Nottinghamshire v Yorkshire at Trent Bridge County Championship September 24-27
Neil Whitaker reports
Day 2September 26, 2026 11:34 pm
OLLY Stone took five wickets for 51 as Nottinghamshire dismissed Yorkshire for 179 taking his Rothesay Championship wicket tally this season to 50, the first time he has achieved 50.
He said: “It’s something that as a bowler you are trying to do, 50 wickets a year and its the first time that I’ve done it and it’s very pleasing. I’ve enjoyed being out there, and performing. I’ve not been overthinking what I do just enjoying my bowling. If I get that phone call from England I’d jump at the opportunity regardless of where it would be.
I think that yesterday we were lucky to be sent in under sunshine and today it’s been cloudy. I don’t think we were disappointed to be put in. We knew that if we got runs on the board we knew it would be hard to get runs in the fourth innings.”
But after taking his final wicket he left the field and was substituted out of the game. Stone added: “I felt my hamstring go.”
His first victim was Will Luxton who he squared up, taking his edge to stumper Mitch Hay. In his next over got one to seam away from Adam Lyth again Hay took the catch. When he was on six Lyth was nearly cut in two by one that seamed in from Stone and the slips went up for a catch.
James Wharton had no option to drive a straight ball from Stone but instead of hitting it in the middle of his bat he edged it and Jack Haynes at second slip took a boot high catch moving to his right. With Matty Revis they added 57 in 14 overs.
Jonny Bairstow was beaten by Stone’s pace and lost his middle stump. His last victim of the day was Ben Cliff, when he got one to rear up Cliff who edged to Liam Patterson-White at first slip.
Before he left the field it had been a good day for Stone. He drove the first ball of the morning to the cover boundary and he got Nottinghamshire their only batting point. And he had denied Yorkshire for 11 minutes before he was squared up by George Hill who took his edge to Luxton at third slip.
Yorkshire’s innings was rescued by Hill who came in with Yorkshire on 96 for five in danger of giving Nottinghamshire a first innings lead of 150. He made 58, his sixth Rothesay Championship 50 of the season.
Hill calmly guided Brett Hutton to the third man boundary. He danced down the pitch to Hutton and drove him to the long-off boundary and lofted the next ball over mid-on for another four.
The all-rounder pulled Stone to the mid-wicket boundary. He moved across his stumps and helped the ball on its way over the fine leg boundary. This fifty came from 46 balls with six fours and a six. Hill said: “I thought it was going down fine leg’s throat.”
He received valuable support from Cliff, showing that he is not a number 10, as they added 47 for the ninth wicket. Hill was the last man out when he danced down the pitch to Patterson-White missed the ball and was stumped by a mile by stumper Hay.
Sam Whiteman, who has had a poor second half to the season, pushed tentatively at Hutton and simply guided him to Jack Haynes at second slip who dove to his right taking a low catch,
Revis had a big heave at Mohammad Ali but luckily for the Yorkshireman he didn’t edge it. But for the second consecutive match he was run out. He played Hutton to extra cover and set off for a single but couldn’t beat Haseeb Hameed’s direct hit. He might have beaten it if he had run a straight line but he veered to his right.
Dom Bess drove Hutton but got a thick edge low down on his bat and the ball flew to the right James at third slip who got both hands to it. Mohammad Ali got one to rise off a length and take the shoulder of his bat and the ball flew to Haynes at head height but he could only parry and nobody could get to the ball quick enough.
Coad tried to play Mohammad Ali to leg but got a leading edge and Haynes at second slip took the catch in his midriff.
Hill said: “The pitch played a few more tricks today, when we bowled we had to slam it into the pitch. The pitch was doing a lot and I think that tomorrow it will be tough cricket. I thought that Ben Cliff was brilliant with the way he hung about with me. I thought what’s the point of hanging about when there is a ball with your name on it. 220 would be nice to chase but we will chase anything.”
Stone added: “I thought Hill played some good counter attacking cricket.”
Leading by 72 Nottinghamshire lost their first wicket when Ben Slater edged Coad, bowling around the wicket, to Bairstow who took a great low catch in his right hand. Nottinghamshire went two down in the next over when Haseeb Hameed pushed at Jack White and feathered it to Bairstow who took a regulation catch. The previous ball reared up at Haseeb Hameed who edged it over the slips
Bairstow took his third catch when that man Hill angled the ball in at Joe Clarke who edged it to Bairstow who took a good catch moving to his left with both hands.
Haynes produced the shot of the day with a beautiful cover drive off Cliff.
Day 3
YORKSHIRE captain Jonny Bairstow cut Mohammad Ali for a six over point as Yorkshire beat Nottinghamshire by one wicket with over a day and 24 overs to spare.
Jack White who was at the other end said: “I knew Bairstow would get it done, he’s a big game player and to take us to victory like that I had the best seat in the house.”
