Lancashire LV=Championship Division 1 at Trent Bridge Win

 

Day 4

NOTTS GRIND OUT A HARD FOUGHT, WELL DESERVED VICTORY

After a fantastic bowling effort on a lifeless pitch, Notts beat Lancashire by 102 runs with 11.5 overs to spare in a memorable encounter. Notts now lead the championship table by 10.5 points as they head to Southampton in 4 days time to play Hampshire, who are joint second in the standings with Yorkshire.

Notts seam trio of Fletcher (28-7-103-3),Paterson (32-12-78-4) and Hutton (25.1-6-86-2) all bowled well on the dead pitch alternating their spells from the Radcliffe Road End as Liam Patterson (32-17-39-1) kept a tight rein on scoring from the Pavilion End. Notts got an early wicket as Wells nibbled at Paterson and was caught behind in the 4th over of the day. Eight overs later Paterson, the ace seamer with the old ball, had Bohannon leg before. Skipper Vilas fell to Hutton after he had replaced Paterson. The impressive Balderson, earlier dropped by Patterson-White off his own bowling, fell to the last delivery before the new ball. The left hander, who grafted his way to 77 off 235 balls, smashed a long hop towards Dane Paterson at square leg, who took an instinctive brilliant one-handed catch diving low to his right. Jones, Croft, Lavelle fell in successive overs against the new ball to leave Lancashire 210 for 8 with 47 overs remaining. The game though took another twist as Danny Lamb (68*) and Tom Bailey (52) added a 108 for the ninth wicket in 30 overs. The partnership was a record for this fixture beating the 87 added by Bill Huddleston and Harry Dean at Old Trafford in 1909. Just when it seemed a wicket would never come, a corker from Paterson ripped out Bailey’s middle stump. Mahmood, batting with Lavelle as his runner lasted five overs until Hutton had him caught at short leg, as Notts, after a tremendous hard working effort had got over the line.

Fletcher (Pavilion End) and Paterson (Radcliffe Road End) opened the bowling on another day of unrelenting sunshine, the temperature once again rising to 29 degrees. Balderson got to 50 in 114 balls. In the 43rd over, Paterson found the edge of Wells (59) bat and Moores took a good catch diving to his left, 122 for 2. Patterson-White replaced Fletcher for the 48th over. Paterson was bowling well and was rewarded with a second scalp when he had Bohannon leg before for 8, 138 for 3 after 51 overs. Hutton replaced Paterson in the 55th over and with his sixth ball had Vilas leg before for 3, 146 for 4. Next over, Balderson was dropped on 61 by Patterson-White off his own bowling, an easy chance which he had two attempts at; but to no avail. Hutton had a 5-over spell and then made way for Fletcher as Lancashire got to lunch on 170 for 4 off 60 overs with Balderson on 70 and Jones on 9.

Patterson-White and Paterson opened the bowling after the interval. Mullaney came on from the Radcliffe Road End in the 77th over for a 2-over spell prior to the new ball. With the last delivery with the old ball, Patterson-White had Balderson brilliantly held one-handed low down to his right by Paterson at square leg , 192 for 5 off 80 overs. Jones on 24 was dropped in the first over with the new ball as Moores spilled the chance diving in front of Clarke at first slip, Fletcher the bowler. In the 87th over, Jones attempting to shoulder arms to Fletcher lost his off stump as he played on via an inside edge, 210 for 6. Croft (6) fell in the next over falling to Paterson’s third delivery of a new spell, caught at second slip by Duckett, 210 for 7. Lavelle lasted three balls before he was plumb leg before to Fletcher, 210 for 8. Three wickets had fallen in 10 balls Patterson-White came on for the 96th over. Lancashire got to tea on 235 for 8 off 100 overs with Lamb on 16 and Bailey on 8.

