Surrey wins their first one-day game of the season because to Cameron Steel’s all-around talent
The home team fell from 208 for four to 237 all out in the space of 33 balls, losing their final four wickets in the final eight balls of the match as Surrey recorded their first victory. The match was reduced to 40 overs per side, and Surrey defeated Nottinghamshire Outlaws at Welbeck in an exciting last-ball Metro Bank One-Day Cup victory.
Ben Foakes and Cameron Steel added 121 runs for the fourth wicket as Surrey amassed 244 runs from their 40 overs on a green pitch. Foakes smashed three sixes in his 64-ball 68 and Steel hit two in his 66-ball 67. The two made the Outlaws pay dearly for two dropped catches by giving Foakes a life on 14 and Steel on 31, respectively. These two errors essentially increased Surrey’s total by 90 runs.
Lyndon James (71) and Matt Montgomery (62) seemed to have set the Outlaws up for a third victory of the year, but Surrey’s spinners had other ideas, taking three for 41 with his leg breaks and three for 55 in a thrilling finish with left-armer Dan Moriarty.
Play started on time, however the participants were only able to bowl nine balls before the weather stopped play. By the time Dom Sibley edged his first ball to second slip, Brett Hutton had decided to support Outlaws captain Hameed Haseeb’s choice to bat first.
After the hour-and-24-minute break, the overs had to be readjusted, and an assertive Ryan Patel gave skipper Rory Burns a commanding lead by hitting both Toby Pettman and Tom Loten for leg-side sixes in a partnership of 65 off 75 balls, which came to an end when Burns was caught at deep square leg.
Soon after, Patel was well caught by Ben Slater almost on the rope at midwicket for 40, leaving Surrey in need of rebuilding. However, in the end, this double setback allowed Steel to join Foakes in what turned out to be the crucial part of the innings, as the fourth-wicket pair rattled along at 6.5 an over for more than 18 overs, albeit helped by the aforementioned shoddy fielding.
Eventually dismissed by Liam Patterson-White after taking a brilliant return catch to cap off a strong stint, Foakes was put down by Montgomery off James on the midwicket boundary at 14. While everything was going on, Steel managed to escape on 31 when he reverse-swept Calvin Harrison, and Pettman blew a clear-cut opportunity at short third man.
Ben Geddes and Luke Griffiths, a 17-year-old fast bowler making his senior debut, both holed out in the final overs, giving Pettman (two for 50) the opportunity to claim his victims. Steel eventually was dismissed by a catch at deep extra cover off Hutton (two for 45).
Another DLS amended target that confused onlookers was the one Surrey was chasing, which was three runs smaller than their total. At the conclusion of an exciting opening power, the Outlaws were 34 for one. The visitors had lost one bowler in Matt Dunn, who left the field two balls into his third over, and nearly a fielder in Sibley, who was struck painfully in the shin while fielding at slip.
Sibley needed to get better before continuing, but he did. In addition, he made two catches, the first of which left him in additional discomfort as he dove to his left to hold the chance as Conor McKerr was edged out by Ben Martindale and the second of which he made at mid-off when Slater mistimed a drive to mid-off.
At the midway stage of their pursuit, Nottinghamshire were 99 for three, and it appeared that Surrey had the upper hand after Hameed, who was trying to break a streak of low scores, top-edged left-arm spinner Dan Moriarty to midwicket, while James had been pounded at mid-off on 26.
This time, the offender was rookie Griffiths. The teenager made amends for his mistake by dismissing James, the Outlaws batter, as he heaved towards midwicket but missed it, with wicketkeeper Foakes running halfway to the boundary to take the catch.
However, as with the two crucial drops in the Surrey innings, it came at a cost as James advanced to his second half-century in the competition.
The home team’s need was quickly lowered when Patterson-White joined Montgomery to make 42 runs in 29 balls before he was caught at midwicket off McKerr. This left the home team requiring 75 runs from 61 balls.
The Outlaws required six runs off the final over, which was reduced to four runs off four balls after Montgomery was dismissed leg before by Steel to a ball that kept low, and Dane Schadendorf was brilliantly caught at backward point off the same bowler.
However, the Outlaws lost their final three wickets to Moriarty off those final four balls, with Hutton holing out to long off, Harrison being run out, and Loten being stumped.