Notts v Yorkshire April 5-8th at Trent Bridge

ECB County Championship 2019 Notts v Yorks at Trent Bridge April 5th-8th
Nottinghamshire408 & 329/5d v Yorkshire 291 & 277/2 (78.2 ov, target 447)  

Neil Whitaker reports

Day 2

ENGLAND skipper Joe Root hit his first Championship fifty for Yorkshire since he hit 213 against Surrey at Emerald Headingley in 2016.

Since then in nine knocks for Yorkshire his best score has been 35.  He confidently stroked his second ball from Luke Fletcher to the extra cover boundary.  But he should have been back in the hutch before he reached double figures when he edged Paul Coughlin to Chris Nash at third slip who dropped a comfortable chest high catch moving to his left.  Root reached 18 from 14 balls where as the man he replace at the crease Gary Ballance faced 33 balls for his nine.

Root had another life when he bottom edged Jake Ball between stumper Tom Moores and and first slip Ben Duckett for his eighth boundary.  On 44, he pulled Stuart Broad to Coughlin at deep square leg but the ball went through his hands as he dived forward.

Nottinghamshire added 78 runs for the loss of five wickets but the Yorkshire openers Adam Lyth and Harry Brook found the going hard and struggled to get the ball away.  Broad and his new ball partner Ball were all over the Yorkshire openers like a rash and were unlucky not to get an earlier breakthrough than they did.  Brook who looked more in form than Lyth was the first to go when he was squared up by Broad and the opener was beaten when the ball kept low.

Lyth was joined by Ballance but again the Nottinghamshire were in control and could have had Yorkshire four down for not much more than 50.  Ballance who looked out of sorts and was beaten for pace off Fletcher who sent his off stump cartwheeling out of the grounds.

It was only when Root came to the crease that Lyth looked in any kind of form and the runs came easily.  The fifty partnership between Root and Lyth came off only 52 balls.  The partnership was broken when Lyth who had batted for 176 minutes and faced 129 balls chipped Ball to Fletcher at mid off who took the catch above his head.

Broad got his second wicket of the innings and Tom Kohler-Cadmore pulled to Coughlin at deep square leg but this time Coughlin took a comfortable catch. A Yorkshire collapse looked on the cards when the lost their fifth wicket in the next over when Jack Leaning shouldered arms to Fletcher and was leg before for a duck.

In the morning session South African Duanne  Olivier took three wickets in the first hour to complete his first five wicket haul for Yorkshire as he ended the innings with five for 96 on his Championship debut.

He said: “It was really special because the wicket was a very good batting wicket and I was happy with my performance and pleased to contribute to the team on another day it will be someone else. Yesterday I was really nervous but the longer I bowled the better I got but as a unit we bowled well and today we got rewarded for the hard work we put in yesterday.

If we can get a coupe of partnerships tomorrow and get close to what they scored or not let. Them get too far ahead because there is still a lot of cricket left in this match.  We have got to break it down into sessions.

I thought Broad and Fletcher bowled very well and they know how to bowl here.  It was unfortunate that we lost two late wickets.”

He struck in his second over of the day when he swung one back in at Joe Clarke, who added three to his overnight score from the nine balls he faced, that sent his middle stump cartwheeling out of the ground.

Looking to press ahead Tom  Moores tamely drove Olivier straight to Ballance in the covers.  Two balls later Broad tried to turn Olivier through mid wicket and was leg before.

Fletcher hung about with Coughlin for 11 overs trying to see the former Durham player to his maiden Championship fifty for Nottinghamshire.  The partnership was broken when Fletcher poked at Steven Patterson and edged him to Kohler-Cadmore at slip who took a low catch moving to his right.

The Yorkshire skipper wrapped the innings up when Coughlin fell four short off his fifty having a wild swing at him giving stumper Jonathan STattersall a comfortable catch.  But in the three overs that Coughlin and Ball were together they added 33 with Ball unbeaten on 15.  Patterson finished with four for 78.

