Lancashire BWT at Trent Bridge - Draw - REPORT

 

Day 4

TAME DRAW AT EMIRATES TRENT BRIDGE

after Notts manage enforce the follow-on

Lancashire got the easiest of draws at Trent Bridge today after Notts had removed the final four Red Rose wickets in 20.3 overs this morning to make Lancashire follow on. Tom Barber picked up three wickets to finish with 3-42. Often erratic, he does offer a different option with his pace and the fact that he is left arm. The ball he bowled to Steven Croft was virtually unplayable. However, he has to improve his direction to become a viable first team selection. Notts did well to bowl Lancashire out for 173 on such a flat deck. However with the heavy roller used twice in 90 minutes any life in the pitch had gone when Lancashire openers Jennings and Davies remained together for 40 overs at the crease.

With Joe Clarke off the field all day, Carter (Radcliffe Road End) and Chappell (Pavilion End) opened the bowling. Croft and Hartley looked comfortable early doors and in the 55th over a sweep for four by Croft off Carter brought up his 50 in 103 balls. Barber replaced Chappell in the 56th over. A fierce cut through the covers for four by Croft off Barber rapped Hameed's fingers as he attempted a near impossible catch and he went off injured and he never returned to the field. Next ball, Barber got a ball to rear up and the flinching Croft (59) could only deflect the ball towards Hameed's sub Liam Patterson-White in the gully who took a good catch diving forward, 158 for seven. Wood came in with Vilas as his runner and also struggled with a similar delivery from Barber but this time the ball ballooned up into no man's land. Carter who carried little threat was replaced by Trego for the 63rd over. Wood (6) could only hit a fast full toss from Barber skywards and Slater took the catch at short leg, 168 for eight in the 64th over. Bailey hit Barber for four through the covers off his first ball but departed the next ball edging Barber to Duckett at first slip, 172 for nine. Liam Hurt (1) fell next over edging Trego to Moores who took a good catch diving to his right. Lancashire 173 all out off 64.3 overs, Tom Hartley 13 not out. The wickets were spread around with Trego taking 3 for 33, Barber 3 for 42 and Chappell 3 for 48. Lancashire trialled Notts by 299 runs.

Lancashire followed on with 67 overs remaining, the first time that Notts had enforced the follow on since June 2017 when Leicester were  asked to bat again at Trent Bridge. Trego (Radcliffe Road End) and Chappell (Pavilion End) opened the bowling. Bad light stopped play at 1255 with Lancashire 2 for 0 off 3 overs with Davies 2 not out and Jennings 0 not out.

A shower over lunch meant that 10 minutes play was lost and crucially another three overs were lost, play recommenced at 1345. After four poor overs from Chappell when he did not let the batsmen play enough, Barber replaced him. Mullaney came on for Trego for the 13th over. Jennings and Davies made untroubled progress as the 50 came up in the 18th over. Samit Patel had his first bowl of the match in the 20th over and it became all spin attack as Carter was introduced for the following over and they bowled together until tea with Lancashire  86 for 0 off 31 overs with Davies 47 and Jennings 29.

Barber (Pavilion End) and Trego (Radcliffe Road End) bowled in tandem after tea as the game had long since lost its edge. Davies got to 50 off 94 balls with a two off Barber. There was held up when a short ball from Barber hit Davies on the helmet. In the same over a leg side four for Davies brought up the Lancashire hundred in the 34th over. There was another stoppage when Jennings got struck on the right hand by Barber. Matt Carter returned for the 39th over and then Duckett came on in the following over bowling gentle medium pacers. Bad light then stopped play at 1655 and the players shook hands with Lancashire 120 for 0 off 40 overs with Davies on 69 and Jennings on 37. The heavens opened shortly afterwards.

