Nottinghamshire v Essex
LV= Insurance County Championship
Trent Bridge, Thursday 06 – Sunday 09 May
Team News:
Nottinghamshire: Ben Slater, Haseeb Hameed, Ben Duckett, Joe Clarke, Lyndon James, Steven Mullaney (c), Tom Moores (wk), Liam Patterson-White, Stuart Broad, Luke Fletcher, Dane Paterson.
Essex: Nick Browne, Alastair Cook, Tom Westley (c), Dan Lawrence, Paul Walter, Ryan ten Doeschate, Adam Wheater (wk), Simon Harmer, Peter Siddle, Shane Snater, Jamie Porter.
Match Details:
Umpires: Robert Bailey & Steve O’Shaughnessy
Toss: Notts won and elected to field first
Result: Notts won by an innings and 30 runs
Day Four Match Highlights:
Day Four Match Reaction: Anthony McGrath
Day Four Match Report:
Essex suffered their second defeat in three LV= Insurance County Championship matches when they lost by an innings and 30 runs to Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge.
It took the home side just under two hours to complete their win after the visitors started the final day on 129-3 and still trailing by 95 runs on first innings.
Medium-pacers Lyndon James and Dane Paterson claimed five of the wickets to fall in the morning although it was Luke Fletcher that bookended their contributions with the first and last wickets of the session.
Fletcher, who had taken 6 for 24 in the first innings, removed Nick Browne with his 13th ball of the morning with a delivery that the left-hander edged behind to give wicket-keeper Tom Moores a uniform catch.
Browne, the pick of the Essex batsmen in this match with two half-centuries, departed for 64 having added just one boundary to his overnight score.
After an hour’s play, Essex were 165-4 with Paul Walter and Ryan ten Doeschate both on 21 but then James captured two wickets in three balls with away swinging deliveries. The first trapped ten Doeschate in the crease before Adam Wheater, who was still to get off the mark, lost his off stump.
Essex were still 59 behind at this stage and looking for a tail-end rally but sadly it was not forthcoming.
With the total on 170, the seventh wicket went down when Simon Harmer went across his stumps and was leg before wicket to Paterson for a duck. Four runs later, Walter’s patient resistance for 30 and spanning 171 minutes ended when steering James to Ben Duckett at second slip and the same fielder, similarly positioned, collected another catch to remove Peter Siddle for 6.
Fletcher returned with the new ball to have Jamie Porter pouched by keeper Tom Moores for a single leaving Shane Snater 12 not out and Essex comprehensively beaten.
Impressive 22-year-old James enjoyed a fine match with figures of 4 for 51 to add to his 2 for 3 in the first innings and half-century with the bat whilst Paterson picked up 3 for 41 and Fletcher 2 for 42, the latter grabbing match figures of 8 for 66.
After three successive matches on the road and having completed the halfway stage of the Group One schedule (one win, two draws and two defeats), Essex will be eagerly looking forward to back-to-back home matches starting with the visit of Derbyshire to The Cloudfm County Ground on Thursday.
Day Three: Abandoned without a ball bowled
Day Two Match Highlights:
Day Two Match Report:
Despite a career-best 7 wicket haul by Shane Snater, Essex still face an uphill battle if they are to avoid their second defeat of the County Championship season.
At the close of the second day at Trent Bridge, they were 129-3 and still trailing Nottinghamshire by 95 runs after the home side were dismissed for 323 thanks to Snater’s bowling exploits.
Essex began their second innings half an hour after Lunch with a deficit of 224 runs but once again, Nick Browne has anchored the innings providing an unbeaten and vigilant half-century with a serenely effective innings.
He arrived at the close having scored 60 and faced 184 balls in a stay that has so far spanned almost four hours although he was given a life when he was spilled by Haseeb Hameed at third slip on 18 when facing Lyndon James.
