NORTHANTS CRUMBLE UNDER PRESSURE FROM NOTTS
A remarkable day for Notts as they blasted 150 runs in just 18 overs and then bowled out the hapless Cobblers for 151 to run the win the match by an innings and 10 runs. The match being done and dusted shortly before five o’clock.
The heroes of the days were Riki Wessels, Peter Siddle and Ajmal Shahzad.
Wessels and Read took their sixth wicket partnership to 85 off 21 overs when Read holed out to deep mid-wicket off Hall for 31, 297 for six. Siddle was out the next over caught at first slip off Middlebrook for 4, 302 for seven. Then came the carnage as Wessels and Shahzad added 107 runs in just 51 balls as Wessels sped to magnificent 158 off 152 balls with four fours and eight sixes including three off successive balls off Andrew Hall as the fans in the Fox Road ducked for cover. Wessels was very strong on the onside as the weak Northants attack were torn to shreds. Shahzad gave good support with 36 off just 25 balls. The declaration came when Wessels was caught at long on by Crook going for his ninth six, Azharullah being the bowler. Notts 409 for eight scored at 4.78 RP0 in the innings and greater than eight an over today.
Northants had 35 minutes to bat before lunch and 76 overs to bat in total. James Middlebrook was leg before to Shahzad, 24 for one. On the resumption, Sales was dropped at slip by Patel off Siddle but straight after key man Peters (24) chipped the ball low to Adams at square leg who took a good catch, 36 for two. Siddle bowling from the Radcliffe Road had found his mojo and was proving a handful on the flat deck; Sales (19) had his middle stump ripped out by a beauty from the Victorian, 59 for three. In the next over and after changing his angle of the attack after discussion with Phil Jaques, Matt Spriegel was plumb leg before as Siddle picked up his third wicket of a pivotal spell, 62 for four. Siddle and Shahzad were replaced by Carter and Adams and for a while the game went somnolent as Newton and Hall added 30 runs in 11 relatively untroubled overs. Then Newton drove straight back to Adams to depart for 19, 92 for five. Ben Duckett was then caught and bowled off the returning Siddle, 105 for six. Northants limped to tea at 123 for six with Andrew Hall looking very solid on 27 not out; he was going to be the key scalp.
On the first ball of the resumption Hall edged Shahzad as Read did the rest with a rolling catch, 123 for seven, there is only one NUMBER ONE and Northants well and truly on the ropes. Two balls later Murphy had his stumps torpedoed by a Yorker from Shahzad, 123 for eight and the end was nigh. Crook and Chambers lasted nine overs. Bananaman came off after a quite superb afternoon’s work to be replaced by Samit Patel. Stephen Crook’s eyes lit up as he received a full toss from Samit but unbelievably hit it straight back to the bowler, summing up Northants day. It was left to Shahzad to deliver the coup de grace when Chambers was palpably leg before as Gough raised his finger. Northants 151 all out with Siddle with figures 19-6-61-4 (and eight in the match) and Shahzad a Notts best of 16.2-3-45-4 (seven in the match) as the Bradfordian was rewarded for consistently pitching the ball up on the easy paced pitch. Northants were very poor throughout all but the first two hours of the match. I am can only recall two such unexpected victories over the last decade both away from Trent Bridge, Derbyshire imploding to Greg Smith/AJ Harris in 2004 and Yorkshire at Headingley in 2011 who were all out for 86 after Mullaney and Read had turned the game at its head. Notts take a maximum 24 points from the fixture. What a day and not a raindrop in sight!
Day Three
WEATHER STEALS MORE TIME FROM GAME
Another frustrating showery day saw Notts close with a lead of 11 runs with five first innings wicket intact. A larger crowd gathered on a day where the wind had dropped and the weather varied greatly from blue skies to dark.
Notts took 19 balls to remove the final two Northants batsman first thing this morning. Chambers bowled by Carter for nine, and Azharullah leg before for a duck. Northants 248 all out.
Notts got off to a terrible start; Hales scored the opening 15 runs including a six into the Fox Road but then edged Azharullah to Sales at slip. Jaques fell for a 17-ball duck top edging attempted pull shot to Sales at slip off the rapid Chambers, 21 for two. Michael Lumb scratched around, and dropped his bat after a short ball from Hall rapped him on the hand, Next ball he advanced out of his crease and was stumped by Murphy standing up to the former South African all-rounder to be out for 10. Taylor and Patel batted circumspectly as Notts went to lunch on 72 for three. Both batsmen was playing well until Patel (30) inexplicitly drove straight to extra cover where Newton took the catch as Chambers picked up his second wicket.
