Surrey Rothesay County Championship Div 1 at Trent Bridge Draw 13 pts Report

 

11/05

Day 4

DUCKETT DOUBLE TON IN DRAWN MATCH

After three days of high intensity cricket in this top of the table clash, the last day at Trent Bridge turned into a soporific non-event with Surrey never looking like making significant inroads into the Notts batting.

On a cold cloudy morning with a stiff northernly wind, it was certainly cricket for the diehards. In fact the thermometer registered 8 degrees C throughout the first session

Overnight pair Slater and Duckett took the second wicket partnership to 99 in 24 overs. Slater (50 off 85 balls, 4x4 1x6) reached his 50 off 83 balls with a slashed four to third man off Clark (Pavilion End) in the 28th over. Slater (50) was out in Clark's next over caught behind by Smith; 118 for 2 in the 30th over, The second wicket added 99. Duckett reached his 50 off 91 balls with a square leg four in the 36th over.

Joe Clarke was dropped on 25 by Sibley at long leg attempting to pull a short ball from Topley; twelve off the 44th over. Clarke hit Lawrence for a square leg six into The Fridge in the 45th over. Just before lunch Duckett was hit on his bottom hand after delivery from Abbott reared up, but after treatment he was fit to continue. Notts got to lunch on 219 for 2 off 55 overs with Duckett on 92 and Clarke on 49. With the Notts lead now 185 and the pitch as flat as a pancake the game was over as a contest.

Umpires Blackwell and Llong had failed to set their watches correctly as bizarrely lunch only lasted 35 minutes, they though ensured that the players went off for tea at 15:35.

Clarke never quite got going after lunch. Having reached 50 off 80 balls he was lbw to Worrall for 59 (off 93 balls, 7x4, 1x6) in the 61^st over (Notts 237-3). Clarke has now scored 734 runs @81.55 this season. Two balls earlier  Duckett got to his 100 off 166 balls with a single down to third man off Worrall – his first for Notts since April 2024 (218 at Edgbaston) and 11^th for Notts. The 3rd wicket partnership had added 119  in 31 overs. Lawrence had a long bowl, Duckett hitting him for a straight six in the 70th over. Surrey declined the use of the new ball. Duckett got to 150 off 252 balls with a single off Lawrence in the 90th over. By the time Sibley came on for the last over before tea the match was comatose. Notts 353-3 off 93 overs at tea with Duckett on 165 and Haynes, who got to his 50 in 95 balls, on 51.

Off the seventh ball after tea, Haynes played Adam Thomas to backward point. After hesitating with non-striker Duckett, Haynes went for the single but was well short after Ryan Patel threw the ball to the bowler. Haynes run out for 53 (off 99 balls, 5x4); 359-4 in the 95th over. The 4^th wicket stand worth 122 in 34 overs. More occasional bowlers appeared with Patel and Burns entering the “action”. In the last over of the game, prior to the handshakes at 16:50, a lofted straight four by Duckett off the Surrey skipper took him to his fourth double ton for Notts off 308 balls. Notts declared on 414-4 off 107 overs with Duckett on 203 (off 311 balls, 23x4, 1x6) and Verreynne on 19.

Notts lead the championship by six points from second placed Warwickshire. On Friday, they head to the concrete and soulless bowl just north of Southampton to play Division 1 cellar dwellers Hampshire. MAG

10/05

Day 3

LAWRENCE TON BUT DRAW LOOMS

On what appears to be an easing pitch, Notts lead by 65 runs with nine second innings standing as this top of the table clash enters the final day.

Tongue and Patterson-White were bowling first thing. Thomas hit Patterson-White to the fine leg ropes and cut him through point, eight off the 75th over. In the next over, the fifty partnership came up in 81 balls with a pulled four by Lawrence off Tongue. James replaced Tongue for the 78th over, an edged four for Thomas bringing up the Surrey 250. O'Neill and Stone took the new ball with Surrey 255 for 4 off 80 overs. Thomas and Lawrence saw it off relatively easily. 

Patterson-White  came back for the 91st over and Thomas hit him for a huge six over mid-wicket, Thomas was dropped at second slip by Duckett on 37 off the returning Tongue in the 92nd over not as it turned out a particularly costly miss. Tongue was to bowl the best spell of the morning.

Lawrence got to his 100 off 138 balls with an edged four off Patterson-White in the 93rd over. The 300 came up in the following over with a four through mid-wicket by Thomas off Tongue. Lawrence (104 off 152 balls, 15x4, 1x6), going for a drive, edged Tongue to Verreynne who took the chance, 305 for 5 in the 98th over. The 5th wicket stand added 108 in 35 overs. On the stroke of lunch Thomas (46) bottom edged an attempted pull shot off Tongue onto his stumps. Lunch was immediately taken with Surrey 306 for 6 off 99.3 overs with Atkinson on 1. Those two late wickets for Tongue bringing parity to the morning session.

