Hampshire Rothesay County Championship Div 1 at Trent Bridge Win 21 pts

 

11/05

Day 3

HAMPSHIRE HAMMERED

Notts consolidated their place at the top of the championship after beating a completely demoralised Hampshire team by the massive margin of 366 runs at sunny Trent Bridge today.

Resuming on 171-6 the overnight pair Haynes and Patterson-White batted throughout the morning session to put Notts in complete command. Wheal and Abbott opened up in bright sunshine and straight away both Notts batsmen looked to be in little trouble. The 100 partnership came up in 147 balls via five wides following a bouncer from Wheal (Radcliffe Road End); 10 off the 49th over. A legside single from Patterson-White off Wheal brought up his 50 off 89 balls in the 51st over. A four through backward square leg by Haynes off Fuller meant  Notts had reached 200 in the 53rd over. In the following over, Haynes was dropped on 80; an easy chance to Prest on the square leg ropes off Abbott. To rub salt into the wounds, Patterson-White then hit him for successive boundaries in the same over. Dawson replaced Abbott for the 56th over. Patterson-White hit two boundaries off three balls from Fuller in the 57th over. Haynes hit three successive boundaries off Baker in the 59th over; 13 off the over and the Hampshire heads were dropping. In the 61st over, Patterson-White hit consecutive boundaries off Baker with Notts passing 250. Patterson-White got to his 100 off 139 balls in the grandest fashion with a massive six over square leg off Baker into the Fox Road Stand. His only previous first-class ton for Notts was his 101 versus Somerset at Taunton in 2021. Two overs later,  a legside single for Haynes off Baker took him to his 100 off 137 balls in the 67th over. Haynes swept Dawson for six over square leg in the 70th over. A four through backward point by Patterson-White off Fuller brought up the 200 partnership  off 278 balls in the 71st over. In the 76th over, Brown failed to take a legside delivery from Dawson resulting in four byes with Notts passing 300. Notts 315 for 6 off 79 overs at lunch with Haynes on 117 and Patterson-White on 120. The lead now an imposing 452,

Gubbins bowled the last over before the new ball which was taken with Notts 316 for 6 off 80 overs. Haynes (120 off 176 balls; 16x4, 1x6) was run out going for two following a shot to deep mid-wicket. A sharp throw from Baker went into Brown’s gloves and the bails were whipped off. Notts 322 for 7 in the 82nd over. The 7th wicket had added 238 in 57 overs, the second highest in Notts history for that wicket. Only the 301 added by Chris Lewis and Bruce French at Ropery Lane, Chester-Le-Street against Durham in 1993 had been higher. This was the start of a collapse with Notts losing their last 4 wickets for 23. Hutton went for a four ball duck caught by Brown off Abbott; 330 for 8 in the 84th over. Ahmed was dropped on 9 by Brown off Abbott in the 90th over. Next ball, Ahmed was bowled by a full length delivery by Fuller;  345 for 9 in the 91st over. Six balls later, Patterson-White, going for an attempted pull shot, was bowled by Baker for magnificent career best 135 off 213 balls (21x4, 2x6). Notts 345 all out off 91.1 overs, the 7^th wicket stand between the two centurions knocking the stuffing out of Hampshire. Abbott, who at times appeared to be playing Notts on his own, finished with 3-62.

Hampshire needed 483 runs to win off 144 overs at 3.35 RPO. The wicket now held less menace but Hampshire put up little resistance and were bowled out by 17:26 for 116 in just 33.3 overs. It was a listless and pathetic batting effort by the visitors. Hutton and Abbas shared the new ball, Stoneman and Middleton were happy to see it off with the first five overs all being maidens. In the 9th over, Middleton (2) was lbw to Hutton, 15 for one. In his next over Hutton had Stoneman (13) caught by Verreynne; 22 for 2 in the 11th over. In the 13th over, Prest hit Hutton for two fours through third man. James replaced Abbas for the 14th over. With tea imminent a short and wide ball from James got up more than Prest (9) expected and he top edged to Verreynne;  33 for 3 off 15.3 overs with Gubbins 9 not out. Tea was immediately taken.