When White joined Bairstow Yorkshire had slumped from 97 for three to 153 for nine still needing five to win. As Mohammad Ali’s over went on Bairstow had a question to answer, should he hit a four and rely on White to get the winning run or should he take a single and take the next over. He went for the six clearing the fielder on the point boundary.
The over started with Bairstow pulling Mohammad Ali to the mid-wicket boundary. Later in the over Bairstow clipped him to the square leg boundary and pulled the next ball for a six over the fine leg boundary.
Bairstow said: “I love Trent Bridge. We have been poor with the bat and we've relied too much on Dom Bess and George Hill to get us out of trouble. To finish the season with three wins in a row will stand us in good stead for next season. We have beaten some good teams and that means a lot to me. This season we have stuffed some run chases up.
This morning we were outstanding with the ball. We need that cutting edge if we get it we will be better next year.
I have enjoyed captaining this group of players and I want to win the Rothesay County Championship with them. I felt that with a squad like this that we could win it this year.”
When Yorkshire started their second innings at 12.06 needing 158,few in the crowd thought that the match would go to such a tense finish. Yorkshire didn’t lose their first wicket until the 13th over when Adam Lyth edged Brett Hutton to stumper Mitch Hay, who took a low catch diving to his left in front of first slip. The Yorkshire opener became the first of Hay’s seven victims equalling the Nottinghamshire wicket keeping record by Wayne Noon against Kent.
Earlier Lyth smacked Thomas Giles to the extra cover boundary. In the next over he edged Hutton just wide off Lyndon James’ outstretched left hand at third slip.
The Nottinghamshire slips thought they had Sam Whiteman caught behind off Hutton but umpire Michael Gough was unmoved. They did get Whiteman with a carbon copy of Lyth’s dismissal.
James Wharton tried to work left arm spinner Liam Patterson-White to leg and was leg before, were the jitters setting in?
Will Luxton rocked back and smashed Giles over the mid-wicket for a big six to bring up Yorkshire’s fifty in the 12th over. He pierced to cover fielders for a couple to bring up his fifty from 78 balls with four fours and a six. But when he top edged a pull off Mohammad Ali, the ball went up the ladder, Hay ran from behind the stumps and waited for the ball to drop into his hands, Nottinghamshire became favourites.
In the second over after tea Mohammad Ali knocked Matty Revis’ off stump out of the ground with one that kept low. Hill went down the pitch to Patterson-White and was easily stumped by Hay for the second time in 24 hours. Bess edged a drive off Mohammad Ali to get a pair.
Ben Coad lofted Patterson-White straight for a one bounce four into the Stuart Broad end. His wicket was the eighth to fall when he pushed forward at Patterson-White and edged it to Hay. Cliff survived for 10 minutes until he edged Patterson-White to Hay.
It took Yorkshire 86 minutes in the morning session to take the remaining seven Nottinghamshire wickets who only added 30 to their overnight score in 18 overs
White finished with 5/23 his first five wicket Rothesay County Championship haul of the season. Within 14 minutes on the third morning Yorkshire had dismissed both overnight batsmen. Yorkshire got a breakthrough in the first over of the day when Jack Haynes showed the full face of his bat to White and feathered the ball to Bairstow without adding to his overnight score. White got his second wicket of the morning in his next over when Ben Martindale after adding one edged a drive to Bess at third slip.
White got his third wicket of the morning when Hay played down the wrong line when he pushed forward and was plumb leg before. His final wicket was that of Giles, substituting, for Olly Stone, who was beaten by pace after White had squared him up and the ball crashed into the stumps.
He said: “It was an amazing day. There was a bit of moisture around this morning. We’ll be working all winter to finish higher next season.”
The only Nottinghamshire player to show any resistance was James and he only scored 15 before he was last man out when he had a big swing at Coad and the ball smashed into his stumps.
Earlier James had glanced Coad to the fine leg boundary. He clipped White off his toes for a big six over mid-wicket and looked like the Nottinghamshire fight back was on but it soon faded. The innings looked over when James smashed Coad in the air to Wharton at mid-off but he dropped the ball as he fell to the ground.
James got a leading edge to Coad and the ball flew over Lyth’s head at slip to the third man boundary. Coad squared Patterson-White up, kissed his bat and the ball squirted to Bess at third slip who took an ankle height catch. Coad got on a hattrick when Hutton pushed at him without moving his feet and Bess took the catch leaping to his left.
Nottinghamshire's score of 85 was their lowest championship score of the season. Their Head coach Peter Moores said: “It was a really good game of cricket. We were frustrated because we missed out in the third innings. This morning the ball didn’t move massively but it took the edges.
We couldn’t build partnerships, but the overhead conditions made a difference and they exploited them well. When we bowled we got more as it got older but we didn’t bowl well with the new ball. We’ve no complaints.