Innings of 92 from Ben Slater and 79 from Freddie McCann were not enough to give Notts full advantage as they ended day two 81 runs short of Durham’s first innings total with five wickets in hand.
County cricket never fails to find new ways to amuse, and that was the case at Trent Bridge on day two of the Rothesay County Championship match between Nottinghamshire and Durham. With the players out and ready to start and Durham prepared to resume on 370 for nine, the sprinklers at the Stuart Broad end of the ground burst into action with a scurry of players and umpires trying to dodge the jets of water streaming onto the outfield. Meanwhile, the ground staff were frantically trying to shut them off.
It caused a delay to play of 45 minutes while the excess water was mopped up and the sprinklers were safely no longer watering the grass. Notts didn’t take long after that to collect the final Durham wicket of the innings, as Paul Coughlin was as plum as plum could be and his time at the crease ended on 11. On his Notts debut, Fergus O’Neil was the bowler that accounted for Coughlin and in doing so, he also picked up his fifth wicket to finish with figures of five for 85.
Over the last few years, there has been a frailty to the Notts batting, but that wasn’t evident today, with a short boundary in front of the PKF Smith Cooper Stand that either required a push or a nudge to reach the rope. Notts opened up with their regular pair of Haseeb Hameed and Ben Slater, possessing different qualities and temperaments that complement each other. Hameed is more cautious giving the more ebullient Slater a chance to play his shots. The pair added 62 for the first wicket before Hammeed was adjudged lbw for 27.
That brought Freddie McCann to the crease. He is still only 19 and having made his first-class debut against the same opposition last season, was looking to add to his undoubted potential. His maiden innings at Chester-le-Street saw him pass fifty and he did so again, supporting Slater who looked confident of reaching his fifteenth first-class century before a misjudged pull behind square off the bowling of Will Rhodes found the safe hands of Emilio Gay and he was out eight runs short of what would have been the first ton for Notts this season.
The second wicket had added 95 runs before Slater’s departure. Joe Clarke joined McCann and now, with a left-hand, right-hand combination, the Durham bowlers were made to work harder. Clarke, playing his natural game, scored quickly while McCann passed fifty and grew in confidence, easily pulling Matthew Potts through deep mid-wicket.
Coughlin was bowling well with little reward on a ground where he spent two injury-plagued seasons before moving back up to the North-East. He eventually got the breakthrough, as Notts added 68 runs for the third wicket before Coughlin removed Clarke’s middle stump for 37. He then added the wicket of McCann, who was caught behind by Ollie Robinson for 79 chasing a wider delivery that, had he middled it, would have flown to the short boundary.
With just over 13 overs still scheduled to play and Notts 134 runs behind, it felt the wrong time to add another new batter to the middle, with James Haynes on six from his 17 balls faced. The field started moving in, with George Drissell flighting his off-spin out of the considerable shadow creeping over the ground. The voices of the Durham players began to become more vocal as they hunted for wickets late in the day.
Haynes, now the senior partner alongside Matt Montgomery, seemed more relaxed as he built his innings and started to pounce on any delivery that was a bit loose. However, with two and a half overs left, he was adjudged lbw to Ben Raine for 30.
Notts still need to bat well tomorrow to secure a first-innings lead. Durham had taken the new ball as soon as it was available, and it will only be six overs old in the morning. It should make for an interesting day’s play.
