Joe Clarke breaks Notts record as Steelbacks are thumped

The defending champions claimed their opening victory of the campaign at the third time of asking to leave Northamptonshire winless

Wantage Road: Notts Outlaws 214-7, Northamptonshire Steelbacks 200-7 - Notts Outlaws won by 14 runs

Scorecard

Joe Clarke caused chaos with the sixth-highest Vitality Blast score of all-time to guide Notts Outlaws the first win of their T20 defence.

Batter Clarke clattered 136 off 65 balls to record the 24th greatest innings in T20 history and the best for a Notts player – as the visitors racked 214 up on Northamptonshire Steelbacks.

Josh Cobb’s monstrous 62 from 32 deliveries gave the Steelbacks hope of raining on Clarke’s parade but eventually fell 14runs short, with Matt Carter’s parsimonious one for 15 vital.

The 2020 champions had failed to win their opening two fixtures – with a tie and a defeat – but bounced back in style to condemn the Steelbacks to back-to-back losses.

Having chosen to bat, it didn’t take long for Clarke to strike the first of his 11 sixes – the fourth-most in this country – as he smoked one straight over the Lynn Wilson Indoor School.

Alex Hales cut a six-four combo before skying to mid-off, before Peter Trego joined Clarke for an 82-run stand in 48-balls – during which Clarke passed 50 in 28 balls.

Trego, Tom Moores and Lyndon James both slogged to deep mid-wicket, Steven Mullaney was yorked, Samit Patel was brilliantly caught and bowled by Wayne Parnell – but they were simply the supporting cast to Clarke.

The only blip on Clarke’s innings was being spilt on 29 at mid-wicket, everything else left the 1,100 in attendance flabbergasted.

The sound of leather onto willow onto concrete or steel seemingly accompanied every delivery – with the straight and mid-wicket boundaries, where he amassed 51 and 72 runs respectively, peppered.

His hundred was typically brought up with a straight six in 49 balls. Clarke is now the sixth Englishman to score three T20 centuries, and the first not to have been capped by England.

He departed with three balls to spare, picking out Saif Zaib at long-on – having scored 64 per cent of the Notts runs.

The Steelbacks’ reply saw a required ultra-aggressive approach result in early wickets – Richard Levi, Adam Rossington and Ricardo Vasconcelos all departed in the power-play – mixed with an equal worm to Notts.

Cobb maintained the rate bringing up fifty in 22 balls before pulling up when coming through for second run to bring Vasconcelos back out as a runner.

Rob Keogh clubbed two sixes over long-on but failed with the third attempt to fall for 45 off 31, after a 104-run stand with Cobb.

Cobb eventually departed when he smashed a full-toss to the leg-side boundary, with Parnell caught straight and Tom Taylor at deep mid-wicket as the run-rate spiralled – Northamptonshire ending on 200 for 7.