Nottinghamshire v Lancashire at Trent Bridge May 10-12

Neil Whitaker

Day 1

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE’S Dillon Pennington took three wickets for 14 with the new ball to swing the match towards Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge.

At 273 for four with 14 overs left in the day Nottinghamshire were facing another hard day in the field  then in the second over with new ball Pennington got his reward for his efforts. He struck with his first over with the new ball when he got one to rise at George Bell taking the outside  of his bat and Tom Moores took a comfortable catch at first slip,his second catch of the day there.  Earlier Pennington found the edge of his bat when he   followed the ball on  five but the ball dropped short of Will Young at third slip.

Pennington got his second wicket in his next over when Matthew Hurst edged him and Will Young at third slip took a good low catch at third slip. Tom Hartley pushed at Pennington, edged it and Calvin Harrison at second slip took the catch diving to his right in front of Moores.

Olly Stone said: “It was nice to get those four wickets with the  new ball at the end and to get those wickets showed how well we bowled.  I thought Pennington’s bowling was hostile and has got control. The way he came back was a credit to him. It’s nice to have three bowlers who can bowl aggressively.  We’ve got healthy competition for places which is good but a coaches nightmare.”

Kiwi Tom Bruce and George Bell had added 77 in 13 overs and rarely looked in trouble coming together after Lancashire had lost two quick wickets in three overs.  Lancashire captain Keaton Jennings fell nine short off his second Vitality championship century of the season and  he looked set to be there at the close.  He looked to blast Harrison out of the attack, he  smashed the leg spinner  into the Radcliffe road stand for a six.  He  pulled Dane Paterson to the square leg boundary to bring up the hundred partnership with Balderson off 158 balls.

Jennings lofted Paterson over and wide of Haseeb Hameed at mid off to the extra cover boundary. He flayed Pennington to cover boundary to reach his fifty from 128 balls with ten fours.

He carved a wide ball from Pennington to the cover boundary for his best shot of the day. Pennington responded with a peach of a ball and had a good leg before shout.

Then with a hundred on the cards before tea he reversed swept  Harrison to Tom Moores at slip.  Yes Moores at first slip, he comes into the side for  Ben Duckett while Joe Clarke continues behind the stumps.

Bruce was the last wicket to fall in the penultimate over when he tried to turn Paterson to leg and was leg before. He said: “It was enjoyable to spend some time out in the middle after a rough start to the season but it would have been nice if I had been unbeaten at the close.  We would have liked to have lost only five or six wickets at the end but I thought they bowled well with the second new ball. We have got the runs on the board and hopefully we can put them under pressure. It’s definitely a new ball wicket.”

After winning the toss and decided to bat  on a pitch with green tinge Lancashire lost their first wicket when Luke Wells pushed at Paterson, edged it and Harrison at third slip took a tumbling catch moving to his left.

Josh Bohannon miss timed a drive off Paterson and the ball went up in the air but Bohannon had got that much power into his shot that the ball flew  over cover for a six.

Nottinghamshire thought they had Bohannon on 13 when he tried to pull Pennington but missed the ball. On the stroke of lunch Bohannon tried to play Lyndon James to leg but  missed  the ball and was leg before.

Sones got his reward for some good bowling throughout the day when he trapped Balderson leg before.  After two short balls he pitched one up and Bladerson was plumb leg before and Stone celebrated with clinched fists as he fell to his knees.





Day 2

NNOTTINGHAMSHIRE captain Haseeb Hameed hit his first Vitality Championship century of the season and his  first against his former club.

The Nottinghamshire innings  almost mirrored Lancashire’s but Haseeb Hameed went better than his Lancashire counterpart the next top scorer was 35, whereas Lancashire second top score was 73.  Both teams lost wickets after a strong middle order partnership, both teams lost a wicket on the stroke of tea and both teams lost wickets with the second new ball.

Haseeb Hameed, who left Lancashire after the 2019 season turned  George Balderson off his legs to the backward square leg boundary to bring up his first century in Division one since he hit two for Lancashire against Yorkshire at Emirates Old Trafford when he scored 108 in both innings. It was  his seventh for Nottinghamshire and his 13th First class century. But he was nearly on his way back to the hutch without adding to his score when played back to Tom Hartley and top edged a cut but Luke Wells at slip couldn’t hold on  to it. 