In the second over after tea, Brown (4) made a hash of pulling a short delivery from Hutton and skied the ball straight to Farhan at square leg; 40 for 4 in the 17th over. If that was a poor shot in the next over, Gubbins drilled James to Hameed who took the catch on the run at mid-on; 40 for 5 in the 18th over. Dawson hit Hutton for six over long leg; nine off the 19th over. In the following over, Albert was dropped on 4 by Clarke at first slip off James, but this was just a minor blip. Dawson's (17) innings went up the creek when he threw his wicket away pulling a short delivery of Hutton to Abbas at long leg; 66 for 6 in the 21st over. Three balls later, Fuller (1) flicked James straight to Patterson-White at square leg; 67 for 7 in the 22nd over. Another quite shocking shot. Three balls had passed when Albert (9) was brilliantly caught at third slip by Haynes diving low to his left off James; 68 for 8 in the 22nd over. 

Abbott (18*) hit Hutton for three boundaries in four balls; 13 off the 22^nd over. Wheal departed for a 4-ball duck being caught at mid-off by Abbas with James picking up his fifth wicket; 82 for 9 in the 24th over.  Hampshire had lost nine wickets for 67 in 15 overs. Abbott and Baker at least managed to bat for 60 balls and add 34 runs  with Hameed introducing Farhan and Patterson-White in the 29^th and 30^th overs respectively. In the 32nd over, Baker hit Patterson-White for successive legside sixes. Patterson-White ended a memorable day picking up last man and top scorer Sonny Baker (27). Floating one up Baker attempting an expansive shot could only edge the ball to Farhan at backward point. Hampshire 116 all out off 33.3 overs with James (7-1-22-5) and Hutton (13-3-56-4) sharing nine wickets. The second five match haul for Lyndon in his first-class career. Hutton meanwhile now stands at 248 first-class wickets for Notts @26.30.  Abbas had remained wicketless in his six overs. 

Notts had laid their Hampshire bogey to rest having lost six out of their last seven championship games against them - Notts drawing with them in heavily rain affected game at Welbeck in 2019. MAG

10/05

Day 2

GAME STILL IN THE BALANCE

after a day of see-sawing momentum between Abbas and Abbott

Notts lead by 308 runs with four second innings wickets standing as this fascinating game enters its third day.

On another gloriously sunny day, Notts led by the superb Mohammad Abbas dominated the morning session. Hampshire resumed on 2 for 0 after 2 overs. Hutton and Abbas carried on from last night with the new ball; Middleton in particular was repeatedly beaten outside his off stump. In the 7th over, Stoneman (14) was caught and bowled at the second attempt by Hutton, 20 for 1. Gubbins went for a 13 ball duck edging Abbas to fourth slip where Lyndon James took the catch diving to his right; 31 for 2 in the 12th over. James replaced Hutton for the 13th over. Abbas (8 2 10 1) was replaced by Hutton from the Radcliffe Road End. Middleton on drove Hutton to the boundary to bring up the Hampshire 50 in the 20th over. Middleton (30) mistimed an attempted pull shot from a James delivery that shot up off a length and he skied the ball to Verreynne who took the simple catch; 71 for 3 in the 23rd over. Patterson-White came on for the 26th over. Abbas returned for the 29th over with Prest (43) hitting his first delivery to the point boundary. The following ball went to the fine leg ropes. Abbas though got his man with his third delivery getting Prest lbw, 96 for 4. Abbas got one to move in and he removed Brown’s (3) off stump; 99 for 5 off 30.5 overs at lunch with Dawson 2 not out.

In the 33rd over, Albert fell for a 4 ball duck caught by McCann low down at second slip off Abbas, 99 for 6. Three overs later Fuller (5) was lbw to Hutton,  106 for 7. Notts led by 227 runs but Abbott (67 off 51 balls; 8x4, 3x6) decided that attack was the best form of defence as the last three Hampshire wickets added 90. Abbott applied the long handle from the word go hitting two boundaries off Hutton off the first three balls he faced. Patterson-White returned for the 40^th over, Dawson edging him for four then Abbott hitting him for six over mid-wicket – 14 off the over. Dawson fell for 19 brilliantly caught by the diving Farhan in the covers - five wickets for Abbas; 148 for 8 in the 41st over. James replaced Abbas for the 43rd over. Hutton came on for Patterson-White for the 44th over and his opening delivery was hooked for six by Abbott over  long leg – nine off the over. In a near identical dismissal of that of Middleton, a short delivery from James shot up and saw Wheal mistime a pull shot with Verreynne taking another easy catch, 178 for 9 in the 45th over. A four through point by Abbott off Hutton saw him to a hectic 50 off 36 balls in the 46th over. Abbott hit Hutton  for a straight four and then next ball pulled him for a six. Golden arm Farhan belatedly came on for the 50th over and removed Abbott (67) with his second ball caught at long on by McCann. The combined age of bowler and fielder being the same as the veteran Abbott who will turn 38 next month. Hampshire 196 all out off 49.2 overs (Baker 5 not out) with Abbas with figures of 15-4-31-5 on his debut, Hampshire loss very much Notts gain. Abbas became the third Notts bowler after O’Neill and Tongue to go nap on his Notts debut this season. Notts led by 137 runs, Hampshire rueing the host of drop catches yesterday.