Day 3

A THIRD wicket partnership of 102 in 28 overs between. Nottinghamshire opener Chris Nash and Joe Clarke put Nottinghamshire in a commanding position with  lead of 446 with Clarke unbeaten on 96 at the close of the third day.

Nash hit 75, his highest score for the club since he made 139 against Worcestershire at Trent Bridge in June last year.  At first he was scratchy but he gained confidence as he reached the twenties.  His scratchy innings in contrast to Ben Duckett’s fluent knock, after both batsmen had faced  36 balls Nash was still in single figures where as Duckett was on 37, then he hit three fours to quickly take him into the twenties.

Nash’s innings was give impetus when he  pulled  a short ball from Ben Coad to the mid wicket boundary and then clipped the next ball off his legs to the boundary.  The partnership was broken in a strange way when Nash tamely pulled Duanne Olivier to Joe Root at square leg.  His 75 came from 192 minutes, from 152 balls and included 10 fours.

He said: “Last year was a tough one for me after it started well and I dislocated my shoulder but it’s nice to start the season well. We are in a good position to win the game.  I am very happy to set the platform up.

Clarke has played brilliantly and in the first innings he was outstanding, I am really happy for him.  All the guys here have worked hard during the winter, we all want to bat in the top six.  The guys that have come in all want to play for England and do well for this team.”

Nottinghamshire’s skipper Steven  Mullaney quickly showed his intent as he and Clarke added 30 in three overs.  He slog/swept Root over mid wicket for a six to bring up the fifty partnership in seven overs. He hit an even bigger six much straighter off Matthew Waite into Radcliffe Road stand.  Then he smeared Waite to the cover boundary to bring up his fifty from only 48 balls in 47 minutes. Two balls later he tried to slog/sweep a ball that was two feet outside his stumps and was comprehensively bowled.

Clarke carried on  from Mullaney as the runs came easily and their lead passed 400, by this stage the Yorkshire looked shattered as they were run ragged.  He effortlessly clipped Steven Patterson off his legs to the mid wicket boundary to bring up the hundred partnership with Nash.  He reached his 50, which came from 82 balls in 117 minutes with a four off Patterson through mid wicket.

The partnership between Nash and Duckett added 88 in 21 overs and laid they foundations  from the partnership between Nash and Clarke.  Duckett did a slice of luck early in his innings when he late cut Patterson just out of reach of Adam Lyth at second slip to the boundary.

Duckett reached his fifty with a shot not usually played to reach a milestone when he reversed sweept Root to the third man boundary to bring up his fifty.  On 57 he tried to late cut Root but edged it but stumper Jonny Tattersall couldn’t hold on to the chance as he went down.

His luck ran out when Olivier bowling around the wicket got Duckett to fend at one without moving his feet and gave Lyth an easy waiste height catch.

With a first innings lead of 117 Nottinghamshire lost their first wicket in the third over when Ben Slater pushed Coad to Lyth at second slip who took a juggling catch.

Play got underway under gloomy conditions with the floodlights on.  Yorkshire lost their first wicket of the day in the fifth over when Tattersall tried to drive Luke Fletcher on the walk and was bowled through the gate. They were still 44 short of avoiding the follow on.

With Yorkshire needing another six runs to avoid the follow on Root tried to do it in one shot.  He went down the wicket to Samit Patel and tried to blast him over long on but he only got an outside edge to it to Mullaney who took a chest high catch at slip.  With Waite, Root added 38 in 11 overs.

Patel got his second wicket of the morning when Waite got an inside edge on to his bat to give Mullaney another catch at slip.

Coad saved the follow on when he squeezed Patel to the third man boundary, then hit consecutive sixes off Patel.  Patterson edged a drive  to Mullaney at first slip who took a low catch to give Patel his third wicket for 36.

It took three balls with the new ball for Stuart Broad to wrap the innings up when he angled one into Olivier who fended it to Tom Moores to take the catch diving forward.