Patterson-White and Tongue continued after lunch. Straight after the interval, Atkinson got hit twice on the head by England colleague Tongue in the 102nd over (315-6) and the 104th over (321-6). Both times Atkinson passed the concussion protocols. Clark hit two fours off Tongue, eight off the 108th over. Surrey needed nine off the 110th over to gain their third batting point, but only scored four singles off Tongue with the fielders well set back. Surrey 345 for 6 off 110 overs, 

O'Neill returned for the 112th over, with Surrey  reaching 350 via a single for Atkinson.  The 50 partnership between Clark and Atkinson came up in 90 balls with a four for Atkinson off Patterson-White. Atkinson though appeared to be struggling and retired hurt on 27 with concussion with Surrey 357 for 6 off 115 overs. Sean Abbott replaced him. James replaced Patterson-White from the Pavilion End for the 117th over. 

With the mist rolling in from the City Ground with the second half just about to start, Stone replaced O'Neill for the 120th over and with his second delivery removed Abbott’s off stump, the Aussie making seven; 377 for 7. Pope replaced Abbott with Lord bringing on the drinks! Pope nursing a hand injury coming in at nine. James went for ten in the 121st over 

Clark cut Stone for 6 over point in the 122nd over. Patterson-White returned for the 125th over with Clark reaching 50 off 67 balls with a four to long leg. Clark (54 off 84 balls;9x4, 1x6) was stumped by the juggling Verreynne off Patterson-White; 405 for 8 in the 129th over. At tea Surrey were 410 for 8 off 133 overs with Pope on 9 and Worrall on 3.

Surrey took the lead in the first over after tea bowled by James which went for 11, fours for both Pope and Worrall. Worrall hit Patterson-White for six over mid-wicket in the following over.  Worrall (20) was lbw to Patterson-White on the sweep; 433 for 9 in the 137th over.

Reece Topley (12) came in as a concussion substitute for Atkinson and after hitting a couple of boundaries was last man out caught by Stone running towards extra cover off Patterson-White. Surrey 449 all out off 138.3 overs with Pope 19 not out. Tongue 4 for 89 and Patterson-White 4 for 135 the stand out bowlers.

Surrey led by 34 runs. Worrall and Abbott shared the new ball. When Hameed (12) was bowled by Abbott for 12; Notts looked to be struggling on 19 for 1 in the 6th over. Duckett hit his third and fourth deliveries for four through third man off Abɓott, the first an edge just wide of slip. But slowly the partnership between him and Slater grew.

With Notts 41-1, Clark replaced Worrall for the 13th over. A four through extra cover by Duckett off Abbott brought up the Notts 50 in the 14th over. Clark conceded 10 in the 15th over including two off drives by Duckett for four.  Reece Topley came on for the 16th over with the 50-partnership coming up in 62 balls with a single for Slater. Lawrence came on for the 17th over and went for four in his four overs. Slater pulled Topley for six over backward square leg in the 18th over. Topley went for nine in the last over of the day included a lofted pull for 4 through square leg. Notts 99-1 off 24 overs when the stumps were finally drawn at 1837 with Slater on 42 and Duckett on 35.MAG

09/05

Day 2

MATCH DELICATELY POISED

After a hard fought second day, Surrey trail Notts by 204 runs with six first innings wickets standing.

Resuming on a sunny morning Notts lost a wicket without adding to their overnight score. Clarke (129 off 224 balls, 13x4), facing his second ball of the morning, was caught behind by Smith off Abbott, 317 for 8 in the 93rd over. Stone joined O’Neill and the run scoring virtually ground to a halt. Notts scoring 8 runs off the first 7.1 overs of the morning. Atkinson came on for the 101st over, with Stone finally getting off the mark off his 35th ball with an offside two. Clark came on for the 102nd over. O'Neill (41) got a thick edge to Atkinson, Burns taking the catch at first slip, 341 for 9 in the 103rd over – 24 runs added in 12 overs for the loss of 2 wickets.

Stone and Tongue then batted brilliantly whilst sharing in a last wicket stand of 74 in 15.3 overs to frustrate Surrey.

