Day 4: Nottinghamshire 328 & 217 drew with Durham 165 & 188 for four
Durham will play in Division 2 later in the summer when the County Championship resumes in August having played out a draw with Nottinghamshire at Emirates Riverside.
Durham were set a chase of 381 on the final day after bowling Notts out for 217 in their second innings as Scott Borthwick claimed four wickets. The hosts’ hopes of forcing a victory were slim to say the least, and they opted to bat out the day for the draw.
Notts attempted to move the game forward in the morning session, losing Steven Mullaney and Joey Evison as Matthew Potts and Matt Salisbury claimed their third wickets of the innings. Brett Hutton and Liam Patterson-White pushed the accelerator, capitalising on the short boundaries to find the rope with ease. Borthwick cleaned up the visitors’ tail, taking the remaining four wickets to bowl out Notts for 217, although they finished with an overwhelming lead of 380.
Durham’s openers Cameron Bancroft and Michael Jones made a resolute start in their response, putting on a stand worth 55 for the first wicket. Broad broke the partnership removing Bancroft for the second time of the game lbw with a delivery that kept low. Jones and Borthwick combined in another display of resilience from the hosts. The duo recorded a 57-run stand before Borthwick nicked off to Lyndon James for 25 when seemingly well set at the crease.
Jones spurned his opportunity to notch his second half-century of the season as he fell before tea playing back to Pattinson-White and was bowled for four runs shy of the milestone. The home side looked to grind their way out towards a draw as Notts opted to work with Mullaney in tandem with Patterson-White. Mullaney still accounted for the wicket of the Championship’s top run-scorer, bowling Bedingham with a grubber for 36.
However, with the fate of both sides sealed, the two captains opted to shake hands to forego the final hour and end the contest in a draw.
Day 3: Nottinghamshire 328 & 125 for five vs Durham 165
Joey Evison claimed career-best figures of five for 21 to put Nottinghamshire in complete command of their LV= Insurance County Championship match against Durham at Emirates Riverside.
Evison orchestrated a collapse of the home side’s batting order in the afternoon session with a brilliant spell of swing bowling, taking his maiden five-wicket haul in the Championship. The hosts folded from 73 for two to 165 all out, losing their final eight wickets for only 88 runs as Scott Borthwick top scored with 38.
The visitors opted against using the follow-on and continued their innings with a lead of 165. Haseeb Hameed notched his fourth half-century of the season to compound Notts’ advantage, handing his team a dominant lead of 288 to take into day four.
Resuming on 312 for nine after day two’s washout, Nottinghamshire added 16 runs to their total from day one as Liam Patterson-White equalled his career-best of 73 before he was skittled to end the visitors’ innings on 328.
Durham were under pressure in their response from the off, losing their openers with only 13 on the board. Broad pinned Cameron Bancroft lbw with the third ball of the innings, albeit from a generous decision from umpire Neil Pratt. The England paceman was on the money once more to remove Michael Jones, this time with a plumb lbw shout.
Borthwick and David Bedingham stemmed the tide with a partnership of fifty to take the home side into the lunch break without further damage. However, the introduction of Evison into the attack after the interval sparked a collapse in the Durham ranks, falling from 73 for two to 86 for six. First, he secured the wicket of Bedingham lbw for 30 to end the stand for the third wicket.
Evison then prised out Sean Dickson for a 13-ball duck, top-edging a hook into the hands of Joe Clarke before Borthwick’s resistance was ended as he nicked off to Brett Hutton at second slip. Evison’s torment of the Durham order continued as Ned Eckersley was trapped in front of his stumps for a second-ball duck.
Ben Raine offered brief respite, but he handed Evison his maiden five-wicket haul picking out Lyndon James on the leg-side boundary for a routine catch. Durham limped their way towards a total of 165 as Matthew Potts ended unbeaten on 27 before Broad dismissed Rushworth to wrap up the innings.
Nottinghamshire took the game away from the hosts in the evening session, batting with composure led by Hameed. The former England opener made the Durham bowlers toil in the sun late in the day. He reached a deserved fifty before the close, clipping Rushworth to the boundary from his 100th delivery.
Salisbury and Potts notched two wickets apiece, but the contest is firmly in the hands of the Notts heading into the final day.
Day 2: Abandoned without a ball bowled. Nottinghamshire 312 for nine v Durham
No play was possible due to heavy rain on day two of the LV= Insurance County Championship clash between Durham and Nottinghamshire at Emirates Riverside.
Overnight rain persisted into the morning, and although there was brief respite which allowed the covers to be removed, the elements soon returned.
After a subsidence, a pitch inspection at 1.30pm offered hope, but the rain returned once again in the afternoon before play was eventually called off for the day at 3.55pm.
Nottinghamshire will resume their first innings on 312 for nine on the morning of day three, having already secured three batting bonus points. Durham are also sitting on three bonus points after taking nine wickets.
However, the hosts face a challenge to force the victory in the remaining two days that they require to earn qualification to the Division One in the next stage of the competition.
Day 1; Nottinghamshire 312/9
Honours are even on Day 1 of Durham’s LV= Insurance County Championship clash against Nottinghamshire, as Durham claimed 9 Nottinghamshire wickets at Emirates Riverside.
Ben Slater and Liam Patterson-White scored half-centuries, while Joe Clarke added 48 for the visitors. They showed great determination at the crease and battled their way to good score on the opening day amid fine precise bowling from the home side.
Chris Rushworth and Ben Raine led the way for Durham, taking three wickets apiece and Matt Salisbury added a couple, but Scott Borthwick’s men were not able to inflict the damage they would have hoped after opting to bowl on home soil.
Rushworth marked his 35th birthday with the wicket of Haseeb Hameed, clean bowling the opener for 12. Potts bowled well in the morning session without luck as he beat the bat of Slater on several occasions. The visitors remained stoic at the crease and brought up fifty in the 23rd over.
Slater battled hard amid impressive bowling for the hosts. He manoeuvred his way to fifty, clipping Rushworth off his legs to the fence to reach the milestone from 106 deliveries.
The opener combined with Joe Clarke to defy the Durham bowlers, putting on a stand of fifty from 82 balls in the afternoon session. Durham persisted on a line and length, and Raine earned his reward to dismiss Slater for 60, removing his middle stump to secure the first bonus point of the game.
Clarke appeared to be on course for his sixth fifty of the season, only to fall two short of the mark, chopping a wide Salisbury delivery on to his stumps. Raine then made further inroads to bowl Lydon James, giving the hosts an opening to press into the Notts lower order.
Steven Mullaney and Patterson-White halted their progress and countered to guide the visitors past the 200-run mark and their first bonus point. Mullaney played a loose drive to gift his wicket to Raine, while Rushworth pinned Joey Evison lbw to keep the visitors in check.
Sunderland-born Patterson-White kept the score moving past 250 and notched his second Championship fifty of the term. He finished the day unbeaten on 66 taking his team to their third batting point and boasting a strong platform in the contest.