Notts, who took 16 points from this fixture, had their first “winning draw” since the Yorkshire match that opened the 2019 season, but have now gone 24 matches without beating County opposition. With a good haul of bonus points they are 13 points ahead of Durham in the Northern Section and the final 4-day has all the makings of a wooden spoon decider in early September. They must make every effort to provide Patterson-White and Lyndon James game valuable time in the next two Bob Willis fixtures. MAG

 

Date (last day)	Opposition	Venue	Toss	Result	Bat’	Bowl’	Total points
29 June 2018	WORC’SHIRE	TB	U	D	4	3	12
23 July 2018	SURREY	TB	U	LI183R	1	2	3
22 Aug 2018	Hampshire	Rose Bowl	U	L270R	-	3	3
31 Aug 2018	Surrey	The Oval	U	LI125R	-	3	3
07 Sep 2018	YORKSHIRE	TB	U	D	5	2	12
13 Sep 2018	ESSEX	TB	W	L8W	-	3	3
26 Sep 2018	SOMERSET	TB	L	LI146R	-	2	2
08 Apr 2019	YORKSHIRE	TB	U	D	4	3	12
13 Apr 2019	SOMERSET	TB	U	LI14R	2	3	4*
16 May 2019	Essex	Chelmsford	W	L8W	-	3	3
23 May 2019	Hampshire	Newclose	U	L244R	1	3	4
06 June 2019	Warwickshire	Edgbaston	L	D	-	1	6
12 June 2019	HAMPSHIRE	WELBECK	U	D	-	-	5
20 June 2019	Kent	Tunbridge Wells	U	L285R	2	3	5
03 July 2019	ESSEX	TB	W	LI123R	1	1	2
09 July 2019	Somerset	Taunton	L	L132R	1	3	4
15 July 2019	SURREY	TB	L	L167R	-	3	3
21 Aug 2019	Yorkshire	Scarborough	U	L143R	-	3	3
12 Sep 2019	KENT	TB	L	L227R	-	3	3
19 Sep 2019	WARWICKSHIRE	TB	L	L8W	5	1	6
26 Sep 2019	Surrey	The Oval	L	D	-	2	7
04 Aug 2020	Derbyshire	TB (away**)	L	L3W	3	3	6
11 Aug 2020	YORKSHIRE	TB	L	L90R	4	3	7
18 Aug 2020	Lancashire	TB (away**)	L	D	5	3	16

Day 3

NOTTS DOMINATE BUT CURSE THE WEATHER

After yesterday’s washout, Notts continued to dominant adding another 204 runs and then taking six Lancashire first innings wickets as they lead by 343 runs as the game goes into the last day. Notts will, however, need to take an unlikely 14 wickets on the last day to gain their first win in two innings cricket since June 2018. The main standout performances for Notts were Ben Slater who made a Notts best 142, skipper Steven Mullaney who followed up a quick fire 67 with the key wicket of Liam Livingstone. Zak Chappell was outstanding taking three wickets in the evening sunshine. He was well backed up with Peter Trego who bowled a Notts best of 2 for 32.

Play got under way on time today with the floodlights on. Bailey (Radcliffe Road End) and Hurt (Pavilion End) the opening attack. Former Notts left-armer Luke Wood did not take the field. Slater and Clarke made steady progress.  Jennings took over from Bailey from the Radcliffe Road End for the 82nd over.  A shortish ball from Hurt was pulled to the mid wicket boundary by Clarke as the third batting bonus point was achieved in the 85th over. The over costing 10 runs as the final ball also reached the ropes via Clarke's bat which brought up the 50 partnership. Slow-left armer Hartley replaced Hurt in the 85th over. The new ball was belated taken after 95 overs and with the first delivery with it Slater was dismissed caught in gully by Croft off Bailey, 343 for three, 87 had been added with Clarke for the third wicket. Slater’s 142 off 298 balls with 17 fours, an outstanding effort. Next over George Balderson came on from the Pavilion End. The 350 came up in the 99th over with a single by Clarke off Bailey. At 1310, Notts went to lunch on 352 for three off 101 overs with Clarke on 47 and Mullaney on 5. A good morning for the Green and Gold.

