Durham Vitality County Championship Div 1 at Chester le Street Loss 2 pts

 

25/08

Day 4

NOTTS SUFFER HEAVY DEFEAT AT THE RIVERSIDE

Notts fell to a comprehensive innings and 17 run defeat at the Riverside today losing their last four wickets in 30 overs, the match ending at 1300 hours. All four wickets fell to 19 year old right arm seamer Daniel Hogg who had second innings figures of 25 7 66 7 on his first class debut. He bowled with pace and bounce and had great control and looked a fine prospect. It also proved an excellent game for his fellow 19 year old, left handed opener Ben McKinney, who scored 121 in only his second championship outing.

On a windy and cool morning, Parkinson bowled the opening over from the Lumley End in order for Hogg to switch to the Finchale End. In the 91st over, Haynes (69 off 172 balls, 8x4) was caught at first slip by Borthwick off Hogg, 223 for 7. James hit consecutive boundaries off Hogg in the 93rd over. Harrison (1) became Hogg's fifth victim caught at second slip by Turner; 233 for 8 in the 95th over. After a three over spell from Raine from the Lumley End, de Leede came on. Raine changed ends to replace Hogg for the 99th over. Parkinson was reintroduced for the 100th over. A four through the covers by Stone off Parkinson brought up the Notts 250 in the 104th over. De Leede came on for Raine for the 107th over. The floodlights were now on but the forecast rain was still 30 miles to the west. James was dropped on 22 by Robinson going for a legside catch off de Leede, 10 off the 111th over including boundaries for both batsmen. An offside single by James off the returning Hogg brought up the 50 partnership off 121 balls in the 115th over. Stone (29) though departed in the same over lbw to Hogg, 283 for 9. Hutton (1) lasted 10 balls before edging Hogg into Robinson's gloves. Cue massive celebrations for the home team. Notts 285 all out off 117 overs with James, batting too low down the order, left unbeaten on 31 off 84 balls (6x4).

Notts took a paltry two points out of the game being outplayed throughout. Stone, Fletcher and Hutton looked undercooked and unthreatening. Too many Notts batsmen gave their wickets away in the first innings, batting brainlessly against Neil Wagner who did not bowl a ball in the second innings. The second innings was an improvement but a poor shot by the captain and a stupid run out did not help the cause.

Notts with just one win in 10 championship outings are now very strong relegation candidates particularly with Surrey and Essex the next two opponents. But we should take the positives out of this fixture, "dust ourselves down and get ready for Thursday". MAG with a touch of Peter Moores clap trap...

Peter Moores on Youtube blames decision making and takes it on the chin - he must have more chin than Brucie.

24/08

Day 3

NOTTS HEADING FOR HEAVY DEFEAT AT THE RIVERSIDE

Despite a defiant fifth wicket partnership of 96 in 50 overs between Jack Haynes and Matt Montgomery Notts are heading for a heavy defeat at Chester-le-Street. Notts still trail  Durham by 90 runs with only four second innings when stumps were drawn at 1835.

A mid morning shower meant the start was delayed by 15 minutes this morning, play getting under way at 1115. Yesterday's bowling hero Neil Wagner had not recovered from the injury he sustained late yesterday and did not take the field today. However it did take Durham long to take the final two wickets. With the 14th delivery of the day, James (56) attempting a pull shot off a short delivery from Raine (Finchale End) got a top edge through to keeper Robinson; 226 for 9 in the 75th over. Hogg replaced Raine for the 77th over and with the ninth delivery had Hutton (11) caught behind by Robinson. Notts 229 all out off 78.3 overs, Fletcher 0 not out. Wagner 4 for 68.

