Nottinghamshire’s cavalry has arrived and not a minute too soon. Stuart Broad is popping in for a flying visit while Imran Tahir, the Pakistan-born South African, is making his first appearance of the season. By the day’s end, after Lancashire chose to bat, they had each taken three wickets and their presence was warmly welcomed. Vitally, as the day appeared to be grinding to a stalemate, Broad and Harry Gurney shared four new-ball wickets to swing it the home side’s way.
Nottinghamshire, winless in eight games, rested Jake Ball with an eye on a Lord’s Test debut next week (although Jimmy Anderson bowled a few gentle looseners at lunch to give England food for thought), but Broad, on a pitch that appeared greenish but played true, ensured he was not missed, nagging on a fuller length and seldom offering width; his figures of 25‑7‑50‑3 did not do his performance justice.
It was Tahir, however, who set up their day just as Tom Smith and Luke Procter looked to be pulling away after Haseeb Hameed, the only wicket to fall before lunch, deflected to gully off Ben Hutton. Smith was steady and Procter, crouched and crabby, zipped along, looking flighty but always severe when Nottinghamshire’s seamers erred on to his pads or dropped short, which they did regularly.
It was not, initially at least, an auspicious start for the South Africa leg-spinner Tahir on his return to Trent Bridge, where he will spend the remainder of the summer. Called into the attack nine overs before lunch, he started with two no-balls the first of which – a long-hop – was cut to the point fence by Procter. Another half-tracker was bowled before the over, which cost 13 in all, was out.
Tahir improved vastly after lunch, locating his line, length and googly. Procter looked to heave him horribly to leg and lost his off-bail and, shortly after, Alviro Petersen was caught behind down the legside off Broad – strangely, every Nottinghamshire fielder bar the bowler, seemed to think it was out. Caught behind off the behind, perhaps. Broad, who had beaten the bat plenty without fortune, shrugged and smiled. By tea Tahir had Steven Croft, skipping down and struck on the foot, leg-before.
They could not remove Smith, however. He played few memorable shots and having reached a stoic 50, remained there for the next 25 balls, surviving big lbw shouts from Tahir and Broad. To his 200th ball he showed some aggression and in doing so made an error, skipping down to Tahir, who spun a ball past his outside edge and had him stumped for 70.
Liam Livingstone joined Karl Brown and showed plenty of intent but Lancashire’s charge was halted by the arrival of the new ball. Almost immediately Gurney had Brown caught behind, prodding half-forward, before Broad brilliantly caught Jordan Clark off his own bowling. A short ball was on to Clark quicker than expected and his pull shot flew back at Broad with interest. The bowler stuck two hands up to claim a remarkable caught and bowled.
The next two overs brought wickets, too; Neil Wagner deflected Gurney’s steepling bouncer on to the stumps via helmet and shoulder, then Livingstone skied to point off Broad. Wagner, who left the field with medics, was still groggy at close of play.
As Kyle Jarvis – who played one sumptuous on-drive – and Matt Parkinson batted out 31 balls there was a sense that Nottinghamshire’s batsmen, still without the injured Chris Read and whose last three completed innings have all fallen short of 200, would have been relieved to pack up for the night. On Monday they have a chance to make their bowlers’ excellence count.