A light shower at lunchtime meant six overs had been lost when play resumed at 1415, Notts were add a further 120 runs in the session. A boundary for Clarke off Bailey brought him to 50 off 89 balls. Nine came off the next over bowled by Balderson, boundaries for Mullaney and Clarke. With Notts chasing their last batting bonus point, a full length delivery from Balderson took out Clarke's middle stump, 373 for 4 in the 105th over. Clarke out for 57 off 97 balls with ten fours. Trego (1) fell to fine catch by keeper Davies who dived high to his right off a good delivery from Bailey, 378 for five. Moores and Mullaney put bat to ball as Notts achieved maximum batting points with five balls to spare.  Notts 405 for five after 110 overs decided to bat on for a further ten overs which was no doubt due to the Bob Willis Trophy rules where teams can only follow on when they are at least 200 runs behind. Moores (18) holed out to Vilas at long on as Hurt picked up his first wicket, 425 for six. Next ball Patel went for a golden duck caught by Croft on the deep mid wicket ropes off Livingstone. Carter hit Livingstone through the covers off his first ball. Carter straight hit the first six of the innings in Livingstone's next over. Eleven came off the over as Mullaney got to his 50 off 56 balls. Carter then hit Hurt for six over mid wicket. Next ball, Carter (22) holed out to the square leg ropes where Hartley took the catch, Hurt picking up his second wicket, 453 for eight. Chappell departed for a two ball duck attempting a reverse paddle off Livingstone he was caught by Bohannon, 455 for nine.  Livingstone bowled the 120th and last over of the innings. Barber (2 not out) took a single off first ball, and after a dot ball, Mullaney hit a four and a six before being caught by substitute fielder Rob Jones for 67 off 71 balls (7x4,1x6). Notts 472 all out off 119.5 overs. Livingstone 3 for 79 and Bailey 3 for 91.Tea was taken between the innings. The total was three short of Notts’ highest versus Lancashire at Trent Bridge made in 1947 when Walter Keeton scored 145 and Reg Simpson 110 not out in a Notts total of 475 for five

The last session lasted a marathon three hours and 17 minutes as Notts gathered six wickets. Notts picked up their first wicket in the sixth over, Jennings (10) was caught at the second attempt by Hameed at gully off Chappell, 23 for one. Alex Davies on 26 was caught behind by Moores off a ball that moved away by Trego a regulation catch, 37 for two. Next over a great reaction catch by Chappell sticking out his right arm saw Bohannon depart caught and bowled for a single, 37 for three. After eight over spells Trego and Chappell were replaced by Mullaney and Barber. In the 21st over Mullaney removed Livingstone's middle stump, the former Lancashire captain gone for 14, 59 for four. Barber was erratic once more, he bowled four overs for nine but rarely made the batsmen play, he final over he gained some control but went for 15 including get two edged fours by Vilas through the third man region. With the score on 90 for 4 off 27 overs, Chappell returned from the Pavilion End.

Carter came on for the 31st over and conceded seven. Next over, Chappell picked up the big wicket of Vilas (26) who had a nibble outside off stump to a terrific delivery, Moores taking the catch, the 5th wicket had added exactly 50, 109 for five. After a four over spell Chappell was replaced by Trego. A short and wide ball from Trego was cut by Balderson (8) to Chappell at point, 121 for six. Lancashire added another eight until stumps were drawn at 1932 with Lancashire 129 for six off 44 overs with Croft on 37 and Hartley on six.

With the wicket still playing well, Notts will have to bowl superbly tomorrow to win a contest that frustratingly they have lost more than a day due to the elements. MAG

 

Home from home on Day Two

There's been rain overnight in the vicinity of "Emirates" Trent Bridge, so they even brought Manchester rain as well. What difference that will make, remains to be seen.

MAG rightly says that the Lanky bowling is below strength, but so were Derbyshire's and Yorkshire's; and Notts managed to slip-up badly against both.

The party line: "we don't deal well when under pressure" - like that's somehow an  acceptable reason! I thought we were professionals and that we had the hire of a sports psychologist?

