v Warwickshire Specsavers at Edgbaston

MATCH ABANDONED AS A DRAW
Persistent and continual rain ensured Day 4 was a wash-out and the match resulted in a draw.


The meagre points haul Notts take from this game does nothing to ease relegation fears and with playing more games than Hampshire and Surrey, probably puts us in a worsened position.

Notts next play top of the league Lancashire at Trent Bridge, starting Sunday. Notts will have Stuart Broad available for selection, two weeks before the First Test against Pakistan.

RAIN HALTS BEAR PUSH FOR WIN

There was only 35.4 overs play today at Edgbaston as the predicted afternoon rain arrived as scheduled. Notts trial by 78 runs as the game goes into the last day with another poor forecast.

Play got under way in bright sunshine, The Bears batting for 30 minutes. Brett Hutton opened the bowling from the City End and then the new ball was taken by Mullaney as Ball (sore elbow) and Fletcher (groin strain) were both off the field. Warwick got their third batting point via a hooked four over long leg by Adair off Hutton. Next ball trying to repeat the shot the young Irishman hit the ball straight to Taylor at long leg. Adair gone for 32, 302 for nine. Christian replaced Mullaney and had Rankin (2) caught at short square leg by Taylor, Patel was undefeated on 19. Warwickshire 311 all out, a lead of 159.

Barker (Pavilion) and Clarke (City) were the opening attack. As feared the first wicket fell early; in the third over Libby (1) edged Barker into the safe hands of Clarke at second slip, three for one. But happily Lumb and Mullaney survived the early barrage and batting appeared to easier than at any stage of the match. Bell rotated his bowlers around and bought on Jeetan Patel from the City End but Notts survived until lunch on 62 for one off 22 overs (Mullaney 30 and Lumb 27).

Twelve minutes after lunch Lumb was adjudged leg before for 32, Jeetan Patel the bowler, 70 for two. The spinner was getting increasing turn out of Barker's footprints. Lumb had also been a leg before victim of Patel's in the first innings. The light was deteriorating and the umpires conferred. Clarke replaced Rankin and then bowled a bouncer; not the most intelligent ball given the overhead conditions. Shortly afterwards the umpires called the players in at 1405. Notts 81 for 2 off 28.3 overs with Mullaney on 38 and Brendan Taylor on 5. The rain started 15 minutes later and play was abandoned for the day at 1600 hours. MAG

CLARKE ENSURES BEAR DOMINANCE

After yet another chastening day for Notts, Warwickshire finished the second day with a lead of 131 runs with two first innings wickets still standing. The only likely hindrance to The Bears victory charge being the poor weather forecast for the remainder of the game. The only highlights for Notts were four wickets for Jake Ball who bowled an impressive opening spell and encouraging performance from young off spinner Matthew Carter.

Notts offered little resistance this morning lasting only 65 minutes. Rankin and Barker opened up and the bowling looked less threatening than yesterday. Clarke replaced Rankin from the City End and got Christian (21) to edge behind to Ambrose, 133 for seven. Rankin switched ends and in Clarke's next over Hutton (12) edged him as Ambrose got his fifth catch of the innings, 136 for eight. Rankin then got one to rise and Fletcher ducked into it and was hit on the head. After a five minute stoppage play resumed.

Patel replaced Clarke and had Carter(2) caught at short leg, Ball lasted four balls and was stumped for a duck. Fletcher was unbeaten on 13. Notts having won the toss and batted 152 all out off 76 overs. Patel three for eight and Rankin three for 42.

In the first over of the Warwickshire's reply Chopra was lucky to survive a confident appeal for leg before from Jake Ball. After getting a two Chopra was then caught by Hutton at third slip off the last ball of the first over. In the fifth over young Scottish opener Andy Umeed edged Jake Ball to Mullaney at second slip who took a regulation catch. Umeed gone for a 15 ball duck, 11 for two. Then in the last over before lunch Bell (10) edged Ball as Mullaney took his second catch, 28 for three. Trott was undefeated on eight at break.

Ball and Fletcher returned after lunch but then Fletcher appeared to have a leg injury. Hutton replaced Fletcher from the City End.

In Hutton's first over he removed Trott (18) to a leg before decision, 48 for four. Hain and Ambrose put bat to ball against the Notts support bowling, as Ball took his jumper having bowled an 11 over spell for 33, his last over going for 13. Fletcher briefly replaced him before limping off after the first ball of his eleventh over. Christian replaced him but went for 20 off 2.5 overs. Carter came on from the City End and his second over got Hain caught behind for 39. The fifth wicket had added 69 runs in just 14 overs. Warwick got to tea on 162 for five.