Bailey and Lamb settled in and provided stout resistance on the dead wicket against a tiring Notts attack. Paterson (Radcliffe Road End) and Mullaney shared the ball after tea. Mullaney bowled four overs and then turned to Patterson-White. Mullaney shuffled his bowling pack with Fletcher and Hutton returning for the 111th and 114th overs respectively. The two Lancashire batsmen seemed immovable in the stifling heat. Lamb reached his 50 off 83 balls with a leg side boundary off Hutton. In Hutton’s next over, Bailey got to 50 in 98 balls with a single. Paterson returned for the 119th over and spectacularly removed Bailey’s middle stump for 52, the ball keeping low, 318 for 9. Mahmood with a runner lasted 14 balls until Hutton bowling from the Pavilion End had him caught at short leg by Slater for 5. Cue mass celebrations. Lamb stranded on a valiant 68 not out off 102 balls (12x4). Lancashire 341 all out off 123.1 overs had lost by 102 runs.

The Notts in-form seam bowling trio had demolished Somerset the week before, but had to work so much harder on what had become a dead pitch in extreme temperatures. They deserve all the plaudits thrown at them. They now need to rest up and get ready for the Rose Bowl. What they do need is additional bowling support, winning championship games is hard work especially with a 4-man attack. Joey Evison who finished with 7 for 25 at Kibworth today as the Seconds won by an innings has presented his case. MAG

Day 3

NOTTS SET LANCASHIRE A MOUNTAIN TO CLIMB, BUT AT STUMPS THEY'VE SUCCESSFULLY REACHED BASE CAMP

On a day where the thermometer hit 29 degrees at Trent Bridge, Lancashire laid solid foundations in their run chase of 444 in a day where only four wickets fell at Trent Bridge.

Moores and James went on the attack from the off on a cloudless morning against Bailey (Pavilion End) and Lamb (Radcliffe Road End), the 50 partnership coming up in 101 balls. Batting appeared to be much easier than at any stage during the match.

Bohannon replaced Bailey for the 63rd over and Balderson replaced Lamb for the 66th over James reached a determined 50 off 149 balls with a cut four off Bohannon. In the next over,Moores reached his 50 off 87 balls with a boundary off Balderson. Wells was introduced in the 77th over. A boundary through the covers by James off Balderson brought up the 100 partnership in 208 balls. Croft came on for the 82nd over. Notts reached lunch on 230 for 5 off 84 overs with James on 66 and Moores on 63. The pair had made untroubled progress, adding 103 in 32 overs.The wicket was now flat and the clear blue skies were given little assistance to the bowlers. Lancashire elected not to take the new ball, and kept with the old ball for the remainder of the innings, clearly thinking it was harder to score off.

The spinners stayed on after lunch with Notts reaching 250 in the 90th over. A straight four from Moores off Croft saw the 150 partnership in 293 balls. Moores went for a big hit to complete his ton but fell to catch at deep mid wicket by Croft off Wells for 97, 283 for 6 in the 97th over. Moores had scored 97 off 154 balls with 18 fours. The 6th wicket added had added 176 runs in 54 overs.

Notts clearly had now been ordered to put the foot on the accelerator as a declaration was due. A reverse sweep for 4 by Patterson-White off Wells brought up the 300 in the 101st over. Lyndon James miscued Wells and was caught at wide mid off by Bohannon off Wells for a career best 91 off 230 balls (13x4), 314 for 7 in the 105th over. A fine determined knock from Lyndon who looked like he was tiring towards the end of the innings,but without his rearguard last night, Lancashire could have been set a considerably lower target to chase.

In the same over, Hutton was dropped on 0 by Balderson at mid on off Wells and Patterson-White was then dropped on 22 a difficult caught and bowled off Wells. Bailey came on bowling off spin and Hutton was caught at long on by substitute Jack Blatherwick for 1, 315 for 8. Patterson-White hit Bailey for 6 over square leg. Notts then declared on 339 for 8 off 107 overs with Patterson-White on 37 and Fletcher on 5. The declaration was clearly timed to give the Notts bowlers 30 minutes at Lancashire before tea. However, with only three wickets falling in two sessions, all to attacking shots, and with Notts only having four front-line bowlers plus Mullaney; the declaration seemed slightly premature. Bailey took 3 for 84.