The lack of fight is what has angered supporters, that and the inability to learn from past mistakes. So far so good in this game but there hasn't been any pressure so far either.

11.00 Delayed start - not curently raining but outfield is wet and overhead it's grey and overcast.

Early lunch, with an inspection at 1.00PM

An inspection at 3.15 PM was cancelled because of drizzle

Early tea, with a further inspection at 4.00PM and another one at 4.30 PM

As the 4.30PM inspection was to start, rain started falling and so the umpires called play off for the day.

Day 1 

A TALE OF TWO BENS

Slater and Duckett make feather bed tons against 

inexperienced Lancashire bowling line up

On a very flat pitch against a weakened Lancashire attack, the two Ben's Slater and Duckett tucked in and both made centuries as Notts closed on 268 for two with 18.4 overs left unbowled on the first day of the latest Bob Willis Trophy matches at Trent Bridge.  Lancashire put Notts in on a wicket on the Fox Road side of the square and no doubt regretted their decision.  Lancashire officially the home side but unable to play at their biosecure Old Trafford home were made to feel partially at home by bringing their own advertising hoardings including ones for Manchester Evening News! Lancashire were without Gleeson, Mahmood and Onions out of their pace attack. Slater who has already made 172 against Lancashire earlier in the month whilst on loan at Leicester proved the doubters in the Trent Bridge hierarchy wrong by scoring a chanceless ton and closing on an undefeated 111 off 216 balls with 15 fours. Duckett rode his luck slightly early doors and played an array of shots and reached his ton 55 balls quicker than Slater. He departed just before the premature close for 116 being leg before to Tom Bailey the most impressive of the visitors rather limp attack. Luke Wood had a quiet return to Trent Bridge taking 0 for 47 off 16 overs. With the forecast very mixed for the next three days, the match already appears to be heading for a watery grave.

On a cloudy morning Lancashire won the toss and elected to bowl. Notts brought in Slater and Barber for Nash and injured Ball. With Notts well and truly out of the competition this was a team selection lacking imagination, places in the Eleven could also been found for Lyndon James and Liam Patterson-White.

The Lancashire opening attack was Tom Bailey (Pavilion End) and Luke Wood (Radcliffe Road End). Slater was doing the majority of the scoring Liam Hurt replaced Wood whose opening four over spell cost 15 runs. Luke Wood switched ends with Notts 51 for 0 after 12 overs with Slater on 39. Hurt was expensive his two overs costing 24 and he made way the young right arm seamer George Balderson. A leg side four off Wood saw Slater to his 50 off 63 balls with 10 fours. In the 20th over Hameed who played the anchor role was plumb leg before to Balderson for 22, 78 for one. Slater started to slow down as Duckett rode his luck early on edging through the slips and top edging attempted pull shot wide of the fielders. Notts got to lunch on 107 for one off 28 overs with Slater on 58 and Duckett on 20.

The 50 partnership between Slater and Duckett took 14 overs. Duckett's streaky innings continued when he edged a four through slips off Bailey. Spin was introduced for the first time when Liam Livingstone. A sweep for four off Livingstone saw Duckett to his 50 off 69 balls. A no ball from Luke Wood brought up the 100 partnership for the 2nd wicket in 150 balls. An extra cover drive by Duckett off Balderson for a boundary brought the Notts 200 in the 51st over. Notts got to tea on 218 for one off 58 overs with Slater on 92 and Duckett on 91. It was a session completely dominated by the two left hander batsmen.

The floodlights came on straight after tea with Tom Hartley bowling slow left arm for the first time in the innings. The 150 partnership came up via a four through point by Slater off Bailey. Next over, a misfield by Bailey at extra cover off Hartley allowed Slater to get his 100 off 194 balls. Four balls later a leg glance for four by Duckett off Bailey meant he got a much faster ton off 139 balls. The Notts 250 came up in the 67th over. The second wicket had added 178 when Grim Tim raised his finger as Duckett shuffled across his crease to Bailey. Duckett was out for 116 off 156 balls (17x4), 256 for two off 68 overs. Bad light stopped play at 1701 with Notts 268 for two off 71.2 overs with Slater 111 not out and Clarke 4 not out. The players never returned with the game being called off the day at 1745.