A heavy shower interrupted play at 1440 with Notts on 138 for four. Play resumed for one ball at 1600 as eight overs had been lost, but the ground staff had not for the first time tipped water onto the bowlers run ups. Umpires Gough and Sharp ordered The Sopper on as another two overs were lost. Taylor and the impressive Wessels added 91 for the fifth wicket as Crook in particular proved expensive as his eight overs for 62 runs. Middlebrook came on from the Radcliffe Road end as Taylor was dismissed once again leg before for 78. A very determined innings which included 11 fours off 151 balls. Dark clouds were hovering over County Hall and the lights were switched on. Wessels (78*) and Read (17*) added 47 runs in 12 overs before a short heavy shower ended proceedings at 1800 hours with 12.4 overs still to be bowled. Wessels’ innings was off just 94 balls with 11 fours and one six in to the Radcliffe Road, a fine effort. Expect Notts to bat for 90 minutes in the hope that Northants implode in the afternoon. The visitors look a poor outfit, probably worse than Derbyshire last season and extremely frustrating that the rain has wrecked this game as Notts would be heavily fancied against such opposition over four clear days. MAG
Day Two
Northants waste Captain's solid start
Play finally got under way at 1345 at Trent Bridge today. Notts won the toss and inserted Northants. Once again Notts elected Notts to not allow the use of the heavy roller during the game. Hales replaced Mullaney who had injured elbow and Andre Adams replaced Jake Ball who is out for six weeks with a broken bone in his foot. After yesterday’s washout, the crowd was very sparse with barely 400 brave souls on the ground.
In cloudy and albeit windy conditions Notts wasted the new ball as openers captain Stephen Peters and James Middlebrook added 107 runs in just 27 overs. Peters survived an extremely confident leg before decision when on 51, Andre Adams being the unlucky bowler. The pitch on the Fox Road side of the square appeared to be easy paced. Notts had rotated their four seamers to no avail. Finally Middlebrook (47) got a thin edge to Siddle as Read took the catch. In his next over, Siddle got Sales (10) all jumbled up as he shoulders arms, 119 for two. Adams somewhat rusty early on found his rhythm and after having had Spriegal dropped by his captain when on two, the former Surrey man had his his stumps “spriegaled” as Adams got one to cut him to him, 152 for three. Sixteen runs later it was Peter Andre time, as Peters 12 short his ton hit Siddle to Adams at mid-wicket. Peters 88 came off 153 balls with eight fours. A poor shot from Hall (5) who was caught behind ensured Shahzad won the “Battle of the Number Ones”, as the Cobblers were now 179 for five.
The diminutive pair of Newton and Duckett decided attack was the best form of defence and added 27 in five overs when Duckett became Siddle’s fourth victim being caught behind as England U19 keeper sportingly walked before Gough raised the finger. Rob Newton had got a 45-ball 37 before being out leg before to Shahzad. Two overs later a dreadful shot from Stephen Crook saw him caught at point as Shahzad picked up his third wicket. Adams and Patel returned for the final six overs, but Murphy (12*) and Chambers (4*) saw Northants safely to the close on 241 for eight off 71 overs. The wicket appeared to hold no real terrors and although Notts had bowled wholeheartedly one got the feeling that the visitors had somewhat lost their way perhaps being a tad over ambitious with some of their stroke play. Siddle has four for 75 off 17 overs and Shahzad three for 44 off 14 overs. Notts will be hoping to remove the final two Northants wickets tomorrow and score runs at a fair pace in order to force a result against the relegation favourites. MAG
Day One at Trent Bridge was a technical wash-out; plenty of inspections but little cover-removal activity other than half being removed at about 3 o'clock before another shower descended its load.
Steven Mullaney has picked-up an elbow injury, a double blow for Notts losing the all rounder, so Alex Hales has been recalled from Worcestershire to cover the batting arrow from Mullaney's quiver.
With Mullaney, Ball and Gurney unavailable; that's 3 bowlers short for Mick to consider when shuffling the deck before deciding on his eleven.
Will it be Ajmal Shahzad or Andre Adams added to Patel, Siddle, Fletcher and Carter who I expect to make the eleven.
I like it to be Sam Wood and his slower option who brings the prospect of more runs with his batting, but that's thinking outside the box, however.