Tongue hit Clark for four through square leg to bring up the 350 in the 106th over. Stone hit three boundaries off Clark; 14 plus four leg byes off the 108th over. Abbott bowled the 110th over. Notts 381 for 9 at the bonus point cut-off. A single for Tongue off Abɓott brought up the 50 partnership in 56 balls in the 112th over. Lawrence came on for the 115th over and a dab for two by Tongue to third man took Notts passed 400. Worrall returned for the 116th over. At 12:53, Stone (38) was caught behind by Smith off Worrall. Notts 415 all out off 118 overs. Tongue 37 not out. Worrall outstanding with 6 for 73. A curate’s egg of an innings for Notts - 18-2 to 251-3 then 256-7 before finally 415 all out. They would be well satisfied with the score given the fact they were inserted. Lunch was taken between the innings.

O'Neill (Radcliffe Road End) and Tongue shared the new ball. Tongue was hit for two fours by Burns in the 6th over With Surrey 21 for 0 off 7 overs, Stone came on from the Pavilion End. Burns mistimed a pull shot from a short ball from Stone, the bowler taking the top edge at short cover; 39 for 1 in the 12th over. Tongue changed ends and returned for the 13th over. Sibley and Smith became entrenched against testing bowling adding 12 runs in 8.2 overs.

James replaced Stone for the 20th over and conceded 7 runs. O'Neill returned to the 23rd over. Sibley got consecutive fours off O’Neill in the 25th over. Patterson-White came on for the 30th over. Stone returned for the 31st over. Sibley reached his 50 off 116 balls with a four through backward point off Stone in the 35th over. Surrey got to tea on 119 for one off 37 overs with Sibley on 55 and Smith on 29. A very steady start for the visitors.

After a warm first two sessions, the wind got up after tea and the blue sky started to get somewhat misty towards stumps with floodlights being switched on.

Patterson-White changed ends straight after tea with Tongue as his bowling partner. Tongue went for a short ball barrage and was proving a real handful. Smith (37) gloved him to leg slip where Duckett caught the looping ball; 131 for 2 in the 44th over. The second wicket stand added 92 in 32 overs.

Patel (2) lasted eight balls before fending Tongue straight to Slater at short leg; 137 for 3 in the 48th over. Lawrence (52* off 67 balls) gave impetus to the scoring rate with Sibley plodding along. O'Neill returned for the 50th over. Consecutive fours for Lawrence off Patterson-White brought up the Surrey 150 in the 51st over. Stone replaced O'Neill for the 58th over. Lawrence hoisted Patterson-White for six over mid-wicket; ten off the 59th over. The 50 partnership came up in 76 balls with a pulled four by Lawrence off Stone in the 60th over. James replaced Stone for the 62nd over and had Lawrence dropped on 42 by Patterson-White running towards square leg – a difficult chance in the swirling wind. Sibley (77 off 196 balls, 9x4) changed his bat and next ball edged Patterson-White behind with Verreynne taking the catch, 197 for 4 in the 63rd over. Sibley had played in his typical methodical fashion – a throwback to the pre-internet age. The 200 came up in the 65th over via a legside four by Lawrence off Patterson-White. In the 67th over, Patterson-White got a ball to stay worryingly low and next delivery he produced a delivery with high bounce – the first signs of possible wear in the surface.

 Surrey got to the close on 211-4 off 89 overs with Thomas 6 not out. A fascinating day in prospect for tomorrow. MAG

08/05

Day 1

CENTURION CLARKE STEADFAST AS WORRALL WORRIES CHAMPIONS

Honours were even after a topsy turvy opening day in the top of the table clash at Trent Bridge today.

Notts had O’Neill and Tongue back in the line-up for Hutton (calf) and Pennington (rested). Surrey inserted Notts on a green pitch which although offering some movement generally behaved well

Hameed took seven off Gus Atkinson’s (Pavilion End) opening over Atkinson shared the new ball with Dan Worrall on a sunny morning. Slater got two fours through third man in the third over. Notts though made a circumspect start. Hameed (7) was comfortably caught by second slip Pope off Worrall, 15 for 1 off 6 overs. Four overs later, the in-form Slater (9) was well caught low down in his follow through by Worrall; 18 for 2 in the 10th over. Clark replaced Atkinson for the 11th over and went for seven including a square leg four for Duckett. Abbott came on for Worrall (6-3-8-2) for the 14th over. The Notts 50 came up via cover driven boundary by Duckett off Clark; nine off the 17th over. Atkinson returned for the 19th over. The 50 partnership came up in 71 balls with a single for Duckett off Abɓott in the 22nd over. Worrall came back for the 26th over and after conceding eight of his first six overs went for 13 – a boundary for Duckett and two successive fours for Clarke. Surrey knowing Duckett can get over ambitious against spin brought Lawrence on for the 27th over with the 100 coming up via an edged four by Duckett. In the last over before lunch Duckett (42) gloved an excellent short ball from Worrall, keeper Smith taking a good catch diving to his right, 105 for three off 27.5 overs with Clarke on 39. Honours even – the 3rd wicket had added 87 in 18 overs. Lunch was immediately taken.

