v Northamptonshire LV Championship at Wantage Road

Day Four

NOTTS BRIEFLY GO TOP

Well it eventually all happened in mad rush at the end; 18 off a Wagner over and then in the last over, Alex Hales going to his ton and Notts to victory with a 4 and then a 6. The Margin of victory 5 wickets.

It certainly wasn't plain sailing in the first hour with the loss of Mullaney, Shahzad (both ducks) and Lumb (6) but a fourth wicket stand of 122 between Hales and Taylor (37), swung things towards the Green and Golds. Samit Patel finished a forgettable game for him with only 13 but Riki Wessels with 29 not out and again a healthy number of extras combining with Hales' 102*, Notts got there at 4 RPO.

Day Three

NOTTS CHASE 211

Notts require 211 to win with all second innings intact to achieve a victory over rock bottom Northants.

On a slowish pitch with some uneven bounce this some be achieved especially against such inept opponents who have failed to win a championship game this season. However, with relegation certain there is no pressure on Northants and there is no doubt with the addition of David Willey and loanee Adam Rossington their line up has proved stronger than they were in their embarrassing defeat in Nottingham in May.

Notts failed to build on their overnight position with the bat, losing the remaining two wickets in two overs, Adams bowled Willey for 3 without a swish in anger and Gurney for a 3-ball duck, Azharullah being the bowler. Notts 388 all out with Willey taking four for 46.

Notts got off to a good start with the ball as James Kettleborough (6) edged the sixth ball of the innings to Read, Fletcher the bowler from the Lynn Wilson End. The pitch was getting slower but the odd ball was misbehaving. An outstanding catch at first slip by Wessels off Gurney removed Coetzer for 20, 29 for two. Middlebrook dropped anchor as Rob Keogh went on the attack as he raced to a run a ball half ton.

Adams having a long spell from the Lynn Wilson End removed Keogh and Ben Duckett with successive balls.  Keogh was caught at second slip by Patel for a 60-ball 59 an innings including 10 fours. It was a case of a golden Duckett as the youngster fell first ball as Wessels picked up second catch of the innings at first slip, 122 for four, with Northants still 6 runs behind. Middlebrook having been hit on the hand as ball from Adams got up to him called for the spray but then edged Adams to Wessels to depart for 41, 151 for five.

Rossington following his fine innings in the first dig, proved equally aggressive and hard to remove and with the experienced Andrew Hall 111 runs invaluable runs were added in 26 overs. Shahzad bowled 19 fruitless overs from the Pavilion End and three overs from Patel cost 22 runs. More crucially Adams limping all day bowling of a few paces went down injured trying to stop a ball in front of the Ken Turner Suite, he struggled off the pitch. Has he now played his last game for Notts?

It meant that Read’s wicket taking options were limited so Mullaney was given a rare bowl. Shortly after tea, Fletcher produced a brute of ball that took off and all Rossington could do was edge to Read to depart for a potentially match changing 80 off 103 balls with 13 fours and one six. Northants 262 for 6, the first time they had passed 250 in both innings in the championship this season. Spriegel had his stumps demolished by Mullaney after he made 28, 294 for seven. The new ball was taken and the Northants innings subsided relatively quickly. The impressive Fletcher had Andrew Hall edging to Read for a patient 67 off 140 balls. Wagner (4) off song all game did not last long as he was caught at mid-wicket by Shahzad off Gurney. Willey got to 28 before holing out to deep mid-wicket where substitute James Franklin took a fine catch on the run, judging the catch to perfection despite the strong westerly wind. Northants all out for 338 with Fletcher the star with four for 76. Notts had caught everything offered in the field to leave themselves an achievable target. The scoreboard meanwhile showed Notts on minus one on their over rate.

Night-watchman Shahzad survived the only over of Notts innings with Mullaney as his partner. Notts 0 for 0. The pitch is slow but some balls have been misbehaving; three batsmen were hit on the hands and odd balls have been keeping low. With Notts only just achieving a target 170 runs at Liverpool, nerves will be no doubt jangling against opposition with no pressure on them. They have to see off the new ball. An interesting last day awaits but any team with championship pretensions has to win this one. With Yorkshire well on top at Scarborough and with a scratch Notts line-up due to England call ups expected for the game up at the Riverside in two weeks, failure to win here would probably mean the end of their championship challenge.  MAG

Day Two

NOTTS FIGHT BACK

On an easing pitch Notts closed with a lead of 124 runs with two first innings remaining completely turning the match on its head on a day where they showed great fight.

Notts faced a tricky opening hour as Azharullah, bowling from the Lynn Wilson End in particular, proved a handful as there was a lot of playing and missing. Wessels edged the first ball of the day for four over the slip cordon as the overnight pair decided attack was the best defence. Wessels having such a fine season and already with 158* against the Cobblers this season was putting bat to ball with great effect. The fifth wicket partnership raised 133 runs in 33 overs of highly entertaining cricket before on stroke of lunch Wessels lost in off stump to the Pakistani paceman; the ball jagging back. Wessels’ 71 came off 100 balls with 12 fours.