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| Gedling Colliery beat Long Eaton yesterday to maintain their winning start to the season, by 7 wickets; more photos on Facebook - links at the bottom of page or to the right also if using a computer or larger device. |
Nottinghamshire squad for the game tomorrow:
| Player | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100 | 50 | 0 | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PA Jaques | 4 | 8 | 1 | 349 | 150* | 49.85 | 632 | 55.22 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 47 | 1 |
| SR Patel | 4 | 8 | 0 | 378 | 132 | 47.25 | 583 | 64.83 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 56 | 1 |
| CMW Read | 4 | 7 | 1 | 251 | 96 | 41.83 | 357 | 70.30 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 38 | 2 |
| MH Wessels | 4 | 8 | 1 | 276 | 90 | 39.42 | 550 | 50.18 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 34 | 4 |
| PM Siddle | 3 | 5 | 2 | 94 | 40 | 31.33 | 114 | 82.45 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 |
| JWA Taylor | 3 | 6 | 0 | 185 | 62 | 30.83 | 323 | 57.27 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 30 | 0 |
| AD Hales | 1 | 2 | 0 | 61 | 61 | 30.50 | 134 | 45.52 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 0 |
| MJ Lumb | 4 | 8 | 0 | 172 | 40 | 21.50 | 435 | 39.54 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 0 |
| SJ Mullaney | 4 | 8 | 0 | 138 | 52 | 17.25 | 351 | 39.31 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 1 |
| LJ Fletcher | 3 | 6 | 0 | 49 | 25 | 8.16 | 122 | 40.16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| JT Ball | 2 | 3 | 0 | 22 | 12 | 7.33 | 39 | 56.41 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| A Carter | 4 | 7 | 1 | 27 | 11* | 4.50 | 68 | 39.70 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| HF Gurney | 3 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 3* | 0.75 | 28 | 10.71 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| A Shahzad | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 11* | - | 19 | 57.89 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Player | Mat | Inns | Overs | Mdns | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 5 | 10 | Ct | St |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LJ Fletcher | 3 | 6 | 80.2 | 25 | 207 | 10 | 3/15 | 5/44 | 20.70 | 2.57 | 48.2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| JT Ball | 2 | 3 | 26.0 | 6 | 83 | 4 | 2/31 | 4/75 | 20.75 | 3.19 | 39.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| A Carter | 4 | 7 | 105.4 | 21 | 376 | 15 | 5/55 | 7/95 | 25.06 | 3.55 | 42.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SJ Mullaney | 4 | 5 | 50.0 | 6 | 137 | 5 | 2/35 | 2/35 | 27.40 | 2.74 | 60.0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| HF Gurney | 3 | 6 | 96.2 | 16 | 371 | 12 | 4/81 | 6/122 | 30.91 | 3.85 | 48.1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| SR Patel | 4 | 5 | 57.0 | 13 | 212 | 5 | 2/56 | 2/56 | 42.40 | 3.71 | 68.4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| PM Siddle | 3 | 5 | 85.0 | 16 | 307 | 6 | 3/38 | 4/87 | 51.16 | 3.61 | 85.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| A Shahzad | 1 | 1 | 24.0 | 4 | 79 | 1 | 1/79 | 1/79 | 79.00 | 3.29 | 144.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| AD Hales | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 0 |
| PA Jaques | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 | 0 |
| MJ Lumb | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 0 |
| CMW Read | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 15 | 0 |
| JWA Taylor | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 0 |
| MH Wessels | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | 0 |
Breaking news: Harry Gurney will not be available to Notts after ODI in Aberdeen for the next round of LV= matches whereas most other England squad members will go back to their respective counties even if there is no play across the Northern borders.
Harry Gurney has been selected to play in the ODI v Scotland, automatically capping him for his county.
Already reduced to a T23 game after rain and damp patch under the covers had delayed the start until 16.00, a further delay resulted in a T20 match, eventually, under ODI rules and of course DL.
England scored 167/6 adjusted to 172.
Opening the bowling with Jimmy Anderson, Harry Gurney's opening spell was 2-0-6-0, tidy! Amid some excited rope clearing of Bopara's and Tredwell's bowling, Harry's third over went for just 3 runs also. Left to bowl the last over, Scotland needing 51 to win, 1 wicket left, Gurney leaked 11 runs as the pressure was off. So England avoided a potential banana skin.
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