Slater rides his luck

Notts followed on 302 runs behind with Raine (Finchale End) and Hogg sharing the new ball. In the 6th over, Slater on 5 was dropped at first slip by Borthwick off Hogg. De Leede replaced Hogg for the 10th over. Hogg came from the Finchale End for the 13th over. Notts reached 50 in the 14th over with Hameed hitting three off de Leede. Hameed (34) departed in the following over in identical fashion to his first innings chasing a short legside ball, this time from Hogg, he was caught behind by Robinson; 52 for 1 in the 15th over. Slater was dropped on 15 by Turner at second slip off de Leede in the 16th over. Notts limping to lunch on 56 for 1 off 16 overs with Slater on 19 and McCann on 0. By now the sun was shining and blue skies were overhead for most of the day albeit with a cool south westerly blowing.

McCann was out to the third ball after the interval caught behind by Robinson off Raine for a five ball duck, 56 for 2. Slater hit two boundaries off De Leede in the 22nd over. Parkinson replaced him for the following over from the Lumley End. Hogg replaced Raine from the Finchale End for the 25th over. In his second over off his new spell the impressive Hogg had Clarke lbw to a delivery that kept low for 5; 90 for 3 in the 27th over. Slater on 49 was dropped again by Borthwick at first slip off Hogg but then reached his 50 off 111 balls with an extra cover drive to the ropes. However, another daft dismissal followed. Haynes went for a quick suicidal single on the leg side off Parkinson and substitute Coughlin at mid wicket threw to keeper Robinson who ran Slater out for 53 (off 113 balls, 7x4). Notts 99 for 4 in the 32nd over. Montgomery joined Haynes in the middle and they battened down the hatches batting for 17 overs whilst adding 26 runs with Notts getting to tea on 125 for 4 after 49 overs with Haynes on 20 and Montgomery on 7.

The last session was a long one lasting 38 overs with Haynes and Montgomery continuing to resist the Durham attack. Batting proving a lot easier against the older ball. Skipper Borthwick continued to rotate his attack. Turner and Raine were bowling straight after tea. Parkinson came on for the 52nd over. Haynes survived a confident appeal whilst on 34 in the 62nd over off Parkinson. He was caught at silly point but was given not out after the umpires agreed that the catch had been taken after the ball had bounced. Notts continued to crawl along but the taking of the new ball with Notts 187 for 4 off 80 overs proved decisive. Haynes reached his 50 off 143 balls with a boundary to fine leg off Raine. Next ball Raine thought he had Haynes caught behind with another strangle down leg side but he was adjudged that Haynes had not got an edge to the delivery, much to the chagrin of all the Durham fielders. Hogg was his new ball partner and it took him five balls to dismiss to remove Montgomery (38) caught at first slip in his midriff by Borthwick;  195 for 5 in the 82nd over. Nightwatchman Luke Fletcher lasted two balls shouldering arms to a Raine delivery and being bowled; 196 for 6 in the 83rd over. Notts reached 200 with a boundary through point by Haynes off Hogg. He repeated the shot two balls later. Notts closed on 212 for 6 off 87 overs. Haynes 59 not out off 160 balls (7x4) of defiant resistance with James on 8. Teenager Hogg (18 6 40 3) impressed throughout with his pace and bounce and was well supported by Ben Raine (18 6 48 2). MAG

23/08

Day 2

NOTTS BADLY OFF THE PACE AT THE RIVERSIDE

After a very disappointing second day, Notts trail by 311 runs with two second innings wickets standing. The two stars for Durham were their two overseas players Ashton Turner who scored an unbeaten 114 and Kiwi left arm seamer Neil Wagner with 4 for 68. Wagner who has made a career out of bowling short fast legside balls and three Notts batsmen (Hameed, Clarke and Montgomery) fell for the bait. Notts meanwhile came into the game with their hands tied by their backs, the Director of Cricket failing to fill either of the two overseas slots, despite having two months to do so. A decision taken extremely badly by the travelling away members.