Hampshire roared back into the contest as a mixture of high class bowling and some pretty average Notts batting which saw Notts slump to 84-6 in the 25^th over. Home nerves were calmed when with batting conditions visibly easing – with Brown standing up to Abbott at one point, Haynes (60*) and Patterson-White added an unbroken 87 for the 7^th wicket in the last 22 overs of the day.

Hameed (8) was bowled by Abbott, the ball keeping low, 11 for 1. Abbott having a marvellous match. Slater (13) fell to a catch at first slip by Albert diving low to his right off Abbott, 26 for 2 in the 8th over. With the second interval approaching, a dreadful shot from Clarke (11) saw him top edge a short delivery from Wheal and he was caught behind by Brown. Clarke having a miserable 2025 championship with 147 runs @21.00 with a top score of 37. Tea was immediately taken with Notts on 50 for three off 13.5 overs with McCann on 18.

Three balls after tea, McCann (18) edged an attempted drive and was caught behind by Brown off Fuller; 50 for 4. Verreynne (9), showed poor judgment and was bowled shouldering arms to Wheal, 59 for 5 in the 18th over. Notts lead a slender 196. Haynes momentarily broke the shackles by hitting three consecutive boundaries off Fuller, two through mid-wicket and one through point, 13 off the 23rd over. Sonny Baker took a wicket with his first delivery, James (4) pulling a long hop straight to Dawson at mid-wicket, 84 for 6 in the 25th over. A dreadful dismissal, Notts well and truly digging their own hole. Patterson-White joined Haynes and set about repairing the damage only 15 runs were added in eight overs as hatches were battened down. Haynes hit a mid-wicket boundary off Baker to take Notts to three figures in the 33rd over. Notts stood at 112-6 after 36 overs but then accelerated adding a further 59 runs in the final 10 overs. Patterson-White hit two boundaries off Baker in the 37th over. An off driven  boundary by Patterson-White off Wheal brought up the 50 partnership off 93 balls. A straight driven boundary by Haynes off Fuller brought up his 50 off 71 balls. Dawson came on for the 42nd over with an edged boundary by Haynes bringing up the Notts 150. Fourteen came off the 43^rd over. Patterson-White straight driving Wheal for 4, smashing him for six over square leg and the following delivery for four through point. Notts closed on 171-6 off 46 overs at 18:54, Patterson-White and Haynes batting well and determinedly, the team spirit remains high.

The wicket is losing its pace, however batting against the new ball remains hazardous, Notts must ensure they get a sufficient lead tomorrow so they have time to take a second new ball if required. Much hangs on the shoulders of Abbas who bowled brilliantly today. The pitch has really favoured Hampshire over Notts, possessing the fastest three bowlers in the match. It shows the quality of McCann’s innings yesterday and also the fact that Notts catching has been far superior to their Hampshire counterparts in what for the most part has been very testing batting conditions. MAG

09/05 

Day 1

MAGNIFICENT McCANN CENTURY KEEPS NOTTS IN THE FIGHT

A magnificent 138 (off 217 balls, 15x1, 1x6) by Freddie McCann got Notts out of a huge hole today having slumped to 82-4 at lunch after being inserted. McCann shared partnerships  of 78, 71 and 59 for the fifth, sixth and seventh wickets with Verreynne, James and Patterson-White who all scored 33. Notts then collapsed once more losing their last four wickets for 43 against the second new ball to finish on 333. Hampshire openers Stoneman and Middleton faced two overs from Hutton and their former favourite Abbas to close on 2-0 off 2 overs when stumps were drawn at 18:35.

