Ben Mike hails Foxes’ ‘great team effort’ after Outlaws win

Ben Mike bowls during the Vitality T20 Blast match between Nottinghamshire Outlaws and Leicestershire Foxes at Trent Bridge. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Leicester Foxes all-rounder Ben Mike hailed a great team effort as his side beat Notts Outlaws by 47 runs in last night's Vitality Blast contest.

Mike took two for 26 after hitting a 12-ball 29 to help his side set a competitive total.

He said: "It was a great team effort. We set it up nicely with the bat to allow me to come in with a few wickets in hand and I’m delighted to have helped us to a good score.

"We thought 170 would be a total we could defend.

“And then everyone has contributed with the ball really well. I didn’t face anything but seam when the ball seemed to be coming on well to the bat but I think it was possibly a tougher pitch than I thought the way batters struggled against the slower bowlers.

“The spinners on both sides but especially our boys bowled magnificently, taking wickets at crucial times. Our spin bowlers have won us plenty of matches. You know what you are going to get with Parky, who is so consistent, and to see young Rehan taking crucial wickets is fantastic.

“We’ve probably got to win the last two to qualify but we are peaking nicely. We had a slow start to the season but we always say it is about momentum and we finished well last year after a slow start and hopefully we can keep it going this time.”

Outlaws head coach Peter Moores said: “It was a pretty tough watch towards the end. We never really got any momentum into our batting innings but credit to them, they bowled really well. We went six overs without a boundary, which is so rare for us, especially at Trent Bridge.

“We felt we bowled pretty well in the powerplay and we felt in control at halfway. They got away a little bit in that back 10 overs and credit to Ben Mike. he came in and played well at the end.

“But at 170 we felt it was a score we could chase down with short boundaries and a fast outfield but we just never found any momentum.

“We haven’t really clicked in the last few games so we have to go away and look at it and see if we need to make any changes. Qualifying could be out of our control now but we just have to focus on the next game against Derbyshire on Thursday and go from there.”