Haynes hit the first delivery after lunch from Worrall to the long leg ropes. Jordan Clark was his bowling partner. Clarke and Haynes were to bat throughout the session adding 134 in 36.1 overs in entertaining fashion. Abbott replaced Worrall from the Radcliffe Road End for the 38th over, Haynes hitting him for two boundaries; ten off the over. Lawrence and Atkinson came back for the 41st and 42nd overs respectively. Both batters were making steady progress Clarke getting to his 50 off 108 balls with a single off Lawrence in the 43rd over. In the next over the 50 partnership came up in 96 balls following a single for Clarke off Atkinson. Sean Abbott returned for the 50th over, Haynes hitting the Aussie for two backward point boundaries. Lawrence after a six over spell made way for Clark with Haynes reaching his 50 off 86 balls with a four through third man; 10 off the 53rd over. A single for Clarke off Abbott brought up the 200 in the 54th over. Adam Thomas came on bowling slow medium pace in the 56th over. The South African born former Cranleigh School pupil had scored a century on his first-class debut against Sussex last week. The 100 partnership came up in 172 balls with a single for Haynes off Clark in the 57th over. Surrey successfully had the ball replaced with Notts at 218-3 after 58.4 overs. Clarke hit consecutive fours off Thomas, 12 off the 60th over. Atkinson came back for the 61st over. Notts got to tea on 239 for 3 off 64 overs with Clarke on 93 and Haynes on 77. Very much Notts’ session.

Clarke reached his 100 in 169 balls with a legside single off Atkinson in the 67th over. Later in the same over Notts reached 250. With afternoon sun replaced by cloud cover, the game dramatically changed as Notts lost four wickets for five runs in 21 balls. Firstly, Jack Haynes (82 off 131 balls, 12x4) fell to another outstanding low caught and bowled chance by Worrall, 251-4 – the 4th wicket partnership 146 in 40 overs. Worrall took his fifth wicket and the second in the 68th over when Verreynne was duck caught at second slip by Thomas for a three-ball duck; 251-5. Abbott came back in the 69th over. In his second over of his spell, Abbott picked up two wickets in three excellent balls. James (2) getting a thin edge to keeper Smith who took the catch; 256-6. Two balls later, Patterson-White was bowled for a 2-ball duck, 256-7 in the 71st over. With the new ball not far away, Clark replaced Worrall for the 72nd over and Clarke and O’Neill added 61 runs in 20.1 overs before the premature close with 31 balls not bowled.

The floodlights were now on when Thomas returned for the 78th over and bowled two overs. The new ball was then taken by Atkinson and Worrall with Notts 277-7 off 80 overs. O'Neill hit consecutive boundaries off Worrall; 9 off the 84th over. A single to third man by Clarke off Atkinson took Notts to 300 in the 89th over. The fifty partnership came up in 117 balls with a flashed four over the slips by O'Neill off Worrall in the 90th over which went for eight runs. Abbott came on for the 91st over and two legside successive deliveries were glanced for four by Clarke to fine leg. Much to everyone’s surprise the over was not completed as bad light stopped play at 18:14 with Notts 317 for 7 off 90.5 overs. O’Neill (31 not out) proved a fine foil to Clarke who finished the day on a superb and chanceless 129 not out off 222 balls (13x4). He has now scored 675 runs @96.42 and remains the leading scorer in the 2026 County Championship. Clarke along with Worrall (20-6-61-5), whose family roots are in Nottingham, were today’s standout performers in this eagerly-anticipated encounter. Worrall making his first appearance of the season for the Brown Caps after recovering from injury. MAG

07/05

Haseeb Hameed c

Ben Slater

Ben Duckett

Freddie McCann

Joe Clarke

Jack Haynes

Kyle Verreynne x

Lyndon James

Liam Patterson-White

Fergus O'Neill

Josh Tongue

Olly Stone

Dillon Pennington

06/05

This round the Champions take on perennial favourites for the Championship, Surrey.

All talk in the media has been around the growing availability of Surrey's expansive squad, whilst Notts hasn't got a mention.

Fingers and toes are all crossed for Fergus O'Neill's return, but would a green seamer pitch better suit Surrey who don't have a frontline spinner, but do have a full deck of quicks to choose from?

Some interesting decisions to be made by the whole of the Notts staff...