Notts fight back against Essex on day one at Trent Bridge
Essex threatened to roll Nottinghamshire over on the first morning of their Rothesay County Championship Division One match at Trent Bridge, but a fightback in the afternoon and evening sessions from the Notts middle and lower order led to a remarkable recovery. They were indebted to Kyle Verreynne’s unbeaten 111 as they reached the end of day one on 328 for eight.
Having put their hosts in, Essex set about taking early wickets. Trent Bridge is known for offering early movement to the bowlers and with Jamie Porter and Sam Cook — one of the best opening attacks in county cricket — Notts’ openers would always need to be on high alert. Neither bowler is express pace, but both thrive on relentless accuracy and subtle movement, making every run a challenge. There were some nervy moments for the batters as Porter got the ball to swing back in sharply, offering no room to Haseeb Hameed or Ben Slater. With just his eighth delivery, Porter produced a beauty that Slater could only edge — cue the long trudge back to the Radcliffe Road End, where the changing rooms are located while the pavilion is out of commission.
Cook was just as intense at the other end and was unlucky not to get an early breakthrough, but in the seventh over Porter struck again, dismissing Hameed, caught behind for a 21-ball duck.
Freddie McCann and Joe Clarke steadied the ship, with Clarke counterattacking for a while before he was sawn off by Cook for his first wicket of the day. Inside the first hour Notts were 27 for three.
Jack Haynes joined McCann and helped to keep things moving, particularly as Essex began to rotate their seamers. Noah Thain was expensive, going for 66 runs in his first ten overs, but Shane Snater continued to ensure that Notts didn’t start to pull away.
47 runs were added for the third wicket before McCann provided a return catch for Cook. Haynes fell the following over and Notts would go into lunch on 78 for five, justifying Essex’s decision to field first. Much of Notts’ reply would now rest on the shoulders of Lyndon James, who scored 125 in the championship opener against Durham and the returning Verreynne.
Where the first session belonged to Essex, Notts started to establish a foothold in the game as a partnership between the two batters together at lunch began to add some respectability to the score and on a warm day, the bowlers were made to work. The ball was changed twice and suddenly things looked better for Notts.
The sixth wicket added 89 runs to the total and while still not in the box seat, at 212 for six at tea, things didn’t look so bad for the home team. Fergus O’Neill and Verreynne continued to edge towards a decent score and batting points. O’Neil would eventually go for 42 lbw to Matt Critchley after a stand of 77 for the seventh wicket.
Brett Hutton was caught behind shortly after to give Snater his third wicket, but with Verreynne batting well at one end, he just needed someone to hang around and help push the score over 300, at the same time taking him to his first hundred of the English season.
Farhan Ahmed, only 17, has the maturity of someone much older and batted responsibly alongside his South African teammate. He contributed equally to the ninth wicket as Verreynne inched towards his personal milestone.
Essex took the new ball with two wickets remianing, but with little luck as Notts batters looked secure at the crease. The early morning movement had gone after a glorious day of brilliant sunshine and tired bowlers didn’t help the mix. The partnership passed fifty, and the score ticked over 300 as Notts suddenly returned to the game.
Snatner was unlucky not to dismiss Verreynne on 99, nearly chopping onto his stumps, but the next ball was guided wide of a diving slip to bring up his ton in 196 balls.
Notts will feel they have every chance to take the game forward, especially if they can add another fifty runs to their score. However, Essex remain one of the early favourites for the tournament, and they’ll need to dislodge the last couple of wickets early tomorrow morning before looking to build on their position.
