Bears stamped themselves as the side to beat for any rival with aspirations to win this season’s Vitality Blast as they thrashed Notts Outlaws at Trent Bridge, winning by nine wickets after bowling the home side out for just 57.
Outlaws' total was their lowest in the competition’s history - the next lowest being 91 - and the fourth lowest among all the counties since Twenty20 cricket entered the domestic calendar in 2003.
The Bears’ batters needed only 32 balls to finish the job, Rob Yates top-scoring with four fours and two sixes in a 20-ball unbeaten 35, cracking the winning boundary through the off side as the contest ended in just 100 minutes.
It gave the Bears a sixth consecutive win and an eighth overall as they seek to win the competition for the first time since 2014.
Seamers George Garton and Zak Foulkes shared three wickets in the opening powerplay but it was the Bears quintet of spinners who were largely responsible for the demolition as Jake Lintott (two for 17 from four overs), Moeen Ali (two for two from eight) balls, Dan Mousley, Danny Briggs and Jacob Bethell shared seven wickets between them.
A first wicket in Nottinghamshire colours for the Afghan left-arm seamer Fazalhaq Farooqi was the only positive from the home side’s point of view.
The writing had been on the wall as a catastrophic powerplay ended with the Outlaws 16 for four after Bears opted to take their chance with the ball after winning the toss.
The damage was inflicted in the space of 15 balls as the left-arm quick Garton yorked Ben Martindale and then saw that Ben Slater’s first appearance in this format in three years ended in one delivery as the left-hander, tempted by some width, slashed straight to deep backward point.
Clarke, who had looked in outstanding form when hitting 79 off 41 balls on the same pitch on Friday evening, was dismissed by off-spinner Mousley’s second ball, caught behind off an inside edge, before Foulkes, the New Zealand seam-bowling all-rounder, had Matt Montgomery leg before.
Seemingly powerless to free themselves from the grip the Bears’ spinners had on proceedings, Outlaws lost Tom Moores and Jack Haynes to top-edges to short third man off stand-in Bears captain Danny Briggs - playing his 500th career game - and left-arm wrist spinner Jake Lintott.
Liam Patterson-White at least put bat through ball against Moeen - making his first Bears appearance of the season - but found the fielder at long-on, after which Calvin Harrison was caught behind reaching for one from Lintott.
Lyndon James raised ironic cheers by hitting the second of only two boundaries in the innings but promptly holed out to deep midwicket before Olly Stone skewed Moeen to short third.
Farooqi had Ed Barnard caught at mid-off in the third over as the sole Bears casualty.
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