Warwickshire Vitality Championship Division 1 at Edgbaston Draw 15 pts

 

Day 4

GAME PETERS OUT INTO A DRAW 

As expected this match ended as a boring stalemate with Notts closing on 75 for 1 in their second innings leading by 114 runs when bad light stopped play for the final time at 1631.


Play got under way on time this morning with a strong southerly wind blowing with Paterson (City End) and Pennington bowling. Batting conditions were ideal on the slow pitch against the old ball. Bethell got to his 50 off 98 balls with a leg glance boundary off Paterson in the 65th over which simultaneously brought the Bears 200. Harrison and Stone came on for the 68th and 71st overs respectively. Stone worked up a good pace from the City End. In the 75th over, Slater was given a rare twirl and bowled three economical overs. The Warwickshire 250 came up in the 77th over. Briggs (37) fell mistiming a delivery from Harrison and skied the ball and was caught by substitute Freddie McCann at mid wicket off Harrison, 252 for 6 off 78 overs, the theoretical follow-on already saved by the Bears. The new ball was taken by Stone and Pennington with Warwickshire 258 for 6 off 80 overs. Bethell (93 off 163 balls, 15x4) fell to a fine diving catch by Clarke leaping to his left with Stone taking his first wicket of the innings, 276 for 7 in the 85th over. James came on to bowl the last over before lunch. Warwickshire 293 for 7 at the break off 90 overs with Burgess on 13 and Jamal on 10.


The Warwickshire 300 came up in the first over after lunch with Paterson and James bowling in tandem. Stone replaced Paterson in the 99th over, but it was James bowling from the Pavilion End who mopped up the tail. Jamal (40) departed caught and bowled to James, 347 for 8 in the 100th over. A four through third man by Hassan Ali off Stone brought up the Warwickshire 350 in the 101st over. Hassan Ali (5) was smartly caught by Hameed in the covers off James as Notts picked up their final bowling point, 351 for 9 in the 102nd over. Burgess (43) was the last man to fall caught at mid off by Stone off James (3 for 65), Warwickshire 361 all out off 105.3 overs. Hannon-Dalby 0 not out. Pennington (3 for 74) was Notts most impressive bowler. Stone deserved more than his solitary wicket. Notts led by 39 runs.

The match was now over as a contest. In the third over of Notts second innings, Duckett (7) was lbw to Hannon-Dalby (City End), 12 for 1 in the third over. Aamer Jamal replaced Hassan Ali from the Pavilion End in the 10th over. Mousley had a bowl in the 11th over. Notts 40 for 1 off 11 overs at tea with Hameed on 20 and Slater on 12.

Two spinners (Bethell and Briggs) bowled immediately after tea for the sole purpose of ensuring Warwickshire did not lose any points for over rate. Once they were above the watermark captain Davies wanted to bring back the his pace men, but the umpires decided the light was not good enough so the players left the field with Notts 75 for 1 off 22 overs, with 25 overs still remaining. Hameed on 41 and Slater on 26. Play was officially abandoned at 1644 with Notts going up one place to seventh in the standings. They will miss round 5 of the championship starting this Friday and are next in action on 10th May when they play Lancashire at Trent Bridge. They have drawn their last five championship away contests with their last defeat at Taunton at the end of June last year. MAG

Day 3

NOTTS CHIP AWAY ON A SHORTENED DAY

Warwickshire added a further 104 runs for the loss of two wickets on a heavily truncated third day at Edgbaston where only 35 overs were possible.

After persistent overnight and morning rain and three pitch inspections, play got underway at 1600 with 40 overs scheduled to be bowled. Paterson (City End) and Pennington opened the bowling under cloudy skies with the floodlights on. The temperature had increased markedly compared to the previous two days. In the 31st over, Paterson had Mousley plumb leg before for 30, 84 for 4. With the sun now making an appearance, Stone replaced Pennington in the 34th over. Bethell hit Paterson for three boundaries in four balls in the 35th over and straight away Lyndon James replaced Paterson from the City End. James was given a three over spell from this end until immediately switching ends. Barnard reached his 50 off 100 balls in the 43rd over, the first of the innings bowled by Harrison. The Bears 150 came up in the 48th over. Pennington came on for the 50th over. With Hameed wanting to bowl Paterson from the City End, the umpires decided that the light was not adequate and stopped play at 1747 with Warwickshire 156 for 4 after 50 overs with Barnard on 69 and Bethell on 30.

Play resumed at 1805 with a further five overs lost. Pennington, who once again impressed, picked up a deserved third wicket when he had Barnard (69 off 142 balls with 11 boundaries) was well caught low to his right by Clarke, 168 for 5 in the 56th over. The fifth wicket stand worth 84 runs off 25 overs. In the following over nightwatchman Briggs was dropped by Clarke on 5 off Paterson,  a regulation chance. Stumps were drawn with the Bears on 175 for 5 off 59 overs with Bethell on 38 and Briggs on 5. They still need a further 76 runs to avoid the follow on. MAG

Day 2

PENNINGTON STRIKES CUT SHORT

Due to a combination of bad light and drizzle only 34.2 overs were possible today at Edgbaston as Warwickshire trailed Notts by 329 runs with seven first innings wickets standing.