Lancashire needed 444 runs to win off 135 overs ata rate of 3.29 RPO. Only three times in their history have Lancashire scored 400 in their fourth innings. They scored 464 at the Oval in the last game of 2007 to lose by 24 runs and hand the championship title to Sussex. Ninety-seven years earlier they twice successfully chased huge totals, 404 at Southampton to beat Hampshire by 5 wickets and 403 at Old Trafford to beat Notts by 2 wickets.

Alex Davies was leg before shouldering arms to Fletcher (Radcliffe Road End) for a golden duck, 5 for 1.Hutton was his opening partner. Lancashire got to tea on 30 for 1 off 7 overs with Balderson on 15 and Wells on 13. Fletcher not quite his normal self in the stifling heat.

The pair batted out the final session adding 85 in 32 overs to set up a platform for victory. Dane Paterson bowled the first over after tea from the Pavilion End. Fletcher after seven overs for 37 was replaced by Hutton. With Lancashire 69 for 1 off 19, Patterson-White had his first bowl of the match and put a lid on the scoring bowling 10 overs for 10 runs. Fletcher returned for the 25th over. The Lancashire 100 came up via 4 byes with Moores standing up to Fletcher. Paterson returned for the 33rd over and a leg side four saw Wells to 50 off 109 balls it also brought up the 100 stand for the second wicket with Balderson. The skiddy Paterson conceding 15 off 10 overs; he could be the key bowler with the old ball tomorrow. Lancashire closed on 115 for 1 off 39 overs with Wells on 57 and Balderson on 42. Notts had never really looked like taking a further wicket on the flat deck.

Notts will be hoping for early incisions into the Lancashire batting line up in the morning session tomorrow on what is promosed to be another sweltering day. Fletcher, Hutton, Paterson and Patterson-Whiteface a tiring day as Lancashire try to make history. Over the last year, Derbyshire and Warwickshire have successfully chased large fourth innings totals on flat Trent Bridge day 4 surfaces.

In other news, Joey Evison took five second innings Leicester wickets at Kibworth this afternoon, his return to fitness is tremendous news as his inclusion in the Notts eleven would be give Notts much needed extra bowling options and better balance in the final two championship games. MAG

Day 2

HUTTON 5-FER GIVES NOTTS ADVANTAGE BUT DEPLETED LANCASHIRE ATTACK STILL MANAGE TO KEEP VISITORS IN THE GAME

On a wicket still offering plenty of assistance, Notts hold the upper hand leading by 232 runs with five second innings wickets still standing. Notts continually chipped away at the Lancashire batting line up with the largest stand of 50 being recorded for the 4th wicket between Bohannon and Lamb. As at Somerset the seam bowling trio of Fletcher, Hutton and Paterson gave very few bad balls away and with all chances held, Lancashire could only muster 168 all out. Josh Bohannon was top scorer with 35 and George Lavelle made 32, but no batsmen ever looked completely in at the crease as the ball bounced and moved all day. Brett Hutton took the first four wickets to finish with 5-62. Notts had 52 overs to bat in another day of warm sunshine and made an assured start as Slater and Duckettadded 51 in 16 overs. As in the first innings, Duckett played the best innings but after he was given out leg before for 44, Notts had another collapse losing 4 wickets for 36 runs. James though in particular showed plenty of grit to crawl to 18 off 67 balls as Notts added just 42 runs in the last 25 overs of the day.

In the 15th over, Balderson (19) fell to a catch at short mid wicket by Patterson-White off Fletcher (Radcliffe Road End), 32 for 3. Paterson replaced Hutton from the Pavilion End in the 20th over. Hutton changed ends and replaced Fletcher for the 27th over. Bohannon (35off 48 balls) was caught by Duckett at second slip as Hutton picked up his third wicket. The 4th wicket stand with Lamb added exactly 50. In the next over, Lamb (15) was caught behind by Moores off Paterson, 82 for 5 in the 30th over. Six overs later, Mullaney replaced Paterson. Off the last delivery before lunch, Jones(14) was caught at third slip by Northeast off Hutton, 111 for 6 off 38.2 overs with Vilas 15 not out.