He found a dependable and equally watchful ally in Paul Walter with the pair providing meaningful resistance combining for a stand of 40 runs in an hour and a half and they will resume in the morning with the diligent Walter on 14.
Alastair Cook had scored 35 out of 63 before the opening stand lasting 72 minutes was ended when he was adjudged leg before to Lyndon James.
Five runs later and with just a single to his name, Tom Westley joined him back in the Pavilion having deflected a ball from Stuart Broad to the wicket-keeper.
Dan Lawrence had just moved into double figures laying the foundations of a promising innings when he played down the wrong line against Dane Paterson and lost his off-stump as the visitors recoiled to 89-3 after 35 overs.
But Browne and Walter showed admirable defensive technique and resolve to combat the home attack.
Earlier, Snater had been rewarded for his tireless persistence and perseverance with figures of 7 for 98 from 26 overs. Playing only his second first-class match for the County, the 25 year-old found nippy pace and generated swing movement on a pitch that offered good carry.
The right-arm, medium-pacer who joined Essex in 2018 made his first-class debut in July 2016 for the Netherlands against Afghanistan in the ICC Intercontinental Cup and in December last year, he took 8 wickets in the Logan Cup competition for Southern Rocks back in his native Zimbabwe including 5 for 45, his previous best.
He has patiently been awaiting his opportunity in the red-ball game with the County and grabbed the opportunity with commendable determination.
Snater had already claimed three of the four Notts wickets to have fallen on the opening day and might have had a wicket in his first over when play resumed but Browne, at third slip, was unable to complete a sharp catch with Mullaney on 67.
However, the bowler’s disappointment soon turned to celebration when he struck twice in as any deliveries. He had James brilliantly caught by Simon Harmer at second slip for 51 before Tom Moores was caught by Adam Wheater for a duck. That gave Snater figures of 5 for 68 and left Nottinghamshire who had started the day on 188 for 4 with Mullaney on 63, now 207-6.
Snater was given a well-earned rest with Simon Harmer taking over at the Pavilion End and in his fifth over, he had Liam Patterson-White caught at short fine leg by Ryan ten Doeschate for 22
Mullaney though was resolute and his clean and uncomplicated hitting and driving brought him to a 148-ball century completed with the 18th boundary of his innings.
The second new ball was taken at 280-7 and shared by Snater and Peter Siddle but Broad and Mullaney were in rampant form. In 25 minutes together, they posted a half-century partnership and had added 66 in 9 overs when Siddle ended their fun by bowling Mullaney for 117. That wicket would have come as welcome relief to the amiable Australian who had sent down 68 overs spread over four innings since his last wicket.
But it was Snater who wrapped up the innings with the last two wickets in the space of four balls having Luke Fletcher lbw for 2, to give Essex a third bowling point, and Broad caught at first slip by Cook for a highly entertaining 41 made from 42 balls that included 1 six and 6 fours.
Siddle’s wicket came at a cost of 72 runs, whilst Porter and Harmer picked up a wicket apiece costing 75 runs and 40 respectively but they were only part of a support act to Snater’s admirable effort.
Day One Match Highlights:
Day One Reaction: Nick Browne
Day One Match Report:
14 wickets fell on the opening day of the LV= Insurance County Championship match at Trent Bridge where Essex were bowled out for 99 before Nottinghamshire reached the close on 188-4.
Only Nick Browne for the visitors effectively addressed a pitch that offered swing and seam movement. The opener batted for two and a quarter hours before being caught at backward point for 53 but elsewhere, it was a tale of woe with the only other double-figure contribution coming from Dan Lawrence who hit 14.
Despite a trio of wickets for Shane Snater (3 for 54), the home side then rubbed salt into the wounds ending the day with an overall lead of 89 thanks to a rapid 63 not out in 69 balls by Captain Steven Mullaney that included 12 fours, supported by 49 from Haseeb Hameed and an unbeaten 42 by Lyndon James.