Notts were missing Duckett and Tongue on a England team bonding camp and in came McCann and James. With O’Neill now departed, Mohammad Abbas finally made his Notts debut. The Pakistani right-armer had signed for Notts in 2020 but Covid scuppered any appearances and he went off to play for the visitors for four seasons. With Pennington still in the sick bay, Notts decided to change pitches and elected to have a pitch on the Fox Road side of the square. It was expected to lack pace. Unfortunately it initially had plenty of speed and carry, a very bad toss to lose. 

In bright and sunny conditions, Slater and Hameed struggled along for 20 overs constantly playing and missing against Abbott (Pavilion End) and Wheal. In the 3rd over, Slater was dropped on 1 by Albert at second slip off Abbott. Fuller replaced Wheal from the Radcliffe Road End in the 10th over. In the 11th over Slater was dropped on 9 off Abbott, an absolute sitter to Prest at first slip. Wheal changed ends to replace Abbott for the 15th over. A four through backward point by Slater off Wheal saw Notts to 50 in the 17th over. Notts had seemed to have weathered the storm. However they then lost 4 wickets  for 20 runs in eight overs in the run-up to the interval. Slater fell on 31 driving Fuller straight to Gubbins at cover; 62 for 1 in the 20th over. Four balls later Hameed (25) edged Fuller to keeper Brown; 63 for two. Abbott returned for the 23rd over. The much trumpeted Sonny Baker came on for the 24th over but failed to really impress bowling 13 expensive wicketless overs for 56. In the 25th over, Clarke was lbw to the extremely tricky Abbott for 6, 74 for 3. On the last ball before lunch Haynes was lbw for 2 – the ball rebounded to Fuller at 3^rd slip who took the catch. Notts 82-4 off 27 overs with McCann on 11. Advantage Hampshire, their seamers making full use of helpful conditions.

Fuller and Abbott bowled after lunch, batting now getting much easier against the older ball. A pulled boundary by McCann off Fuller brought up the Notts 100 in the 34th over. Baker came back for the 36^th over. Verreynne and McCann were batting sensibly. A single for Verreynne off Baker brought up the 50 partnership off 100 balls in the 44th over. Dawson came on for the 46th over. McCann took two boundaries off Fuller in the 49^th over including a lofted four through third man which saw him to 50 off 94 balls. Abbott returned for the 53rd over and with his fifth ball removed Verreynne (33) lbw to a well-pitched up delivery, the South African playing across the line. Notts 160 for 5. Baker returned for the 61st over, James hitting his opening delivery for a mid-wicket boundary. Notts 195 for 5 off 64 overs at tea with McCann on 72 and James on 16. They had added 113 runs in the second session losing just a single wicket.

James hit Baker for a square leg boundary and then for four via a beautifully timed cover drive, nine off the 61^st over. A single for James saw Notts to 200 in the 65th over. The 50 partnership came up in 89 balls in the 68th over. James was dropped on 29 at first slip by Prest off Wheal, the ball deflecting onto the helmet, five penalty runs. James late cut Dawson for four. Attempting the same shot the next ball he was bowled by the slow left armer for 33; 231 for 6 in the 72nd over. In the 74th over, Patterson-White hit consecutive offside boundaries off Dawson. Patterson-White cover drove Baker for four to bring up Notts 250 in the 76th over. A reverse swept boundary for the confident McCann off Dawson saw him to his third first-class ton off 179 balls in the 78th over. Dawson bowled 18 overs for his 1-73.

Prest came on for a single over for the 79th over. The new ball was taken with Notts 277 for 6 off 80 overs. With the first delivery with the new ball McCann hit Abbott to the cover ropes to bring up the 50 partnership with Patterson-White off 51 balls. Patterson-White (33) shouldered arms to a peach of a ball that came back in from Abbott;  290 for 7 in the 83rd over. Notts reached 300 in the 84th over via a four through long on by McCann off Wheal. Hutton (5) had a swish at Abbott and edged through to Brown, a fifth wicket for Abbott, 304 for 8. McCann hit Abbott for consecutive boundaries in the 87th over. A short ball from Wheal was gloved by Farhan (5) to Prest at first slip, 320 for 9 in the 89th over. Abbas edged his first delivery for four off Wheal. McCann hit Wheal for six over extra cover. McCann (138) was the last man to fall caught at deep point by Middleton off Fuller, 333 all out off 91.1 overs. McCann innings (see wagon wheel below) was chanceless and he played with calmness and maturity throughout, 106 of his 138 runs came on the offside. The superb Abbott (21-7-57-5) was well supported by Fuller (17.1-2-56-3). The second new ball was still giving the Hampshire bowlers assistance.

