Nottinghamshire v Essex
LV= Insurance County Championship
Trent Bridge, Nottingham
Thursday 18 – Sunday 21 May
11am Start
After a narrow defeat away against fellow title challengers Warwickshire last week, Essex visit Nottinghamshire looking to get back on track and pick up their second win of the 2023 LV= County Championship season.
Essex come off the back of a narrow four-wicket defeat at Edgbaston, losing their first game of the season against the side from the Midlands.
Nottinghamshire on the other hand, return back to Trent Bridge after securing an impressive win at Northamptonshire last time out.
Squad:
There has been one change to the squad since last week’s fixture against Warwickshire as Ben Allison is left out of the 13 player squad.
Michael Pepper, who has kept wicket in Rossington’s absence over the last two rounds, keeps his place in the squad.
Steven Mullaney (c), Stuart Broad, Joe Clarke, Haseeb Hameed, Calvin Harrison, Brett Hutton, Lyndon James, Tom Loten, Ben Martindale, Matt Montgomery, Dane Paterson, Liam Patterson-White, Ben Slater.
Division One Standings:
The Opposition:
Nottinghamshire largely keep faith with the players who won the Division Two title to take on the much tougher challenge of being competitive in Division One. They have made one significant addition in England pace bowler Olly Stone, who moves from Warwickshire to replace Aussie quick James Pattinson. South African Dane Paterson returns but one overseas slot remains empty in the red-ball side should reinforcement be required.
Lyndon James proved his quality with the bat by making a maiden century and two others in 2022 but his progress as a bowler was again hampered by a stress fracture, his second in as many years. If he can keep his fitness this season, the 24-year-old academy product has the potential to become a genuine match-winning all-rounder.
The hosts have started off the season well and currently sit in fourth place in the Division One table. Wins against Somerset and Northamptonshire have put the side from the East Midlands in a good position heading into game-week 6.
Last Time We Met:
Essex and Nottinghamshire shook hands and both settled for a draw on Day 4 of their 2021 LV= Insurance County Championship clash.
The visitors won the toss and elected to bat, but during the first hour Essex claimed three wickets for just 48 runs and soon afterwards, Joe Clarke was forced to retire hurt after being struck on the forearm by a Sam Cook delivery. Despite the fall of early wickets both Steven Mullaney and Lyndon James continues unconcerned completing their hundred partnership from 255 balls. Both were to progress to record individual half-centuries before Mullaney was sent packing by Shane Snater for 55 shortly after Australian Peter Siddle picked up the wicket of James.
Late wickets meant the game was firmly in the balance as Nottinghamshire headed into Day 2 on 248 for 6.
With rain meaning no play was possible on Day Two due to rain, a fighting knock of 71 from Captain Tom Westley, Essex failed to deny Nottinghamshire ending Day 3 in the ascendancy. Replying to Notts’ 293, Essex reached the close on 180 for 7 as the remainder of the batsman struggling to make an impact.
The rock-solid Westley was holding the innings together and completed his half-century from 124 deliveries, but his resistance was finally ended when he was bowled for 71 by the spin of Patterson-White.
Hopes of a positive outcome on Day 4 were, in truth badly affected by the loss of the entire second day’s play and when play resumed on the final morning the home side were still over 100 runs behind. With Notts reaching 44-2, bad light and rain brought a halt to proceedings with both Captains settling for a draw.
How To Watch:
If you’re unable to attend, the game will be streamed live from Nottingham and available to watch via the Essex Cricket Matchzone.
Miss the action? Highlights will be available after each day’s play via the Club website and social media channels.