Durham added 138 runs in 21.2 overs this morning against some poor Notts bowling. James (Finchale End) bowled the first over of the day. Stone took a wicket with his second delivery having nightwatchman Callum Parkinson lbw for 4; 397 for 6 in the 98th over. This proved a false dawn for Notts as Turner and de Leede pummelled 134 runs for the 8th wicket in 20 overs. Hutton and Harrison replaced Stone and James for the 108th and 109th overs respectively. Durham were 453 for 6 off 110 overs but de Leede then went into overdrive with 78 runs scored in the following 7.2 overs as Notts heads dropped in the field. De Leede hit Harrison for three boundaries off the 112th over bowled by Hutton. De Leede reached his 50 off 51 balls with a four through mid wicket off Harrison in the 113th over, his tenth boundary of his innings. The over cost 10 runs. Fletcher came on for the 114th over with Turner reaching  his ton off 141 runs, another nine off the over. Notts were leaking runs another 11 came off the 115th over bowled by Harrison, Durham going passed 500. Fletcher then went for 10 in the 116th over. McCann came on for the 117th over, Turner hitting him for six over mid wicket, 12 off the over. Notts now had nine men on the boundary. De Leede (79 off 68 balls, 13x4, 1x6) holed out to Stone at long off Fletcher, Durham immediately declared at 531 for 7 off 117.2 overs with Turner on 114 not out off 151 balls (11x4).

Notts had 20 minutes to bat before lunch with Warner and Raine shared the new ball with sun now replaced by dark clouds. Slater (2) was bowled neck and crop losing two stumps to Wagner; 11 for 1 off 3 overs. McCann got three consecutive boundaries off Wagner in the 5th over of the innings. Notts 29 for 1 off 6 overs at lunch with Hameed on 14 and McCann on 13.

Wagner bowled an impressive spell from the Finchale End with McCann riding his luck somewhat. He made way for 19 year old bean pole right arm seamer Daniel Hogg for the 15th over. De Leede replaced the economical Raine for the 17th over. Wagner returned and had Hameed (44) strangled down the legside caught by keeper Robinson. Hameed had just started looking very fluent, a frustrating decision. Notts 96 for 2 off 21 overs. This was the start of the collapse where Notts lost 5 wickets for 26 runs in 12.3 overs.

In the following over, McCann (51) got to his 50 off 62 balls via a third man boundary but fell next ball caught by Robinson off de Leede. The left hander failing to move his feet edging a ball that kept a tad low; 100 for 3 in the 22nd over. McCann has done all that could have been expected of him so far on his championship debut. The next three batsmen were all out to poor shots. Wagner gave Clarke (3) a short ball barrage and Clarke fell for the bait caught at long leg by Parkinson; Notts 108 for 4 in the 27th over. Raine came back for the 28th over. Montgomery (8) also fell to Wagner's leg trap caught at leg gully by Lees, 116 for 5 in the 29th over. Hogg returned for the 33rd over. Haynes (9) was the next batsman to throw his wicket away caught at mid on by McKinney off Raine, 122 for 6 in the 34th over. Notts got to tea on 141 for 6 off 40 overs with a James on 15 and Harrison on 4.

Wagner and Parkinson were bowling together after tea.  James and Harrison shared a 7th wicket partnership of 48 before Harrison fell lbw to Parkinson, 170 for 7 after 54 overs. James was dropped on 28 by Turner at slip off Parkinson in the 58th over. De Leede came back for the 61st over. Wagner had leave the field after falling awkwardly on his shoulder trying to stop a ball.

Stone (18), attempting a sweep shot, was bowled round his legs; 196 for 8 in the 64th over. Notts reached 200 in the 66th over. James hit de Leede for consecutive boundaries in the 67th over. Borthwick came on for the penultimate over with James reaching his 50 off 122 balls with offside two. Notts closed on 220 for 8 off 72 overs with James, having a good game, on 50 and Hutton on 8. A recovery of sorts from 122 for 6 but still 311 runs behind Durham's massive first innings total. A miserable day for Notts who are now in real relegation trouble. MAG