He said: “I felt that there was always a ball there that would get you out and that kept me honest. But it got a lot easier the longer you were in.  It was hard to score at any  fast rate. It was nice to spend so much time in the middle. As the captain I’d like to contribute in any way I can and now that I’ve scored my first century as captain I can build on that. It doesn’t matter that it was against Lancashire, I’d feel the same against whoever I scored a century.  I’ve been here over four years so I don't feel like it’s me playing against Lancashire.”

He shared in a fifth wicket partnership of 87 in 23 overs with Jack Haynes  but their partnership nearly ended before it began when Haynes turned Will Williams to leg and Haseeb Hameed turned for two but was sent back by Haynes who changed his mind and they just completed two runs.  Lancashire did break it but not until the final over before tea when Haynes pushed forward at  Balderson but left his bat in the air and was bowled.

The pair came together when  Nottinghamshire  lost two wickets for two runs in 11 balls, both to  Balderson.  First he  squared Joe Clarke up who feathered it through to stumper Matty Hurst, the pair combined to get Lancashire’s next wicket in Balderson’s  next over.  Tom Moores had a big swing edged it and Hurst leapt in the air to show his delight.

Haseeb Hameed reached his first fifty of the season when he pushed on Williams on the legside for a single. His fifty came from 99 balls with eight fours.

The Nottinghamshire captain beautifully drilled Saqib Mahmood to the long off boundary to take him into the 70’s.  He whipped  Hartley to the.mid wicket boundary just beating Balderson who ran round from square leg.

Lancashire thought they had Haseeb Hameed caught behind  on 42 when he played at a rising ball from Tom Bailey but the Nottinghamshire captain had dropped his hands and umpire Tom Lungley was unmoved.

Resuming on 306 for eight, Williams threw everything at Dillon Pennington and the ball flew over the slips to the boundary to get off the mark and that was that from Williams. He hung his bat out to Olly Stone and edged it to Calvin Harrison at second slip who took an easy catch.

Bailey decided to attack Pennington and quickly doubled his overnight score and was unbeaten on 31 when Saqib Mahmood chipped Stone to Haseeb Hameed at cover.

Stone finished with three for 58, while Pennington’s figures were ruined by Bailey’s onslaught took three for 68.

Lancashire got an early breakthrough in the sixth over when Ben  Slater edged a drive off Saqib Mahmood to George  Bell at third slip who took a routine catch.

Will Young had a torrid time against Bailey who kept beating him, it took Young ten balls to get off the mark when he drove Saqib Mahmood to the long on boundary.  On 17 he edged a drive off Williams but Tom Bruce at second slip put down the regulation chance.  His innings finally ended when he shouldered arms to Williams  but the ball nipped back and knocked his middle stump back.

Having taken three wickets  Balderson was entrusted with the new ball instead of Saqib Mahmood and he struck with first ball. Lyndon James flashed at it and Keaton Jennings at first slip pouched the catch at his knees.

Balderson said: “It was a tough shift, similar to yesterday and it feels like a new ball pitch. I am proud of my results today.  I think that the fourth innings chase will be tough and I am hoping that the variable bounce continues and hopefully we can get our first win. I just was to contribute to them as a bowler or as a batter.”

Bailey got his first wicket of the innings when Harrison gave catching practice to Bruce at second slip.

Day 3

HASEEB Hameed’s 10 hour marathon innings of 247 put Nottinghamshire in the box seat on day three against his old team and then his bowlers took six wickets.


His unbeaten 247 is the highest score by an Nottinghamshire opening batter to carry his bat at Trent Bridge.  Nottinghamshire were finally dismissed for 503 giving them a first innings lead of 172 but the plaudits also go to Olly Stone who fell 10 short off his maiden first class century and Dane Paterson who stuck with his captain for 63 minutes making the Lancashire fielders spend more time in the sun chasing the ball.


Haseeb Hameed said: “It’s a special feeling especially with the situation that  we are in. My first double hundred in first class cricket so it’s nice to tick that off. I thought that Stone’s knock was unbelievable. We just tried to build a partnership. We didn't  look too far ahead and we took  it one  over at a time.”



Stone and Haseeb Hameed added 163 in 48 overs before Stone had his leg stump knocked out  of the ground by Tom Bailey.  Many of the crowd turned up  expecting to see Lancashire bat again before noon but they were in for a shock. Stone blasted George Balderson to the cover boundary not only to bring up Nottinghamshire’s 300 but also their second batting point.


