A WHIRLWIND 36 not out from Darren Sammy and a key wicket for Samit Patel tipped the balance as Worcestershire Rapids slipped to an 11-run defeat against Nottinghamshire Outlaws in the NatWest T20 Blast at New Road yesterday.

Sammy smashed four sixes straight down the ground in turning an average Nottinghamshire total into a more challenging 169-5.

Patel, having made 30 with the bat, dismissed Moeen Ali for 36 in a match-defining spell of three for 17.

Moeen, making the most of his sabbatical from the England set-up, cracked seven boundaries in his smooth progress to 36 from 24 balls.

Although he had already lost two partners in Daryl Mitchell and Richard Oliver – the latter a first success for Australian newcomer Ben Hilfenhaus – Moeen’s wicket was the one that Notts needed and Patel claimed it when the opener was trapped lbw attempting a reverse paddle.

The off-spinner’s guile was too much for batsmen having to take risks.

New Zealander Colin Munro put up a catch to long-on and Ben Cox was out lbw when aiming to sweep.

Ross Whiteley did his best to revitalise the Rapids with four sixes before he was bowled by Harry Gurney for an 18-ball 36.

The result was only settled when James Taylor caught Jack Shantry at extra cover for 12 in the last over as the hosts were dismissed for 158.

Worcestershire director of cricket Steve Rhodes said: “We had a good start but sadly lost wickets. I thought we had a good chance. We had to bat well but we lost four wickets quite softly. I thought we played a good game of cricket but sadly we came out second best.”

The day had begun well for Worcestershire as the visitors lost both openers to successive balls in Shantry’s opening over.

Riki Wessels put up a straightforward skier to mid-off and a flying catch by wicketkeeper Cox was an unhappy memory for Alex Hales to take into the England squad for the one-day series against New Zealand. The Outlaws were quickly on track as Steven Mullaney (29) and Brendan Taylor (27) put on 57 in six overs before Saeed Ajmal retrieved a costly start when Taylor holed out to Munro at mid-wicket.

As Worcestershire switched to spin, Mullaney fell to a remarkable one-handed reflex catch by Mitchell at short mid-wicket in Moeen’s first over.

Notts had an answer once again, though, with 55 in eight overs by Patel (30) and James Taylor, who reached an unbeaten 35.

In a way, Patel’s dismissal, driving Joe Leach to long-off, was counter-productive in exposing Shantry to a brutal assault by Sammy.

The West Indies all-rounder drove for six and took a single from the last two balls of the left-arm seamer’s penultimate over and closed the innings with three more sixes into the Basil D’Oliveira Stand in scoring 23 of the 24 taken from Shantry’s last six deliveries.

Nottinghamshire director of cricket Mick Newell said: “It was absolutely crucial to get Moeen out because he’s a guy who is capable of batting all the way through and making 70 or 80. It was a pretty decent performance by us.”