In front of a poor crowd, Duckett's (197 not out overnight) main objective was to retain the strike with Notts chasing their fourth batting point. In the third over of the day, he reached his 200 off 204 balls with a single off Hannon-Dalby (City End). Duckett hit Hannon-Dalby for six over long leg. A single for Duckett off Hannon-Dalby saw Notts to 400 in the 99th over. Hassan Ali was replaced by off spinner Mousley for 100th over and with his third ball he bowled Duckett (218 off 264 balls, 25x4, 1x6) making room for a huge offside hit, 400 for 9. Pennington (17) holed out to the square leg ropes caught by Hassan Ali with Hannon-Dalby picking up his fifth wicket (for 78), Notts 400 all out of 100.1 overs.

Yates hit Stone's (City End) first two balls to the ropes through third man and backward square leg. In the 4th over, Davies fell to a catch at first slip by Young off Pennington, 10 for 1. The opening attack of Stone and Pennington was the fastest that Notts had fielded since Broad and Jimmy Pattinson during his first spell with Notts in 2017. Yates hit Pennington for a boundary and then one ball later play was suspended for bad light at 1223 with Warwickshire 17 for 1 off 5.4 overs with Yates on 15 and Rhodes on 1. Rain followed soon after.

An early lunch was taken and play resumed at 1329 with no overs lost. Rain stopped play once more at 1334 with Warwickshire 21 for 1 off 9 overs with Yates on 15 and Rhodes on 6.

Play recommenced at 1500 with 22 overs lost with Paterson replacing Stone from the City End. Bowling conditions were ideal in the dense cloud and the ball started to move around. In the 10th over, Pennington, had Rhodes palpably leg before for 9, 26 for 2. In the following over, Yates (16) was well caught diving to his left by keeper Clarke off Paterson, 26 for 3. Pennington was generating pace and bounce and had a couple of confident leg before appeals turned down.

Stone replaced Pennington for the 20th over and had Mousley dropped on 15 by Harrison at third slip, an easy chance into his stomach. James bowled the 23rd over replacing Paterson. Rain stopped play at 1614 with Warwickshire 71 for 3 after 24 overs with Mousley on 26 and Barnard on 28. Tea was taken and the rain stopped. Play was set to restart at 1730 but the light was deemed too poor, rain then arrived and play was called off for the day at 1740. MAG

Day 1

DUCKETT SHINES AT EDGBASTON

A magnificent unbeaten 197 (off 230 balls, 24x4) by Ben Duckett was the cornerstone of a good first day for Notts in artic conditions at Edgbaston today. The vast majority of Notts 367 runs today were contained in two partnerships with the England opener, namely the 146 runs added for the second wicket with Ben Slater (65 off 108 balls, 13x4) and the 151 added for the fifth wicket with Jack Haynes (74 off 120 balls, 11x4). No other Notts batsmen made double figures with Notts suffering two collapses. Firstly from 162-1 to 177-4 with the ball swinging in mid-afternoon cloudy conditions. Secondly against the second new ball in inclement light when Notts went from 324-4 to 356-8. Ollie Hannon-Dalby was the pick of the visitors attack with 4-58.

Notts won the toss and elected to bat on a sunny but bitterly cold morning. Duckett, Pennington and Stone came into the eleven for Montgomery, Hutton (Achilles) and Fletcher.

Hannon-Dalby (City End) and Hassan Ali took the new ball and bowled accurately. In the 7th over, Hameed (2) drove loosely off Hannon-Dalby and was caught low down by skipper Alex Davies at extra cover, 16 for 1. Slater was dropped at third slip by Bethell off Hannon-Dalby whilst on zero. The ball going quickly to him at catchable height, a costly error Duckett (36 not out) was dominating the scoring as Notts stood on 38 for 0 off 11 overs with new signing Pakistani Aamer Jamal replacing his compatriot Hassan Ali from the Pavilion End. Duckett took a single and Slater then finally got off the mark cover driving Jamal to the ropes. Will Rhodes replaced Hannon-Dalby in the 15th over with a single for Duckett bringing up the Notts 50. Duckett reached his 50 off 59 balls with a legside single off Rhodes in the 21st over. Barnard replaced Jamal for the 22nd over. Yates came on for 27th over from the City End. A straight driven boundary by Duckett off Barnard brought up the Notts 100 in the 28th over. Notts reached lunch on 110 for 1 off 29 overs with Duckett on 69 and Slater on 33.

