Essex Vitality County Championship Div 1 at Trent Bridge Loss 4 points Report

 

Day 4

NOTTS ROASTED BY COOK

Notts went down to a humiliating 254 run defeat at Trent Bridge after being bowled out for 80 by 14:50 this afternoon. Sam Cook followed his figures of 4 for 59 which included a hat trick with the outstanding analyses of 14-10-14-6. Notts had no answer to the three Essex seamers with Porter picking up three wickets (for 43) and Snater having figures of 1 for 23.

The windy conditions of the first three days made way to more still conditions albeit with extensive cloud cover. James and Pennington took the ball first thing in the morning. They both bowled too short and offered easy runs for Rossington and Snater as Essex raced along scoring 45 in six overs. In the 96th over, Rossington hit Pennington for six over mid-wicket. Snater on the pull was dropped on 45 by Clarke running back towards long leg off James, an easy chance. But Snater (47 off 46 balls, 7x4) fell next ball caught low down on the run by Penington at deep backward square leg, the third wicket (for 73) in the innings for James, 370 for 9. Porter off drove the following ball for four. Essex immediately declared on 374 for 9 off 97 overs. Rossington, batting with a damaged finger finished on 39 not out (off 49 balls, 6x4, 1x6). Notts had bowled too short at times during the Essex innings with neither Hutton or Paterson looking fully fit. Harrison (9-1-24-2) was under bowled and belatedly introduced.

Notts needed 335 off 88 overs at 3.81 RPO, a generous declaration by 2024 standards. This was a clear sign that Essex were confident of victory in the best bowling conditions of the match with overcast skies and no howling wind. Having Rossington injured, Michael Pepper donned the gloves. In the third over, a well-pitched delivery from Porter (Radcliffe Road End) demolished Duckett's (5) off stump, 15 for 1. In the following over, Hameed (10) fell in identical fashion, losing his off stump to Cook, 17 for 2. In the sixth over, Slater (3) was caught at second slip by Harmer off Cook, a regulation chance, 18 for 3. Snater replaced Porter for the ninth over as Clarke and Montgomery battened down the hatches. Porter returned from the Radcliffe Road End for the 15th over in order for Snater to change ends. In the 18th over, top scorer of the innings Joe Clarke (19) played a Snater delivery on to his leg stump to Snater, 39 for 4. Notts limped to lunch on 50 for 4 off 20 overs with Montgomery on 12 and Haynes on 1.

In the 22nd over, Montgomery shouldered arms to Cook and was bowled for 12, 50 for 5. Three overs later, the procession continued Haynes was adjudged lbw to Porter for 7, 56 for 6. With persistent light rain now falling, Harrison was leg before to Cook for 1, 59 for 7 in the 28th over. Cook picked up his fifth wicket when Hutton was comprehensively bowled middle stump for a three-ball duck, 59 for 8. Cook had bowled seven maidens on the trot when James on drove him to the ropes in the 30th over. The end though was nigh. Pennington (7) became Cook's sixth victim when he edged him to Elgar at first slip, 73 for 9. Paterson hit Porter for six over long off but then was bowled middle stump making room attempting another massive hit. Notts 80 all out off 34.3 overs. James left stranded on seven not out. It was their lowest innings total since being bowled for 78 at the Riverside against Durham in September 2013. Not a memorable start for Haseeb Hameed’s reign as Notts skipper.

Essex have an excellent bowling unit but despite the more helpful bowling conditions Notts had batted woefully. Notts standing at 259-4 after tea on Saturday will regret their lower order first innings batting and their new ball bowling in the Essex second innings. They also had Essex five down with a lead of 89 yesterday afternoon but the sixth wicket partnership of Matt Critchley and Paul Walter taking the game away from them. Essex with star overseas players Elgar and Harmer have most bases covered and expect them and Surrey to be the main contenders for the championship, although their points haul in this game may be substantially reduced if Khushi’s bat is considered illegal.

Notts will banking on the addition of Will Young from the game at Taunton to strengthen what is already looking a flaky and unreliable batting line-up. Luke Fletcher who had figures of 12-6-16-3 for the seconds against Loughborough today must be in contention for a first-team recall particularly as neither Hutton and Paterson looked fully fit yesterday. MAG

Day 3

NOTTS HALTED BY WALTER AND CRITCHLEY  AT WINDY TRENT BRIDGE

Essex led by 289 runs with two wickets left when the rain arrived at 17:11 with 22 overs left to bowl. On another very windy day, the Notts bowlers had had the visitors 129-5 with a lead of just 89. But with the Kookaburra ball losing its efficacy and pitch seemingly getting even slower, Matt Critchley (68) and Walter (79) added 132 in 36 overs for the sixth wicket which meant Essex were now bossing the proceedings. Calvin Harrison belatedly introduced broke the partnership with two wickets straight after tea. The new ball was taken and Hutton picked up his third wicket of the innings having the dour Critchley lbw. Notts though were no doubt the happier of the two counties when the early evening rain arrived.

