Nottinghamshire’s batsmen have been having a torrid time in the Championship. Here, however, as Imran Tahir took Lancashire’s final first-innings wicket – Matt Parkinson lbw with his top-spinner – with the second day’s 11th ball, opportunity knocked. Blue skies, a kind pitch and a modest Lancashire total of 276 bespoke a day for filling boots and ensuring their run of eight games without a win ends here.
By the close, after eight overs were lost to bad light, they had a lead of 27 with five first-innings wickets in hand and plenty of runs potentially in them. Throughout they had zipped along at upwards of 3.5 an over, they had shared three partnerships in excess of 50 (one unbroken) and had just one wobble, when Jake Libby and Greg Smith fell in quick succession shortly after lunch.
Samit Patel and Riki Wessels, much to their credit, had negotiated a few nasty overs in dim light as the day wound down; in similarly trying circumstances Lancashire had lost four wickets on day one. On such sessions do games turn and, for a side that has been bowled out for fewer than 200 six times this year, this was a fine day.
Yet by no means have they forged the position of strength they could have. They had made a thundering start, with the openers sharing 86 in 18.3 overs, while each of the top five reached 30 but none passed 54 and there were, as with Lancashire on Sunday, a couple of curiously avoidable dismissals. Each batsman had played himself in carefully – none faced fewer than 55 deliveries – and fell as positions of promise appeared. Some credit for this, of course, must go to Lancashire’s bowlers, who plugged away gallantly.
Neil Wagner’s first ball was angled juicily in at Steven Mullaney’s pads and it pinged sweetly off Nottinghamshire’s stand-in captain’s bat and away to the midwicket fence. Jake Libby’s first ball had the same outcome, albeit through cover. More followed as Lancashire looked ragged; Mullaney drove handsomely down the ground twice and continued to flick through midwicket, while both he and Libby – who turns the strike over cleverly square on both sides of the wicket – profited through third man. With lunch approaching, and with no shortage of bad balls to put away, Mullaney played on to Kyle Jarvis – who had come back well after an expensive start – for 43. Ten runs earlier he had been dropped badly at deep square-leg by Matt Parkinson off Jarvis.
With Smith for company, Libby was more watchful and, in a fine spell of bowling after the break, Neil Wagner had him caught behind, a little leaden-footed, shortly after bringing up a tidy half-century. A ball after a crunched pull for four Smith was trapped in front by Jarvis.
Brendan Taylor joined Michael Lumb and was scoreless for 18 deliveries before an uppish cover drive off Wagner gave him four. Lumb, as ever, drove and cut powerfully, while twice Taylor lofted Parkinson down the ground for six before a hostile spell from Jordan Clark either side of tea saw off both batsmen. Taylor got himself in a horrible tangle to a short delivery, lofting to gully, when undecided whether to uppercut or lower the hands, while Lumb was furious with himself for patting back to the bowler.
So it was over to Patel, who camped deep in his crease, weathering some curious leg theory tactics from Lancashire, while flicking gorgeously off his pads, reaching 50 shortly before a second delay for light ended play. Wessels, too, looked solid and they, well set – just as the top five had been –have the chance to man the push for that much-needed victory.