The architect of the Essex meagre total was Luke Fletcher who returned career-best figures of 6 for 24 including a spell of 5 wickets in 28 balls at a personal cost of 7 runs after lunch.
The 32-year-old maintained a persistent line to trouble a series of batsmen who faltered against his accuracy and swing plus seam movement.
The visitors, who were put onto bat, had ended the first session of play on 71-4 with Browne 39 not out but the afternoon period spelt disaster for the men from Chelmsford with the remaining wickets toppling in 59 balls including the last four of the innings in 12 balls without addition.
Browne prevailed by virtue of disciplined batting but elsewhere a series of nicks and leg before decisions left Essex in tatters.
The match got underway 6 minutes late due to a shower just before the scheduled start but Browne made an immediate favourable impression.
He launched the innings and his own account with a straight drive to the boundary from a Stuart Broad half-volley and two deliveries later, he steered the ball down to the ropes at fine leg.
The left-hander’s first four scoring strokes all found the ropes as he dominated an opening stand of 23 with Alastair Cook in 8 overs.
The battle between Broad and his one-time England Captain Cook proved fascinating although brief. Cook had faced 24 deliveries, 12 from Broad, when the paceman bowling round the wicket found the edge to have Cook caught by wicket-keeper Tom Moores for 3.
Tom Westley, having just got off the mark with a single, fell victim to a fine delivery form Luke Fletcher that pitched middle and knocked out off stump to leave the visitors 34-2 after 12 overs.
Dane Paterson replacing Broad had Lawrence dropped one run later by Hameed at third slip but the batsman took a single two balls later to get off the mark. A boundary by Lawrence through mid-wicket brought up the 50 towards the end of the 19th over but having taken his score to 14 out of 61, Lawrence was undone by James who had just joined the attack.
Nine balls later and things were to get worse for Essex when the return of Broad, now having switched from the Pavilion End, accounted for Paul Walter who had still to get off the mark when he was struck on the back pad by a full-length ball.
All the while, Browne remained steadfastly resolute timing the ball well and shoring up the innings before Lunch.
But real problems emerged five overs into the resumption when Fletcher, bowling from the Radcliffe Road End, trapped Ryan ten Doeschate in the crease for 6 with the total on 80-5.
In his next over, the bowler encouraged Adam Wheater (5) to dab at a leg-side delivery to give his opposite number Tom Moores a comfortable catch.
A single off Fletcher took Browne to his half-century having spent 2 and a half hours in the middle and collecting nine boundaries from the 103 balls faced.
A six-minute delay for the briefest of showers halted the action but Fletcher was soon tormenting Essex when play re-commenced taking the next three wickets in five balls with the total on 99.
Browne was caught by Ben Slater at backward point for 53, Snater edged to Moores having yet to score whilst Peter Siddle was trapped lbw first ball.
James then wrapped up the innings with the dismissal of Simon Harmer (8) who became the fifth lbw victim of a sorry innings.
Ben Slater and Hameed put on 31 before the former chipped Snater to Walter at mid-wicket and three runs later, Ben Duckett edged his first ball to Adam Wheater.
Hameed, batting with confidence and executing a number of pleasing drives, was joined by Joe Clarke and the pair carried the total onto 77 before Snater struck again when Clarke chased a ball outside off to become Wheater’s 11th victim of the campaign.
Hameed, who had faced 92 balls, then clipped Snater to Harmer at second slip to leave Nottinghamshire 84-4.
A boundary down to the vacant third man area by James took the hosts into the lead shortly before Westley brought Harmer into the attack to replace Snater who had bowled impressively passing the bat on several occasions without further reward.
But the Notts fifth-wicket pair of James, who was dropped at third slip by Westley off Snater on 1, and Mullaney combined to put their side into a dominant position with a 50 partnership that arrived from 77 balls.
By the end of the day, the stand was worth 104 runs from 130 balls to give the home side an overall lead of 89 runs.