 On what was scheduled as a 99 over day, in the 18th over of the Essex innings and the fourth on a cold morning, Elgar (26) was bowled by a Lyndon James that failed to get up. The South African’s stumps well and truly splattered with all three stumps in different directions, 78 for 2. Cook was dropped on 14 by Montgomery at short mid-wicket off Paterson, the South African having two unsuccessful attempts at grabbing the chance as he juggled with the ball. In the 24th over, Cook pulled Paterson for six over backward square leg. Hutton who replaced James from the Radcliffe Road End made an instant impact removing nightwatchman Cook with his first delivery. Cook edging him to Clarke who took a good catch diving to his right. Cox fell first ball being strangled down the legside, Clarke once again taking a fine catch, 109 for 4 in the 27th over. Paterson made way  for Pennington for the 30th over. Pennington bowling good areas finally found the edge of Westley's (22) bat, Clarke taking his third catch of the innings, 129 for 5 in the 38th over. James returned for the 39th over. Essex got to lunch on 139 for 5 off 42 overs with Critchley on 16 and Walter 4.

 Critchley and Walter batted throughout the 31 over middle session with the latter being very much the aggressor. James and Hutton were bowling in tandem after lunch but with the ball getting older they carried little threat. Paterson returned for the  53rd over and Pennington for the 56th over. Essex reached 200 in the 60th over. James replaced Paterson for the 61st over. Harrison (Pavilion End) finally had a bowl in the 64th over with Walter reaching his 50 off 65 balls. He immediately got the ball to turn. Hutton came on in the 66th over from the Radcliffe End with Critchley reaching his 50 off 129 balls. The last over before tea was bowled by Montgomery with Walter hitting him for six over mid-wicket standing on 261 for 5 off 73 overs with Walter on 79 and Critchley on 58. Notts never really looked like making a breakthrough throughout the session.

 Off the third ball after tea, Walter (79 off 105 balls, 9x4, 1x6) was caught at first slip by Duckett diving smartly to his left off Harrison,  261 for 6 in the 74th over. For the third time in the match, one partnership had dominated the innings. Paterson replaced Montgomery for the 75th over. Harrison struck once more in the 78th over as he had Harmer (5) caught behind by Clarke playing a cross batted shot, 269 for 7. Montgomery returned for a single over then the new ball was taken by Hutton and Pennington with Essex 280 for 7 off 80 overs. Snater hit Pennington for three boundaries in four deliveries in the 84th over. Notts struck in the following over when Hutton had Critchley lbw for 68 (off 174 balls, 3x4); 307 for 8. Critchley’s innings may have been somewhat dour by 2024 standards, but was invaluable to Essex. James replaced Hutton for the 89th over. At 17:11 light rain stopped play with Essex 328 for 8 off 91 overs with Snater on 29 and Rossington on 27. The rain got heavier and play was called off at 18:00.

 A dry day is forecast tomorrow and the late rain has ensured that Essex will not get too many overs out of the second new ball tomorrow if required. With Rossington coming at ten Essex potentially still could chisel out a fair few runs tomorrow. Notts will be hoping to restrict the lead to no more than 300. Seeing off the new ball will be essential with Harmer and Critchley likely to get some turn and what is a very slow surface, not a surprise given the amount of rain deposited on Nottingham throughout the winter. MAG

Day 2

CLARKE TON ECLIPSED BY COOK HAT TRICK

ON DAY OF FLUCTUATING FORTUNES

Following a dramatic final session Essex seized control of a match seemingly in Notts’ favour. At 17:10 Notts stood at 259 for 4 with Joe Clarke and Jack Haynes well set and batting superbly with an unbroken fifth wicket stand of 159 spanning 44 overs. Both batsmen then threw their wickets away and with Notts having a long tail and the new ball due, right arm seamer Sam Cook proceeded to take a hat trick removing James (lbw), Hutton (bowled) and Pennington (lbw). Paterson only lasted two balls as Notts suddenly only led by 34 runs having looked like gaining a sizeable match winning lead half an hour earlier. To compound the misery Notts wasted the new ball as Essex raced to 65 for 1 off 14 overs to finish the day with a wholly unexpected lead of 21 runs.