He  drove Saqib Mahmood to mid on for a single to bring up their fifty partnership off 89 balls and then drove Balderson to the long off boundary to take the scores level. Stone had a life when he drilled  Balderson straight back but the bowler couldn’t keep control of the ball in his follow through.  His fifty came from 88 balls with nine fours when he pushed Tom Hartley on the legside for a single. 

For the last two overs of the morning session from the Radcliffe road stand Bailey bowled  off spin as Lanshire looked to have run out of ideas to break the partnership as Haseeb Hamed  and Stone added 115 in 31 overs.

Stone turned Will Williams off his legs to break the Nottinghamshire eighth wicket partnership against Lancashire, beating the 119 made by Paul Franks and Andre  Adams at Trent Bridge in 2011.

The Nottinghamshire captain cut Bailey to the cover boundary for his best score in first  class cricket beating the 196 he made against Derbyshire at Derby in 2022. In the next over he cut Hartley to bring up his 200 up off 368 balls with 19 fours.

Dillon Pennington’s 20 minutes at the crease ended when he went to  back to Hartley and was bowled even though umpire Richard Kettleborough raised his finger.  With Pennington’s departure we got the ritual where  the fielding captain spreads the field to bowl at the non batter but Haseeb Hameed was wise to this.  By this time Lancashire seemed bereft of ideas and  were intent to stop the boundaries and only came in for the last ball. Lancashire had only themselves to blame; they could have got rid of Paterson early in his knock when he edged Bailey  between stumper Matty Hurst and  TomBruce at a wide  slip to the third man boundary.

Lancashire had 21 overs to bat out but they  lost their first wicket in their eighth over when Luke Wells didn’t move his feet and hung bat and Will  Young at third slip took a good catch diving to his left.  Four balls later Pennington got his second wicket of the over when Josh Bohannon edged him to stumper Joe Clarke.  Pennington got his third wicket when he squared George Bell up and Calvin Harrison at second slip took a comfortable catch.

Lancashire captain Keaton Jennings had a wild swing at Paterson and the ball flew to Tom Moores at first slip who parried the ball upwards and caught the rebound.  James got one to rise at  Bruce took the edge for another catch to Clarke.

Paterson got his second wicket when Balderson didn’t move across and edged him to Young who took a low catch moving to his right.  They managed to bat the day out but at the close they were 72 behind with only four wickets left.

Haseeb Hameed said: “I thought the bowlers were outstanding and I am really happy with the way that everyone played but we’ve got more work to do tomorrow and we’ll just turn up but they’ve  given us the best chance to win the game..”

Lancashire head coach Dale Benkenstein said: “At 270 for seven the game was even, we felt that the pitch would get worse and that’s why we batted first.  This morning we didn’t look like taking a wicket but credit to Haseeb Hameed he batted at his own pace and kept us out on the field.  They knew how many overs they wanted to bowl at us so the key was getting through the new ball.  The new ball  did  a bit more because of their extra pace and it was a  nice time to bowl. They knew they only had a few overs to bowl.

They’ve been the better team and have out played us but this is an amazing game and there’s always a chance of a fight back , their innings showed it just needs one partnership to give you a chance.”

Day 4

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE duly completed their  first Vitality Championship victory of the season as they beat Lancashire by nine wickets and fittingly it was their captain who hit the winning run by sweeping Luke Wells.


Nottinghamshire head coach Peter Moores said: “It was a hard-fought win that went deep into the fourth day, and they always feel the best. It was an exceptional game for two or three of our lads, most notably the captain, Haseeb Hameed, who has had a tough start to the season in some ways and came back with an absolute bang in this game.


I think after Edgbaston in our last game, Haseeb went away and did a little bit of soul-searching about how he is going to go about tackling the demands of captaincy, plus looking after his own game and being there for other people.


He came up with some answers and he’s proven on the field here what a great player he can be and I’m really pleased for him - he showed his powers of concentration, his fitness and his quality


Olly Stone bowled well and probably deserved more wickets and when he batted he looked like a batter. Lancashire did what sides do when a tailender comes in, putting plenty of people round the bat. But after 20 overs they were setting the same fields for both batters, which says a lot about how well he played.