It was a good see Slater get runs and this innings should cement his place in the Notts line up for the remainder of the Bob Willis Trophy.  As a result of Slater's success, veteran Chris Nash on the final year of a lucrative three-year contract at Trent Bridge may have played his last game for Notts. MAG

Notts have to find a way to put an end to this embarrassing sequence:

Date (last day)	Opposition	Venue	Toss	Result	Bat’	Bowl’	Total points
29 June 2018	WORC’SHIRE	TB	U	D	4	3	12
23 July 2018	SURREY	TB	U	LI183R	1	2	3
22 Aug 2018	Hampshire	Rose Bowl	U	L270R	-	3	3
31 Aug 2018	Surrey	The Oval	U	LI125R	-	3	3
07 Sep 2018	YORKSHIRE	TB	U	D	5	2	12
13 Sep 2018	ESSEX	TB	W	L8W	-	3	3
26 Sep 2018	SOMERSET	TB	L	LI146R	-	2	2
08 Apr 2019	YORKSHIRE	TB	U	D	4	3	12
13 Apr 2019	SOMERSET	TB	U	LI14R	2	3	4*
16 May 2019	Essex	Chelmsford	W	L8W	-	3	3
23 May 2019	Hampshire	Newclose	U	L244R	1	3	4
06 June 2019	Warwickshire	Edgbaston	L	D	-	1	6
12 June 2019	HAMPSHIRE	WELBECK	U	D	-	-	5
20 June 2019	Kent	Tunbridge Wells	U	L285R	2	3	5
03 July 2019	ESSEX	TB	W	LI123R	1	1	2
09 July 2019	Somerset	Taunton	L	L132R	1	3	4
15 July 2019	SURREY	TB	L	L167R	-	3	3
21 Aug 2019	Yorkshire	Scarborough	U	L143R	-	3	3
12 Sep 2019	KENT	TB	L	L227R	-	3	3
19 Sep 2019	WARWICKSHIRE	TB	L	L8W	5	1	6
26 Sep 2019	Surrey	The Oval	L	D	-	2	7
04 Aug 2020	Derbyshire	TB (away**)	L	L3W	3	3	6
11 Aug 2020	YORKSHIRE	TB	L	L90R	4	3	7

Preview

Nottingham Sport (NEP) asks: "Can Notts bounce back from defeat?; in their headline. To effect a bounce, wouldn't you need to be up at some point to have dropped down? Notts have been down for a long, long time.

Nottingham Sport also lists an extensive squad for tomorrow's game against Lancashire including three of names from yesterday's Second Eleven workout at Darlington: Lyndon James, Liam Patterson-White and Tom Barber. We're told that Ben Slater returns, now having been pre-paired, making two ducks in his last game for Leicestershire against his native Derbyshire, who are currently in pole position (inclusive of all three groups) for the Lord's final in September.

In the NS squad announcement there's no return for Joey Evison who was to be "out for one game" this being a second, Jake Ball - injured last time out, nor is there Luke Fletcher, who is now on to his second of the "two more games" of convalescence. Missing is also Chris Nash (perhaps he's going to Leicestershire?)

Completing the the names in the squad, to those above are: Haseeb Hameed, Ben Duckett, Joe Clarke, Steven Mullaney, Peter Trego, Samit Patel, Tom Moores, Matthew Carter and Zak Chappell - so in total a squad of 13; the only surprise is that Chris Nash isn't there to make 14 names, which probably means that Slater plays.

If Peter Moores is true to his usual self, the eleventh place in the side will be one of the three that played at Darlington.

Again Trent Bridge is an away scheduled fixture, such is the Heath Robinson nature of the competition.

Lancashire will not have injured: Saqib Mahmood, Matty Parkinson and Graham Onions available.