On a very windy muggy day with temperatures reaching 18 degrees C but south westerly gusts touching 40mph, Pennington (Pavilion End) and Hutton opened the bowling. In the second over a four through the covers by Porter off Hutton saw Essex to their solitary batting point. Off the first delivery of the third over, Porter (6) was caught above his head by Montgomery at first slip off Pennington. Essex 253 all out off 79.1 overs with Cook 6 not out. Paterson, having not bowled today, 5 for 49.

Porter (Radcliffe Road End) and Cook took the new ball with Hameed and Duckett racing to 33 in first eight overs. Snater replaced Porter for the ninth over and removed Duckett's (21) off stump with his first ball. In the 12th over, Slater (9) was leg before to Cook, 46 for 2. A cover driven boundary by Hameed off Snater saw Notts to 50 in the 13th over. Porter returned for the 16th over replacing Cook from the Pavilion End. Hameed was dropped on 28 at first slip above his head by Elgar off Porter. Porter got his revenge the next over when he got a ball to lift and found Hameed's (34) edge, Rossington taking the catch, 79 for 3 in the 20th over. An superb delivery. Harmer was introduced for the 23rd over with Clarke on driving him to the boundary off his fourth ball. Notts reached lunch on 93 for 3 off 25 overs with Clarke on 23 and Montgomery on 2.

Snater and Cook were bowling after lunch. A long hop from Cook was deposited for four through square leg by Clarke to bring up the Notts 100. Next over, a poor shot from Montgomery saw him caught at second slip by Harmer off Snater for 2, 100 for 4 in the 27th over. Former Worcestershire pair Haynes and Clarke saw off Cook and Porter. In the 42nd and 43rd overs respectively, Paul Walter and Matt Critchley had their first bowl of the innings. Clarke, playing excellently, reached his 50 off 106 balls with a six over square leg off Walter. In his following over, Walter was hit for six over mid-wicket by the impressive Haynes. Critchley was given three overs from the Radcliffe Road End before being replaced by Harmer. Snater then replaced Paul Walter for the 50th over. Haynes reached his 50 off 79 balls with a four through point off Snater. Notts reached tea on 193 for 4 with Clarke on 59 and Haynes on 58. Very much Notts’ session on a slow pitch where keeper Rossington was often standing up to the seamers.

Two consecutive fours for Clarke off Harmer in the first over after tea brought up the Notts 200. In the 69th over, a cut four through the covers by Clarke off Harmer to his ton off 173 balls and took Notts passed 250. Notts took the lead in the 71st over with a single off Harmer. Clarke disappointedly perished caught at wide long on by Walter off Harmer for 104 (off 185 balls, 16x4, 1x6), 259 for 5 in the 73rd over. This was the start of a dramatic collapse that saw Notts lose their last six wickets for 34 this all after Haynes and Clarke had looked relatively untroubled during their substantial stand.

Haynes (77 off 145 balls, 10x4, 1x6) managed to pull a full toss from Critchley to substitute Ben Allison at wide mid-on wo took the catch, 265 for 6 in the 76th over. The new ball was taken with Notts 278 for 6 off 80 overs and Cook with the second over with the new cherry Sam Cook took a hat trick, the first against Notts since 2018 and first by an Essex bowler in first-class cricket in 15 years. He had James (8) adjudged leg before to a ball that hit him high on knee roll and which seemed destined to go over the stumps. No luck was needed for his next two dismissals, Hutton, playing down the wrong line to be bowled first ball and then he had Pennington palpably lbw, 288 for 9. Paterson (4) inside edged his first ball for four but then was comprehensively bowled by Porter. Notts 293 all out off 82.4 overs, Harrison 21 not out. Cook finishing with 4-59 on a day where batting appeared to be easier than 24 hours earlier. Notts had lost four wickets for four runs in seven balls as they lost all the initiative gained from the previous three hours.

Hutton (Radcliffe Road End) and Pennington bowled disappointedly with the new ball. Then suddenly there was unexpected drama after 9 overs, Khushi on 21 was deemed to have used illegally oversized bat which was confiscated for further forensic analysis by umpire Lungley. A similar indiscretion by Nic Maddinson of Durham two seasons ago saw Durham get deducted 10 points from their points tally. Paterson and James replaced Pennington and Hutton for the 10th and 11th overs respectively. Khushi (32) edged James' sixth delivery to Montgomery at first slip who took an easy catch, 53 for 1. Paterson bowled a single over with Pennington once again returning as nightwatchman Cook on 10 and the rock-solid Dean Elgar on 16. Essex 65-1 off 14 overs when stumps were drawn at 19:06. Both teams had been indebted to one major partnership in their respective first innings but it was Essex who closed the day in this see-saw contest with all the momentum. MAG

Day 1

PATERSON OPENS 2024 WITH A 5-FER

Notts won the toss and inserted Essex at a windy Trent Bridge this morning. After heavy overnight rain, play commenced at 12:00. The two Essex debutants Dean Elgar (80 off 156 balls, 12x4) and Jordan Cox (84 off 150 balls, 11x4, 1x6) dominated the visitors run scoring sharing a third wicket stand of 112 off 31 overs. After Elgar departed following a peach of a delivery from Dane Paterson (5-49) Essex collapsed from 170-2 to 239-9 before bad light ended proceedings prematurely at 18:16 with 11 overs still to be bowled with Essex closing on 244-9.

