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Outlaws look for winning finish

Will Smith will be hoping to put one over his old team-mates when Notts Outlaws play Durham in their final Twenty20 North Division Group match tonight.

The 24-year-old top-order batsman left Trent Bridge for the Riverside at the end of last season.

And his move north has certainly paid dividends, with Durham securing a place in their first Lord's final in the Friends Provident Trophy against Hampshire, while they have also been challenging strongly in Division One of the County Championship.

But they are already out of contention in the Twenty20 Cup and while Smith is keen to see his new county win tonight at Chester-le-Street, he is backing Notts to go all the way this season and make up for last year's controversial final defeat to Leicestershire.

"I still have a lot of friends at Trent Bridge and it's great to see them doing so well," said Smith.

"But it is no surprise really. Mick Newell has brought together a fantastic squad and they are a lot stronger than they were last year.

"I hope they go on to win promotion back to the top flight and do well in the Twenty20, tonight excepted."

Smith realised his chances of regular first-team cricket would be limited at Notts and that prompted him to move to Durham.

And he has grasped his opportunity, playing a couple of key innings on the way to Lord's while also holding down a regular place in the championship side.

But Smith also knows he needs a few big scores to back up a number of promising starts to really cement his place in the batting line-up.

"It has been a bit frustrating because I keep getting set and then somehow manage to get myself out," said Smith.

"But I have proved to myself that I can compete at the highest level and it's up to me to push on now.

"To get to a Lord's final in my first season here is a massive bonus. It's Durham's first final too and it seems the whole north-east region is behind us.

"We're up against Hampshire and we owe them one after they beat us in the County Championship. We had to field under floodlights at their place and struggled to see the ball, allowing their last couple of wickets to get away from us to give Shane Warne a total to bowl at.

"But I have no regrets about leaving Notts. I had to make a decision and I'm delighted with the way things have worked out."

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