He  is a mature bowler now. Watching him play now, he adds a real different dimension to our team. He knows his body really well and the key was getting him into a position where he could back up one game with another and still look fit and strong. The key is to get him past 150 overs into a season and still be going.


I’m pleased for Dillon Pennignton too. Behind the scenes he has worked really hard over the winter, spent time with Kevin Shine, our bowling coach, and adjusted a few things. In the last couple of games he has really come to the fore. He bowled really well at Edgbaston and backed that up here, on a couple of basically flat pitches, and has shown the quality he has. He has genuine pace, the ability to move the ball and the willingness to work hard, which is really important if you are to be a top fast bowler.


We look at it now and we’ve got a really balanced bowling attack, a couple of genuine pace bowlers, an all-rounder in Lyndon James and Dane Paterson, who is like an English seamer, while Harrison adds a different dimension as a leg-spinner.”


Lancashire captain Keaton Jennings said: “After day one and day two we were probably ahead of the game, but there was a three-hour period from lunchtime onwards on day three where the game got a little bit ahead of us. Losing wickets as we did at the end of yesterday was hard and it put us massively up against the wall.


In those circumstances, for Matty Hurst to come in and bat the way he did and get a maiden first-class hundred from 61 for six was outstanding. For a 20-year-old lad like him to go out and get his first hundred against an attack of that quality, and on a pitch that was a bit up and down, and offered sideways movement too, was awesome.


And for Tommy Hartley as well. To get a knock like that just before he goes away to represent England, was fantastic. Hopefully he goes away and has a really good World Cup.


So  there were positives, but having lost our advantage in that period of play leaves a bitter taste. But the opposition are allowed to play well. Stone bowled really well and put us under pressure and then went out and played like a batsman, barely playing and missing throughout his innings. Olly and Haseeb Hameed both got career bests and put us under enormous pressure, so credit to them.


But it is a long season. There are still nine games to go in this competition, so it’s  a case of picking ourselves up, brushing ourselves off and going again at Blackpool next week. We have to be realistic: there are areas we need to improve on and we have a fairly small squad with players away with various teams and countries around the world. But we will stay positive and back ourselves to get success.”


To the surprise of many Nottinghamshire fans, who thought Lancashire would be dismissed before lunch, it took Nottinghamshire 53.3 overs to take the remaining four Lancashire wickets.


Hurst was the last man out after he had completed his first Vitality Championship century and shared in a seventh wicket partnership of 116 in 32 overs with  Hartley.


After 10 overs of pace with no success leg spinner  Harrison was brought back into the attack and in his second over Hurst smashed for a six over long on.  In Harrison’s next over he  smashed Harrison over long on again but this was a one bounce four to bring up the hundred partnership with Tom Bailey.


On 46, Hurst tried to leave a ball from James but the ball came back and took the  edge. The chance went  down  despite Harrison  getting both hands to it at second slip.  Hurst reached his second successive Championship fifty off 87 balls, which included five fours and a six, with a single off James.


His partner Hartley smashed Harrison over mid on hoping for a boundary to bring up his fifty but he got a single to take  Lancashire into the lead.  Later in the over Hartley did reach his fifty from 98 balls with seven fours. After 93 minutes  Nottinghamshire broke  the partnership when Hartley  went hard at James getting a thick edge  and Harrison took the catch with both hands moving to his right at second slip.


Pennington came back into the attack and  got his fourth wicket of the innings with his fourth ball which nipped back in at  Bailey and it kept low.


Hurst pulled  Stone to the mid wicket boundary to equal his best score for Lancashire and two balls later he turned Stone off his legs for a single to better it.


Harrison came back into the attack and started with a wicket maiden when he took Will Williams’ wicket with his first ball.  Williams, who hit two fours  went back to him and was leg before.

 

Hurst reached his first Championship century, which came from 148 balls with 10 fours and two sixes, in the grand manner with a six over square leg off James. He was the last man out when he bottom edged a sweep of Harrison and found Ben Slater on the deep mid wicket boundary.


Needing 81 to win, Nottinghamshire lost Slater when he feathered  Saqib Mahmood to Hurst. At 3.40 the tea interval was delayed for four overs to allow Nottinghamshire get the remaining runs,Nottinghamshire got 15 but the umpires stayed on the field for four balls. Haseeb Hameed scored 271 runs without getting out, batted for over 11 hours without being dismissed and was on the field for  the whole match.

SCORECARD