Vilas (15) fell 10 minutes after lunch leg before playing no shot to Hutton, 124 for 7 in the 41st over. Fletcher replaced Hutton in the 47th over. Croft (24) lost his off stump to a Paterson delivery that kept low, 156 for 8 in the 50th over. Bailey fell in Paterson's next over leg before to a well pitched up delivery for a 3 ball duck, 164 for 9. Mahmood came in last man with Croft as his runner. Lavelle (32) charged Fletcher and edged to Moores. Lancashire were 168 all out off 52.3 overs. Mahmood 0 not out. Hutton 5 for 62, Paterson 3 for 39 and Fletcher 2 for 47.

Bailey (Pavilion End) and Lamb opened the bowling. Duckett and Slater made a circumspect start but in the 7th over, Duckett hit Bailey for successive boundaries to break the shackles. Balderson came on in the 10th over. Duckett hit three boundaries off Balderson’s third over . Lamb changed ends and bowled the 15th over as the opening stand reached 50 via a leg bye for Duckett. Slater (16) lost his off stump to a Balderson delivery that kept low, 51 for 1 in the 16th over. Notts got to tea on 61 for 1 off 20 overs with Duckett on 41 and Northeast on 3.

Duckett was adjudged leg before to Lamb for 44, 71 for 2 in the 25th over. Clarke hooked Lamb for 6 in the 27th over. A dreadful waft outside off stump saw Northeast depart caught behind off Bailey for 13, 85 for 3 in the 28th over. Bohannon came on in the 35th over. The Notts 100 came up in the 37th over. Clarke and James were bogged down, Clarke (22) edged Balderson to Jones at second slip who took the catch diving to his left,102 for 4 in the 40th over. Bailey returned for the following over fromthe Pavilion End and James edged him for four. Mullaney (1) was next to perish edging Bailey to Lavelle, 107 for 5 off 43 overs. James and Moores dropped anchor as Notts crawled to 127 for 5 off 52 overs when stumps were drawn with James on 18 and Moores on 11.

Lancashire without Mahmood who has a side strain, bowled much better as a collective unit compared to the first innings and this time did not drop any catches. Notts will be looking to get a lead of 300 tomorrow, a target which would require some chasing against three in form seamers. MAG

Day 1

HONOURS EVEN AFTER NOTTS POST-TEA COLLAPSE

Honours were just about even at the end of a hectic first day at sunny Trent Bridge today. On a green pitch, Lancashire won an important toss and inserted an unchanged Notts. Aided by a plethora of dropped catches and contrasting fifties from Duckett, Northeast and Clarke, Notts were extremely well placed at 211 for 3. Then from the last ball before tea, James threw his wicket away. This led to an all too familiar Notts batting collapse where they lost their seven wickets for 61. Notts fought back in the closing stages, grabbing two Lancashire wickets as they led by 244 when stumps were drawn at 1825.

Under clear blue skies, Slater was dropped on 0 by keeper Lavelle off the sixth delivery of the day bowled by Bailey (Pavilion End). Mahmood bowled the second over from the Radcliffe Road End. In the fourth over, Slater on 5 was dropped by Jones diving to his right at second slip. In the eighth over, Slater (8) who failed to move his feet edged Bailey to Lavelle who took the catch, 22 for one. Lamb replaced Mahmood for the 10th over. The Notts 50 came up via a slashed four by Duckett off Lamb in the 14th over. Duckett, in particular, looked in fine fettle. The next over was bowled by Balderson who replaced Bailey. The 50 partnership between Duckett and Northeast took 75 balls and came up in the 20th over. Mahmood returned from the Radcliffe Road End in the 22nd over and Duckett reached his 50 off 69 balls with a leg side single. In his following over, Northeast was dropped on 16, a regulation chance to Lavelle behind the wicket off Mahmood. In the 28th over, Duckett on 55 was dropped by Lavelle off Mahmood. Notts got to lunch on 97 for 1 off 30 overs with Duckett on 59 and Northeast on 27. They have ridden their luck somewhat against the butter-fingered Lancashire fielders in conditions which favoured the bowlers. Mahmood proved quick but too erratic.

