Duckett and Nash salvage draw against Warwickshire

Duckett and Nash salvage draw against Warwickshire

Nottinghamshire held on to restrict any chance of Warwickshire getting a result, thanks to a strong 199 run partnership between Chris Nash and Ben Duckett, despite best efforts from Henry Brookes and Jeetan Patel.

It was a tough morning session for Warwickshire. They were unsuccessful in their attempts to make a breakthrough, as Nash and Duckett put on a controlled, yet self-assured batting display. Warwickshire ran in hard after initially leaking more runs than hoped in the first 30 minutes, but never managed to get the better of the two set batsmen in the morning. 

Nash went through to his half-century, off 110 balls during the morning, then off the subsequent ball, Duckett secured his first County championship century for Nottinghamshire and the 16thof his career. His ton came off 155 balls, including 16 fours and a solitary six, as Nottinghamshire went into lunch trailing by 87 runs on 207/1. 

The afternoon session saw a change of fortune for Warwickshire, taking four wickets in an impressive fashion. Jeetan Patel broke a 199 run partnership between the two, when Duckett edged to Sam Hain at short leg who took an excellent catch to dismiss him for 140 off 237 balls. He struck again in his next over, when Clarke went without scoring edging to Wil Rhodes at first slip. 

Henry Brookes relished having the new ball in his hand, taking two quick wickets as the game started to develop. Samit Patel edged a delivery to Hain, who once again showed off his high quality fielding. He then trapped the confident looking Nash for an LBW call, as he departed for 85 off 215 balls. 

Nottinghamshire’s intent was clear in the evening session: dig deep! That is exactly what Tom Moores and Steven Mullaney did, putting on a resilient partnership of 60 runs for 162 balls as they kept Warwickshire’s hopes of a result at bay. 

Just as the two batsmen were looking settled into their roles, another two quick wickets gave Warwickshire a glimpse of a result. Mullaney was the first to be dismissed, for 29 off 91 balls, when he got bat on a ball from Patel that landed in the hands of leg slip. 

Liam Norwell then got his second wicket of the match when Moores edged behind for 17 off 78 balls. This brought Luke Fletcher and James Pattinson to the crease, who attempted their job of seeing out the game, until Brookes brilliantly got Fletcher caught and bowled for 9, to get them 8 down, leading by 48 with 9 overs left. 

Despite the flurry of wickets, Nottinghamshire showed county cricket at its best: some exemplary defending took Warwickshire’s chances of a result right away from them, and the game concluded in a draw. 

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