After Notts defeated Surrey by four wickets in the Royal London One Day Cup Final, captain Chris Read and man-of-the-match centurion Alex Hales were in buoyant moods.
“Brilliant, what a day!” said Read, who is in his last season with Notts.
“It was an emotional day. It’s the fans that make it – when you hear them chanting, shouting and cheering. It’s a special moment.
As for Alex Hales’ innings, he was clear how it rated amongst those he had seen for Notts over his long career.
“It’s number one.”
Jokingly, he added: “Apart from the one that he belted straight to cover” (that was dropped).
“It was the tempo that was so great,” Read added. “It made things easy for me. We just had to build a partnership, the run rate was never an issue. Michael Lumb said to me after he got out early on, ‘Alex is on today’; and I know when he’s on, he’s as good as there is.
Alex Hales was clear about his aims when he was out there batting: “I wanted to attack the power play.
“On that pitch, you got good value for your shots. I’ve had mixed success batting at Lord’s but this was one of the best pitches you could wish for.”
As for the records he set – highest ever one day score for Notts, highest in a Lord’s final – he was obviously delighted.
“Any time you get a chance to set a record is special.
“And to contribute to getting some silverware in Chris Read’s last year was great.”
He also had words for the fans: “We heard their voices all day. The trophy really is for them and for Chris Read.
And in the midst of the Notts triumph, there were words of consolation for Mark Stoneman who batted through the innings for Surrey.
“I thought he played really well. He’s an exceptional player. He plays so well off the back foot. He may have missed out on selection for England but his time will come.
With that, two weary but jubilant Notts players set off across Lord’s to join their colleagues in what was likely to be a long celebration.