Skipper Hameed elected to give the wicket keeping gloves to Joe Clarke and leave Tom Moores out of the eleven. Clarke kept tidily all day and crucially Notts batting line-up now has more depth with the inclusion of Montgomery at six. Notts gave debuts to the former Worcestershire pair of Jack Haynes and Dillon Pennington with Ben Duckett playing his first championship game in 11 months.

Hutton (Radcliffe Road) and Pennington opened the bowling. Elgar, recently retired from Test cricket, hit the first delivery of the season through the covers for four. Both openers were given a testing time under the cloudy skies. In the sixth over Khushi, preferred to the experienced Browne, hit Pennington for six over mid-wicket. In his following over Pennington had Khushi (18) caught by Montgomery (first slip) at the second attempt; 36 for 1 in the 8th over. After six over opening spells, Hutton and Pennington were replaced by James and Paterson. Westley (7) edged Paterson and Clarke took the catch diving low to his right, 58 for 2 in the 16th over. Following 70 minutes batting, Essex 62 for 2 off 17 overs at lunch with Elgar on 31 and Cox on 2.

Elgar and Cox dominated the afternoon session as Notts struggled to make a breakthrough with the Kookabura ball which is being trailed for the first of four rounds of the championship in 2024. James and Paterson remained in partnership for a first eight overs after lunch when Pennington replaced Paterson. Elgar reached a classy 50 off 86 balls when he pushed an offside two off James Hutton replaced James from the Radcliffe Road End for the 29th over. Three overs later, Harrison had a bowl from the Pavilion End. Pennington changed ends and returned from the Radcliffe Road End for the 35th over. After a four over spell Pennington made way for Paterson. Cox launched Harrison for a straight six and reached his 50 later in the same over off 76 balls, 10 faster than Elgar. Hameed kept shuffling his pack, Hutton coming back for the 46th over. As the interval approached, Elgar (80) had his bails trimmed by a fine delivery from Paterson, 170 for 3 in the 47th over. Off the last delivery before tea, Paterson picked up third wicket having Critchley leg before for 1, 174 for 4 after 49 overs. Cox 57 not out.The game had turned.

Walter (0) became Paterson's fourth victim, and his third in 16 balls, when he edged him into Clarke's gloves, 176 for 5 in the 53rd over. Rossington lost his off stump to another fine Paterson delivery as he went nap, 194 for 6 in the 57th over. After an eight over spell of 4-24 Paterson made way for Pennington. James replaced Hutton from the Pavilion End for the 66th over. In his second over of his new spell James had Harmer leg before for 8, 217 for 7. Harrison came back, this time from the Radcliffe Road, for the 71st over. He got one to turn considerably and ripped out top-scorer Jordan Cox’s (84) middle stump, 239 for 8 after 73 overs. The 23-year-old right handed bat signed from Kent to replace Dan Lawrence looking a shrewd acquisition. Next ball, Snater missed a wide drive and was comprehensively bowled by James for 12, 239 for 9. The light was closing in and Essex faced a further 23 balls before umpires Lungley and O’Shaughnessy took the players off with Essex 244-9 off 77 overs with Cook on 3 and Porter yet to score. Dane Paterson who only arrived in the UK two days ago led the way with figures of 14-3-49-5. Lyndon James (14-5-30-2) provided excellent support. Tomorrow will be an extended day of 104 overs. MAG

It's wet at the moment, but the forecast for after lunch looks favourable.

 Good luck Notts for the coming six months and to everyone connected with cricket too (except to our opponents on any given day).

Notts have announced the following squad for the season's opener:

Haseeb Hameed c
Ben Duckett

Ben Slater

Joe Clarke

Jack Haynes

Lyndon James

Tom Moores x

Calvin Harrison

Brett Hutton

Dillon Pennington

Toby Pettman (ahead of Dane or Fletch, to make a rare appearance????)

Matt Montgomery (surely makes way for Duckett after keeping his space warm)

Dane Paterson (only just arrived in the country)

Luke Fletcher (Is he fit? Has had no onfield preparation)

If you're wondering: Will Young has just got hitched, and so will only he available from Taunton onwards.

Essex announced their traveling squad earlier as: