Nottinghamshire 124 for 0 (Budinger 62*, Slater 50*) beat Somerset 119 (Rew 48, Paterson 3-28) by ten wickets
Derbyshire-bound Zak Chappell put the skids under Somerset as Nottinghamshire Outlaws made it maximum points from their first two Royal London Cup games with a comprehensive ten-wicket win at Taunton.
A sizeable crowd at the Cooper Associates County Ground saw the hosts slump to 17 for 5 after losing the toss, Chappell claiming three of the wickets, before struggling to 119 all out, 18-year-old James Rew making the only meaningful contribution with 48. Chappell finished with 3 for 35 and Dane Paterson 3 for 28, while there were two wickets each for Brett Hutton and Liam Patterson-White on a green-tinged pitch offering a modicum of seam movement.
In reply, Outlaws breezed to their modest target off just 12 overs, openers Ben Slater and Sol Budinger plundering four sixes and 16 fours between them in a total of 124 without loss to complete an embarrassing day for their opponents. Budinger finished unbeaten on 62 and Slater 50 not out to inflict one of the biggest drubbings in Somerset's List A history.
The outcome was virtually decided in the initial ten-over powerplay, which ended with the home side 19 for 5. Matt Renshaw fell to the sixth ball of the match, caught at third man, edging an expansive drive off Chappell before three more wickets fell in the space of six deliveries.
Steve Davies edged to first slip off Hutton, while Lewis Goldsworthy played on to Chappell, who then had James Hildreth caught behind for a duck, fencing outside off stump. George Bartlett presented a second slip catch to Matt Mongomery off Paterson and Somerset were in disarray under clear blue skies at their normally fast-scoring home ground.
Chappell, whose move to Derbyshire for next season was announced this week, ended his four-over opening spell with figures of 3 for 11, while Hutton bowled seven overs from the River End, claiming 1 for 15.
Rew played in a composed manner that put his more senior collegues to shame as he and Ben Green added 45 for the sixth wicket before the latter was bowled by left-arm spinner Patterson-White for 21, looking to cut a ball that was too close too off stump.
It was 82 for 7 when Kasey Aldridge was stumped dancing down the wicket to Patterson-White, with more than 25 overs still available for Somerset to improve their score.
Rew brought the hundred up with his sixth boundary, through midwicket off Hutton, but then got a leading edge to Hutton and saw the ball loop to Fateh Singh at deep third. Peter Siddle edged another catch to Mongomery at slip, having made 14 and when last man Sonny Baker was yorked by Paterson, Somerset had been bowled out in 35.4 overs, equalling their lowest ever List A total against Notts.
The batting effort was made to look even more woeful when Slater took 14 runs off the opening over of the Outlaws innings, hitting three fours off successive balls from Jack Brooks.
There was no way back for Somerset as Slater and Budinger brought up a half-century opening stand inside seven overs against the experienced bowling attack of Brooks and Siddle. Slater hit the first six of the game with a top-edged pull off Aldridge and Budinger quickly followed suit, hoisting Baker over wide long-on twice off successive balls.
It was uncomfortable viewing for Somerset supporters as their team were put to the sword. Slater put three figures on the board with a pulled six off Aldridge and was first to his fifty, off 46 balls, with seven fours and two sixes. Budinger's half-century occupied only 25 deliveries, with the same boundary count, as the Outlaws completed a one-day annihilation.