Notts will be hoping for early wickets tomorrow on another day which is expected to bring continuous sunshine. The wicket though will get easier and the Notts pace trio do not possess the same pace as the Hampshire seam quartet. McCann’s wonderful innings and gritty resistance from Verreynne, James and Patterson-White has kept Notts in the game against proven First Division opposition. MAG

08/05

ECB bonding and injuries have had their toll on table topping Notts..

The 13 man squad:

Haseeb Hameed

Ben Slater

Freddie McCann

Joe Clarke

Jack Haynes

Matt Montgomery

Kyle Verreynne

Lyndon James

Liam Patterson-White

Brett Hutton

Farhan Ahmed

Mohammad Abbas

James Hayes

So how many debuts tomorrow, 0,1 or 2? answer 2 but not how we'd have expected it last night.

Still no word from Pravda on the whereabouts of Mohammad Abbas...

Pravda posted at 8.00 AM this morning his arrival.

Daniel Sams is said to be already in West Bridgford.

06/05

Who's available for Notts and who isn't?

There's mixed signals as regards Ducketts availability, but the ECB are most certainly likely to rest their man Tongue now that the Test squad has been announced.

The fitness of Pennington and McKerr remain  guarded secrets, as Glasnost hasn't reached Pravda yet.

Nor has Pravda been forthcoming with any news about Mohammad Abbas' current location...

Notts, even resting out the latest round, still sit top of the heap with only Warwickshire having the same number of wins (2), the rest of the division all have one win to date (apart from bottom placed Worcestershire - zero). 

Can Notts maintain their position, take 20 wickets and bag another win?

Hampshire will arrive on the back of a high scoring draw against Durham at Southampton.

Day 1 at lunch will be the first of 2025's Members' Forums which on this occasion is being held in Hadlee Hall in the Radcliffe Road stand.

A pre-season preview of our opponents:

HAMPSHIRE

Previewed by Alex Smith - ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay

Captain: Ben Brown

Head Coach: Adi Birrell

2024 finish: Second

2024 highest run-scorer: James Vince (986)

2024 highest wicket-taker: Liam Dawson (54)

Key winter moves: The winter has been tumultuous with James Vince moving to Dubai – after attacks on his family house last summer - while Mo Abbas hasn’t been retained as overseas. That is over 1,000 runs and 36 wickets from last season alone to recover. Experienced top-order batter Mark Stoneman has been added to somewhat fill the Vince void, while a battery of fast bowlers will replace Abbas. Sonny Baker, who has arrived from Somerset, is one of them.

What we’re looking forward to seeing: The fastest of fast bowling attacks. Abbas’ exit frees up space for some of the quickest young talent on the circuit. Baker, John Turner, Scott Currie, Brad Wheal and Eddie Jack can all bowl in the vicinity of 90mph. Kyle Abbott will once again lead the attack, with the experienced heads of Keith Barker and James Fuller helping to oversee the crop of wunderkinder.

Player to watch: Tom Prest will soften the blow of Vince's migration. He ticks the batting aesthetic, quick-scoring and slip fielding boxes, and most importantly the run scoring. Prest is quite simply a Vince clone with 24 rather than 14 on his back. Three centuries last year at an average of just over 48 suggest he could not only get out of Vince's shadow in 2025, but eclipse it.

Final thought: Hampshire have finished in the top three in each of the past three seasons, with 2024’s second-place finish their highest since 2005. One further step shouldn’t be that big, and yet without Vince it feels massive. Ben Brown is now captain, with the likes of Nick Gubbins and the increasingly impressive Liam Dawson crucial in filling the leadership and batting vacuum. Indian-based GMR Group took over Hampshire over the winter – making them the first overseas-owned county - although little is expected to change off the field in 2025.