Lamb and Bailey opened the bowling after lunch. In the third over after lunch Duckett (59 off 100 balls – 9x4) playing across the line got a leading edge off Lamb and was caught at mid off by Mahmood, 97 for 2 in the 33rd over. Duckett’s innings proved to be the best of the day. Balderson and Mahmood came on in the 39th and 40th overs respectively. An on drive for four off Mahmood saw Northeast to 50 off 110 balls. The 50 partnership between Northeast and Clarke took 78 balls. Clarke was having back troubles and called James Pipe on got some pain-killers and later for some on-field massage.

Bailey and Lamb returned for the 47th and 48th overs respectively. In the 49th over, Northeast (65 off 136 balls – 11x4) feathered a Bailey delivery to Lavelle, 164 for 3. Despite riding his luck at times, Northeast had hit the highest score of the day.

Clarke playing a leg glance off Bailey was dropped on 26 by keeper Lavelle diving to his left. The bowlers were being continuously rotated with Balderson returning for the 55th over and Wells being introduced in the 58th over. in the 61st over, James hit a four through mid wicket off Balderson to bring up the Notts 200. Bailey replaced Wells for the 62nd over. On the stroke Jon tea, James (21) drove Bailey straight to Bohannon at cover. Notts went to tea on 211 for 4 off 64 overs with Clarke on 47.

A Roasting From Lamb

Balderson and Lamb were bowling in tandem after tea as Notts dramatically collapsed. A leg side four for Clarke saw him reached his 50 off 91 balls. Mahmood went lame mid over with a bad back, Balderson completing his over. Clarke was plumb leg before to Lamb for 54 off 95 balls (9x4), 223 for 5 in the 69th over. Next over, Mullaney (4) edged Balderson to Wells at first slip, 223 for 6. It was becoming a procession, Patterson-White (6) was well caught by Jones at second slip diving to his left off Lamb and two balls later, Hutton was caught behind for a duck, 230 for 8 in the 71st over. Wells was reintroduced and Moores hit him over mid wicket for the first six of the day to bring up the 250 in the 76th over. Moores (12), did not last long, and was out leg before playing a sweep shot to Wells, 260 for 9 in the 78th over. The new ball was taken by Bailey and Lamb with Notts 264 for 9 off 80 overs. Fletcher clobbered Bailey for six over mid wicket but fell next ball trying to repeat the shot caught at mid wicket by substitute Liam Hurt. Notts 272 all out off 82.2 overs. Bailey (4 for 48) and Lamb (4 for 60) were the standouts, the support bowling proving somewhat indifferent.

Fletcher (Radcliffe Road End) and Hutton (Pavilion End) opened the bowling. In the 4th over, Davies fell for a 12-ball duck caught behind by Moores off Hutton for 0, 4 for 1. Bohannon took a liking to Fletcher, hitting him for four boundaries. Paterson replaced Fletcher for the final two overs. In the penultimate over, Luke Wells fell to a smart catch by Slater at short leg off Hutton for 8, 24 for 2. Four more runs were added as Lancashire closed on 28 for two off 11 overs with Balderson on 19 and Lamb on 1. With hot temperatures predicted for the next few days, the wicket is likely to flatten out. The Notts seam attack should though outperform the visitors.

Crowd AWOL

Despite the perfect weather and each Notts member being given two free complimentary tickets, the crowd was poor today. A lot of hard work lies ahead to persuade lost members to return post-Covid. MAG

After the comprehensive beating of Somerset earlier this week, it's difficult to see any unforced changes to the team being made. If Lyndon is still not bowling, there might be of an onus on the Captain to put more of a bowling shift in at Trent Bridge, perhaps(?) or to bring in another bowler, but bring in who and at the expense of who?

Te announced squad:

Ben Slater

Ben Duckett

Sam Northeast

Joe Clarke

Lyndon James

Steven Mullaney

Liam Patterson-White

Tom Moores

Brett Hutton

Luke Fletcher

Dane Paterson

Joey Evison

Calvin Harrison