Report & Reaction: Nottinghamshire v Hampshire Men, Rothesay County Championship

Rothesay County Championship - Day 1: Trent Bridge: Nottinghamshire 377, Hampshire 12-0. Nottinghamshire lead by 365 runs.

From ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay

Joe Clarke’s fourth hundred of an outstanding campaign revived champions Nottinghamshire from early peril after Kyle Abbott’s three morning wickets helped take his season’s tally for Hampshire to 57 at 15.12 overnight. Bravura late strokeplay from Liam Patterson-White, however, with 92 from 91 balls, completed a rousing finale.

Nottinghamshire, four points behind the Rothesay County Championship title leaders Somerset at the close, posted 377 at Trent Bridge against visitors who remain in acute danger of returning to second-division cricket for the first time since 2014. They were xxx-xx at the close

Though bouyed perhaps by the news that Leicestershire may face a loss of points for their Grace Road pitch, and no decision has yet been announced regarding a possible penalty for Surrey too, Hampshire still need to close an improbable 30-point gap to be safe.

No such worries for Nottinghamshire as Clarke moved to 105, adding 78 for the third wicket with Jack Haynes (48) and 136 with Mitchell Hay for the fourth as the Kiwi, his side’s fifth overseas signing this summer, made 49 on county debut. Liam Patterson-White’s onslaught cemented then three batting points

It seemed either reckless or very bold first thing that Nottinghamshire should unveil an emerald green pitch against an attack led by Abbott, one of the most successful overseas seamers ever to grace the circuit. Within eight overs, put in, they were 20-3. Abbott removed Haseeb and Freddie McCann before Ben Slater skied a pull off Scott Currie, each going for single figures.

Slater had earlier taken a withering blow to the arm when defending himself against a chest-high full toss from Eddie Jack only to fall, after a long stoppage, four overs later. At that point neither new batter had faced and indeed Clarke took 22 balls to get off the mark.

Haynes, however, feasted on Jack, wayward on the eve of his 21^st birthday, and at one point took two sixes and a four in four balls from debutant seamer Manny Lumsden, so impressive for Engand U-19 in their victory over Pakistan in the youth Test last week but sorely punished here.

After 64 had been plundered in eight overs, Abbott, now in his fortieth year, returned to undo Haynes for 48 from 46 balls as lunch came at 106-4. He should have claimed another when Hay, on 29, was missed at second slip in the afternoon.

 For all his repute as a white-ball dasher, the New Zealander was impressively content to bed in, supporting Clarke until cutting at a lifting ball from Jack and edging behind 25 minutes from tea.

Clarke, then 99, completed his century from 159 balls next over but, driving at Currie, he gave wicket-keeper Ben Brown his fifth catch. A first batting point had just been secured by the interval on 262-6.

Hay’s Canterbury teammate back home, Fraser Sheat, out for five, soon brought Abbott’s next  success on resumption but Patterson-White, fresh from a not-out hundred in his last innings five days earlier, added 44 with Olly Stone who provided Lumsden with his maiden wicket in finding Brown’s gloves yet again.

The third delivery with the new ball, taken immediately, denied Abbott his five-wicket bag when Dillon Pennington escaped on four. Happily, the South African’s Hampshire career haul still stands at 535 dismissals.

The reprieve was costly: the ninth wicket added another 39 (47 from just seven overs in all) before Pennington fell swiping at Currie who took the running catch at cover off his own bowling as Patterson-White’s skier, with nine men on the boundary, finally ended his carnage.

He had overseen 112 runs from the last three wickets against a wilting attack, though Currie at least had the slightly flattering consolation of four for 61.