22/08

Day 1

TOUGH DAY FOR NOTTS AT THE RIVERSIDE

Notts returned to championship action after a seven week break with a disappointing opening day performance against Durham at the Riverside today.  On a flat pitch against unthreatening bowlers the home side piled up 393 for the loss of five wickets on an uninterrupted day. The two left hander openers 19 year old Ben McKinney (121 off 129 balls, 17x4,1x6) and Alex Lees (145 off 275 balls, 12x4) shared an opening stand of 189 in 44 overs. Lees later shared a 4th wicket stand of 122 in 31 overs with Australian batsmen Ashton Turner (62 not out off 95 balls, 5x4) with Durham dominating throughout.

Notts won the toss and elected to bowl a decision which given how the day unfolded proved to be incorrect one. Freddie McCann was given his first class debut. With Will Young long since departed to New Zealand and Dane Paterson on paternity leave. Notts had had two months to fill the two overseas slots for this fixture, disappointingly they failed to fill either slot. Both Fletcher and Hutton returned to championship action with rusty performances with the latter leaving the field with cramp at one stage but he reappeared later. Stone overlooked by England finished with the unflattering figures of 15.2 1 87 0. Lyndon James was by far the best Notts bowler on show today with figures of 15 1 56 3.

Despite a shower around 1000, play got under way on time. The weather was much better than anticipated with much sunshine albeit with a stiff south westerly wind blowing.

Stone (Finchale End) and Hutton opened the bowling but the Durham openers Lees and McKinney easily saw off the new ball. Fletcher replaced Stone (4 0 20 0) for the ninth over. Stone switched to the Lumley End in the 12th over. Durham got to 50 in the 15th over with two for he aggressive McKinney off Fletcher. Harrison replaced Stone for the 18th over. James came on for the 21st over and a cover driven boundary for McKinney saw him to his 50 off 62 balls. A swept boundary by McKinney off Harrison took Durham into three figures in the 26th over. McCann bowled the last over before lunch Durham 121 for 0 off 30 overs with McKinney in only his second championship game on 74 and the more obdurate Lees on  45. A morning totally dominated by the home side.

After lunch, Harrison switched to Finchale End for a single over and Hutton returned for the following over. McCann returned for the 33rd over. Lees reached his 50 off 114 balls with a single off McCann in the 37th over. Fletcher came on for the 40th over. A cover driven boundary by McKinney off McCann brought him his maiden first class ton off 117 balls. McKinney then hit McCann for six over wide long off in the 43rd over. McKinney (121) mistimed McCann and skied it in the air was caught by Hameed at short mid-wicket, 189 for 1 in the 45th over. A maiden first class wicket for the 19 year off spinning all rounder. Durham reached 200 in the 48th over via an edged four by Borthwick off Stone, the edge going between keeper Clarke and first slip McCann. Stone bowled a five over spell from the Lumley End. James returned from the Finchale End for the 56th over and bowled Borthwick (26) trimming his off bail, the left hander not offering a shot. Durham 231 for 2. Hutton then replaced the expensive Stone for the following over but pulled up with cramp four balls into his new spell, Stone completing his over. Fletcher then came on. James was hit for consecutive fours by Robinson but then the Durham keeper edged him to Harrison at first slip who took the catch; 247 for 3 in the 57th over. The Durham 250 came up in the 59th over with a two for Lees off James.  Harrison bowled the last over before tea.  Durham 265 for 3 at tea off 64 overs with Lees on 86 and Turner on 10. They scored 144 in the middle session.