Notts were still 100 runs behind but Lumb and Read took a no risks strategy after lunch as the home side’s heads slowly dropped. Lumb having an indifferent season with a persistent arm injury was one short of highly deserved ton when part time seamer Kyle Coetzer bowling from the Pavilion End had him nicking to Rossington behind the stumps. Lumb without a ton this season was distraught but his innings had held the innings together having faced 192 balls with 13 fours. The sixth wicket stand was worth 106 runs off 33 overs, as Notts now led by four runs. Hall replaced Coetzer and immediately had Chris Read leg before for 59 as Notts were 267 for seven with the new ball fours overs away.

The wicket though had lost its green tinge and the uneven bounce of day 1 had almost disappeared. Against the wilting home attack the eighth wicket pair of Fletcher (49) and Shahzad (65*) gave Notts back the initiative by adding 114 runs in 34 overs. Wagner having a tricky debut gave Fletch some chin music by pitching short, the Metronome gave a shrug and a smile and promptly hit the next three balls for four as Northants and Wagner were metaphorically on their knees. The Kiwi left armer had bowled 21-2-101-0 but with Fletcher one short of his half ton he was bowled by Middlebrook trying to manoeuvre the ball round the corner. His innings lasted 100 balls with six fours; another fine innings following his Aigburth heroics.  A strangely subdued and watchful Adams faced seven balls for just two runs and was still there at the end with Shahzad on a season high of 65 off 115 balls with 10 fours. Notts closed on 384 for eight having missed out on their last batting bonus point. Willey three for 43 and Azharullah two for 55 had bowled well but the support bowling had been mediocre. With the wicket now relatively flat and strong crosswinds expected today, wicket-taking may prove difficult. The home side though have spent the entire season on the floor and a few early wickets could break their resolve. Notts will now be disappointed if they do not win this one, having had a quite brilliant day 2.

Day One

Northants holding all the aces

Northants are well placed to record their first championship win of the season, as Notts threw the imitative away after having the home side were 108 for six at one stage.

Notts won the toss and elected to field on a greenish pitch with inconsistent bounce. Shahzad came in for Siddle from the Aigburth game that was completed over a month earlier.

Notts struggled for an earlier breakthrough but in the tenth over James Kettleborough (11) inside edged a delivery he did not play a shot to onto to his stumps, Gurney the bowler, 27 fort one. Captain James Middlebrook and Kyle Coetzer added 50 runs in 14 overs as Shahzad replaced Fletcher from the Pavilion End and proved expensive. With lunch approaching the clock rang and it was Mull o’clock, with his very first delivery Middlebrook (32) edged a delivery from the medium pacer with Read taking the catch, 77 for two. Mullaney bowled 3-1-8-1 and was then forgotten for the rest of the innings.

Notts had failed to take advantage of a helpful wicket but after lunch they appeared to be in total command as four wickets went down for 11 runs in six overs. Coetzer (30) had his off stump removed by Adams, 97 for three. Keogh was then badly dropped by Wessels at slip off the Kiwi. Fletcher then removed Ben Duckett (5) smartly caught by Hales at third slip. Next over Keogh was well caught by Mullaney as Adams picked up his second wicket bowling from the Lynn Wilson End. Danger man Andrew Hall (3) then had his off bail removed by Adams as Northants stood at 108 for six.

Middlesex loanee Rossington and Spriegel put their heads down and added an invaluable 66 runs in 18 overs. Spriegel then edged Fletcher to Read to depart for 19, 174 for seven. Willey batted aggressively for his 19, before a fine diving catch by Hales at third slip removed him, as Gurney having a mixed day with the ball picked up his second wicket, 201 for eight.

Debut Neil Wagner failed to compose a score as he edged Gurney to Wessels at slip, Northants 227 for nine. Read not for the first time this season decided to spread his field far and wide and Northants and Rossington in particular were donated 30 easy runs which Notts could ill afford to give away on a sporting wicket. Rossington reached his 100 off 122 balls with 13 fours and two sixes. His innings had shades of Peter Trego effort two months previously a very aggressive innings and then towards the end he was piggy backed over the line. After his ton the field came in and surprise and surprise he fell straight away being bowled by the expensive Shahzad for 103, Northants 260 all out. Notts not surprisingly looked jaded after the lunatic ECB fixture assignments of this week but will not be pleased at letting the poor home side off the hook. Fletcher 16-1-44-2 had bowled well with little reward and both Adams and Gurney picked up three wickets, the latter though was bowling too short too often.

Notts had to negotiate 18 overs, but with Northants scenting blood on a helpful deck Notts crumbled. Hales (5) was bowled by one that cut back off the brisk left armers of David Willey bowling from the Pavilion End. Mullaney (1) looked surprised when given caught behind to the thinnest of edged as Willey picked up his second wicket, seven for two. Taylor (4) was leg before playing no shot as Azharullah who had replaced Wagner grabbed his first wicket. Willey then picked his third scalp as Patel 91) edged him to Hall at first slip, 25 for four. Stumps were drawn 20 balls early due to bad light the Wantage Road floodlights not being used in championship games. Notts stood at 38 for 4 with Lumb 12 not out and Wessels nine not out. With an extremely long tail, Notts are on a precipice and Northants hold all the aces. Defeat here would all but see the end of Notts championship challenge.MAG