Duckett hit Jamal for two boundaries in the opening over after lunch and Slater did the same in the following over bowled by Hannon-Dalby. Rhodes replaced Jamal for 36th over and two boundaries for Slater in his comeback over saw him to 50 off 93 balls. In the 39th over, Slater (65) edged Hannon-Dalby into Burgess' gloves, 162 for 2. The second wicket stand was worth 146 off 32 overs. Young like Slater took 12 balls to score his first run with Hannon-Dalby and Rhodes bowling tightly in the cloudy conditions overhead and with the ball starting to swing. Hassan Ali replaced Hannon-Dalby from the City End and for a four through third man took Duckett to 99. Young (1) departed in the following over edging Rhodes to Burges who took the catch diving to his right, 177 for 3 in the 46th over. Five balls later and in the same over, Clarke departed for a duck to Burgess' third catch of the innings, 177 for 4. In the following over, a single by Duckett to long leg off Hassan Ali saw him to his ton off 126 balls. With the floodlights now on, Haynes hit Rhodes for successive offside fours. He was then taken off and replaced by Barnard for the 50th over. A square cut for Haynes off Ali took Notts passed 200 in the 53rd over. Danny Briggs finally got a bowl in the 55th over. Yates made it an all-spin attack for the 60th over. Notts got to tea on 245 for 4 off 64 overs with Duckett on 130 and Haynes on 37.

Notts reached 250 via a four through wide third man by Haynes off the returning Johal in the 66th over. Duckett hit Briggs for three boundaries in the 67th over. Rhodes returned for the 70th over with a single for Haynes bringing his half century in 79 balls. A swept four by Duckett off Briggs took him to 150 in 189 balls. Notts reached 300 in the 74th via a boundary through square leg by Duckett. Yates replaced Briggs from the City End for the 75th over and for the following over Barnard replaced Rhodes. The new ball was taken with Notts 327 for 4 off 80 overs and with its fifth delivery Hannon-Dalby had Haynes leg before for 74, 328 for 5. The fifth wicket had added 151 in 35 overs. In the following over, James (2) edged Hassan Ali to keeper Burgess, 331 for 6. Ali took his second wicket in two balls when Harrison (3) shouldered arms and was bowled by a delivery that jagged back in, 335 for 7. Duckett got two boundaries off Ali in the 86th over. A driven three for Stone off Hannon-Dalby took Notts passed 350 in the 87th over. With the light deteriorating, Stone (8) was caught by Yates at second slip off Hannon-Dalby, 356 for 8 in the 89th over. Pennington edged his first delivery for four. Rhodes replaced Ali for the 90th over with Duckett scooping him for four with the field deep set.

Bad light stopped play at 1812 with Notts 367 for 8 off 89.5 overs with Duckett on 197 on Pennington on 5. Duckett's innings was chanceless and well-constructed, a memorable effort. MAG

The XI

Haseeb Hameed c

Ben Duckett

Ben Slater

Will Young

Joe Clarke x

Jack Haynes

Lyndon James

Calvin Harrison

Dillon Pennington

Olly Stone

Dane Paterson

Squad

It appears that England require Ben Duckett to play at another test venue, so he make the squad for the trip to Birmingham (will he be included in the XI at the expense of Ben Slater or Matthew Montgomery?. Olly Stone is in the squad in place of Brett Hutton (achilles), but should they risk him in the final cut?

Haseeb Hameed c

Ben Duckett

Will Young

Joe Clarke

Matthew Montgomery

Jack Haynes

Lyndon James

Calvin Harrison

Luke Fletcher

Dillon Pennington

Dane Paterson

Ben Slater

Olly Stone

Preview

Less than a week since a huge Nottinghamshire supporters mood shift, thanks to just two batsmen, but we still need to remember that our stand out bowler in the last two games of Vitality (when did that change occur?) Championship has been Calvin Harrison. 

The greats

Don't get me wrong, it's great for Calvin but it's not so great for bowling the opposition out twice in April when you've packed your eleven with fast medium bowlers.

It's great that we have Brett, Fletch, Dane and LJ all bowling fit but as was pointed out last week, they are much the same as eachother in terms of pace (yet subtly different in style to eachother).

Brett is yet to find his mojo, Fletch looked like someone still searching for his metronomic self and Dane is not finding that English length that he can be so destructive with, but obviously the wicket at Taunton didn't help as we showed on Sunday.

Concerns over Haseeb Hameed remain, and for me he needs to revert to being the Baby Boycott in terms of his batting temperament and to stop making silly errors with his captaincy, yes by all means throw away the Read/Mullaney captaincy by numbers approach but don't forget to assess the situation fully for what it is and not for what you hope it might be.

Edgbaston was full of runs the last time it was used, but was that put out to negate the Durham bowlers or was it a result of the wet wet wet concert we've all been enduring for the last six months?

The picks

So what do you need to win a Championship game? 20 wickets in most cases.

So what kind of bowlers do we need to pick, in order to pick-up 20 wickets at Edgbaston?

Obviously we can't know for sure, so the coach ought to pick a balanced variety of bowlers where possible. That's what we didn't have at Taunton, in my opinion (not that that would have made any difference to the result there on that surface).

The squad

When the squad is announced later today, I'd expect the same squad as last week to appear (any injuries allowing), as that's the PM way. Would they risk Olly Stone after waiting so, so long, just so he can play against his old mates again and have a relapse? If he blows Derbyshire 2s away in one session today, we'll see. A return for centurion Tom Moores, but at whose expense? Clarke's keeping has been on a par or better than Juniors so far, so which batsman needs to be looking over his shoulder?