Montgomery and McCann were bowling in tandem straight after tea. Montgomery was given a solitary over and was replaced by Harrison from the Finchale End. A four through extra cover by Lees off McCann in the 72nd over brought up his 100 off 224 balls. In the next over, Durham reached 300 via four through third man by Lees off Harrison. Montgomery came back for the 76th over. Fletcher and Stone were strangely brought back prior to the new ball was due; for the 79th and 80th overs respectively. The new ball was taken with Durham 337 for 3 off 80 overs. Turner hit Fletcher to the mid-wicket ropes to bring up the Durham 350 in the 83rd over. In the following over Turner reached a 70 ball 50 with a cover driven boundary off Stone. There was a double bowling change with Hutton and James came on for the 86th and 87th overs respectively and they made two late breakthroughs. In the 88th over, Lees (145) was bowled by Hutton, 369 for 4. Fletcher returned for the 94th over. Clark (7) mistimed an attempted pull shot off a short ball off James and Hameed took the skier at mid wicket, 388 for 5 in the 95th over. Durham closing on 393 for 5 on 96 with Turner on 62 and nightwatchman Callum Parkinson on 4.

A very disappointing day for Notts with sloppy and slow out-fielding not helping matters. They have a huge mountain to climb to get anything out of this contest. MAG

 

21/08

I may have jumped the gun, the Kookaburra experiment doesn't resume until next week... apologies for any confusion. 

Brrr it's a bit chilly in Durham AT

Olly Stone has been released by England and joins the Notts squad:

Ben Slater

Haseeb Hameed

Freddie McCann

Joe Clarke

Matt Montgomery

Jack Haynes

Lyndon James

Liam Patterson-White

Calvin Harrison

Brett Hutton

Rob Lord

Olly Stone

Luke Fletcher

It would appear that young Thomas has missed the bus and isn't included...

20/08

Olly Stone hasn't made the final eleven for tomorrow's first Test with Sri Lanka, he's not centrally contracted anymore, so will he been free to join Notts at the Riverside, Chester le Street?

Durham's Matty Potts has made the England eleven, however.

As an indicator to the squad for the journey to CLS, Notts 2s are currently playing Zimbabwe A at Lady Bay, a three day game which started today. Freddie McCann, Liam Patterson-White and Rob Lord aren't taking part in that fixture whereas: Toby Pettman, Farhan Ahmed, Ben Martindale and Sammy King are.

19/08

Has it gone away yet? 

Yes, the spider in its web of exaggeration and misinformation has crawled away for another year. Apparently the Oval Inconsequentials retained the gaudy H.

BBC spins drop in viewing figures

For Nottinghamshire, the season has to now kick-in proper with the first of the five remaining Championship matches and the first of two more games using the Kookaburra ball.

For this trip to the northern-most outpost of the ECB's empire, Notts will be without those bowlers hand picked by Team Newell, Moores and Shine to lead our bowling attack: Dillon Pennington (injured), Josh Tongue (injured, never fit), Olly Stone (International duty) and Dane Paterson (enjoying some paternity leave until the second week of September). 

Those left to manufacture wickets with the Antipodean projectile lack raw pace apart from summer contracted Rob Lord who hasn't even played a National Counties Championship game before. If this lad has got promise, why haven't they [Newell/Moores] moved to secure his services beyond September? Notts do have a healthy platoon of spinners to call upon,  but can Peter balance his side around those absences and deficiencies?

Notts saving grace, or downfall on occasion in 2024, has been the batting. What kind of form is Joe Clarke going to be in post H*ndred? Hameed and Slater are either feast or famine and is it Martindale or McCann that's going to cover for the lack of overseas recruitment? Our delusional Head Coach will have his own positive spin to apply to team selection, but to say Notts resources are stretched would be another exaggeration, it's just players with experience that are in shortish supply. Lack of experience could be described as a lack of historic opportunity provided by an inflexible selector of teams, adverse to change.

It's Monday so perhaps there will an announced from the Bridgford Road scoreboard office block on social media that Notts have secured the signature of a sit-up and notice overseas batting all rounder and an Indian superstar batsman for the rest of the season, but neither of which's numbers are in Mick Newell's limited contact list.....

More likely will be a piece about Tom Moores looking forward to red ball action again and leading the younger elements of the squad by his own example. When was the last Tom Moores first class 50? [ v Kent at Trent Bridge July last year]