of hope when seamer Tom Scriven removed both openers in his first over.
And when Wayne Madsen found Matt Salisbury at deep fine leg for Scriven's third wicket, Derbyshire were still 43 runs shy of their target with 32 balls remaining.
But a terrific 52 not out in just 32 balls from 40-year-old Patel, accompanied ably by Ross Whiteley (13 not out), helped the Falcons home comfortably with 10 balls to spare to seal back-to-back victories in consecutive days.
Samit Patel hit an unbeaten 52 in Derbyshire's win
Sharks bite Glamorgan to go second
Sussex Sharks continued their impressive summer with a 27-run victory against Glamorgan at Sophia Gardens.
Outstanding figures of 6-21 from Australian international Nathan McAndrew - the first Sussex player to pick up a six-wicket haul in T20 history - helped see off a fightback from the Welsh outfit.
Opener Harrison Ward's half-century from just 19 balls helped the Sharks set the hosts a target of 200 to chase.
Wicketkeeper-batter John Simpson's 41 in 26 balls and James Coles' 28 helped the visitors' cause, while Mason Crane was the pick of Glamorgan's bowlers with figures of 3-44 including the wickets of Tom Alsop and Tom Clark in consecutive deliveries.
Glamorgan's mammoth run chase began well, but when Colin Ingram fell with the hosts on 107-5 they looked in trouble.
Dan Douthwaite's fine 40 from 18 balls put the game back in the balance. However, when he was dismissed by a good catch from sub fielder George Thomas, the hosts' chances of victory had realistically gone.
McAndrew cleaned up the tail with three wickets in the 19th over to seal a convincing win to send the Sharks second in the South Group behind Somerset.
Sunday's fixtures
North Group
Yorkshire v Durham (14:30 BST)
Leicestershire v Worcestershire (16:00 BST)
South Group
Gloucestershire v Glamorgan (16:00 BST)
Somerset v Kent (16:00 BST)