Tim Ambrose was out 15 minutes after tea edging Samit Patel to Mullaney at first slip. Ambrose had made 72 off 94 balls with 13 fours. His innings had ensured the match had swung decisively in Warwickshire favour. The sixth stand with Rikki Clarke had added 64 runs in 19 overs. Barker joined Clarke and Ball and Hutton were struggling to make an impression with the older ball. Mullaney and Patel replaced them. The stand was worth 55 when Barker was stumped off Mullaney when on 21, 236 for seven.
Ball returned for one last spell from the Pavilion End and had Clarke caught at deep square leg by Hutton in front of the Rae Bank. Clarke made 74 off 137 balls with six fours and one six, 264 for eight. There was still time for both Adair and Jeetan Patel to hit sixes off Jake Ball and Samit Patel respectively as Warwick closed on 283 for eight. Ball was by far the best bowler with four for 76. MAG


RANKIN GIVES NOTTS THAT SINKIN' FEELIN'

Yet another depressing day for Notts finishing the day which was mercifully cut short by bad light and rain on 125 for six with 35 overs unused.

Steven Mullaney won the toss and elected to bat on a wicket expected to take spin later. Fletcher came in for Gurney from the Oval line up and following the Bird's early migration, Dan Christian retained his place.

Barker (Pavilion) and Clarke (City) opened up. Young Irishman Mark Adair (one over) briefly replaced Barker. Off the first ball of the tenth over Clarke bowled Mullaney (6) the ball keeping low, 19 for one. Clarke was bowling excellently and Lumb was beaten repeatedly early doors as the ball was bouncing and moving around. Clarke finished his spell with figures of eight overs for 14 and was replaced by Adair. This time Adair bowled a two over spell and then made way for Patel as the Irishman switched ends once more. It was slow going. Lumb (10) was then leg before playing back to a ball that spun back in Patel's third over, 49 for two. The fifty came up in the 27th over an edged four by Libby off Adair. Barker and Rankin returned for pre lunch spells. Libby showed plenty of application and got to lunch on 37 and Taylor had 14, Notts 71 for two off 33 overs.

The post lunch session very much went towards Warwickshire. Notts added a meagre five runs in the first 25 minutes after lunch. Brendan Taylor (14) then played a quite dreadful shot pulling the ball straight down the throat of Jeetan Patel at deep square leg, Keith Barker the bowler, 76 for three. Things got much worse from this point onwards. Boyd Rankin was getting a lot of lift from the City End, he got a ball to take off and found Wessels (3) edge, 81 for four. Libby got to his fifty off 155 balls with a boundary off Adair only the fourth of his innings. Adair in general was not letting the batsman play enough. The floodlights came on as dark clouds started gathering to the west. Samit Patel lasted 27 balls before edging Rankin to Ambrose to depart for six, 101 for five. Christian got off the mark with an edged four off the tall Irishman. Rankin made it a hat trick of identikit dismissals when he removed Libby to another lifting ball edged into Ambrose's gloves. Libby had shown much more application than his more experienced collegues having made 59 off 173 balls, 110 for six. The umpires put Notts out their misery by taking the players off for bad light at 1535, Notts standing at 125 for six off 61 overs, Christian 16 not out and Hutton six not out. Rankin had figures 14-2-28-3, Notts could not cope with his pace and lift.

Notts batting was too cautious, the fear of failure after recent performances clearly playing on their mind and in turn helping the opposition. The wicket is not the easiest to bat on but logic would suggest that The Bears will have a quite sizeable lead on first innings. These are dark days for Notts. 

MAG.......................................... 

Sun and showers are forecast for the start of this Championship match that Notts have to win to revitalise their chances of winning the league staving off relegation.


The manner of the defeat, again, at Surrey was unacceptable, or at least should have been seen as such.

Will having the same points as a team in the relegation drop zone, ignite some changes to the squad, or better still some fight in the batsmen that last week rolled-over twice against a mediocre attack, well sort of:

Matt Carter and Jake Libby are retained in the squad, Luke Fletcher returns and Ben Kitt is included with Harry Gurney being rested.

The Bird has flown and the Christian isn't doing a Sunday service or is doing the service, choose your Nottinghamshire CCC tweet carefully..

Of the 12 in the squad, the unlucky one is likely to be between Kitt and Carter.


The squad as announced on the website:

Steven Mullaney (c), Jake Ball, Matt Carter, Luke Fletcher, Brett Hutton, Ben Kitt, Jake Libby, Michael Lumb, Samit Patel, Greg Smith, Brendan Taylor, Riki Wessels.

One constant inclusion in the info is that Ben Kitt is in the squad, until the the toss at least.