Report: Warwickshire v Nottinghamshire, County Championship

Day Four

Jacob Bethell posted a career best 93 but Warwickshire and Nottinghamshire had to settle for a draw as their Vitality County Championship match petered out at Edgbaston.

In reply to 400 all out, Warwickshire extended their first innings to 361, before Nottinghamshire went in again and acquired 75 for one.

As soon as Warwickshire reached 251, which they did with some comfort with five wickets down, the match was consigned to a draw. It’s Bears’ fourth draw in four championship matches and Nottinghamshire’s third in four.

The match had delivered some excellence – Ben Duckett’s double-century and the seam bowling of Olly Hannon-Dalby – but was ultimately hindered by the loss of more than a day to rain.

After Warwickshire resumed on the final morning on 175 for five, 76 short of the follow on figure, Nottinghamshire needed to strike quickly but Bethell and Danny Briggs (37) were soon collecting boundaries.

Bethell and Briggs added 85 in 23 overs to take their side to the requisite 251. Almost immediately, Briggs swatted Calvin Harrison to mid-on where Freddie McCann took the catch.

Bethell’s classy and composed innings ended seven short of a deserved maiden century when he edged Olly Stone to give the former Warwickshire player his first wicket back on his old patch.

Bowling remained a joyless assignment though and Michael Burgess (43, 63 balls) and Aamer Jamal (40, 46) added 71 in 15 overs before the latter hammered a return catch to Lyndon James.

After Hassan Ali chipped James into the covers, Hannon-Dalby settled in with his customary aplomb before running out of partners when Burgess mowed to mid-off.

Nottinghamshire went into bat again at 2.54pm and filled the rest of a grey afternoon with batting practice. Duckett followed his 264-ball 218 with a six-ball seven when Hannon-Dalby trapped him lbw but Haseeb Hameed (41 not out) and Ben Slater enjoyed an outdoor net for the remaining two hours as the match fizzled out.

Warwickshire coach Mark Robinson said: “I am chuffed with the boys and how we are travelling at the moment. We keep having to absorb some setbacks from a personnel point of view and then in this game we’re on the wrong end of what was a good toss to win. They batted for the majority of the day under nice blue skies – every time it clouded over and the lights came on we took wickets. Then we batted for two days ourselves under dark cloud with the lights in horrendous conditions. They kept coming off so that refreshed the bowlers and we did really well just to stay alive. 

“Today we batted ourselves into safe waters so I am just pleased how we are travelling. The core of the group has been strong. We would like to have won some games but the weather and conditions haven’t allowed that.

“It was great to see Jacob Bethell bat so well. He worked really hard last winter on his fitness and on the mental side of his game. He would liked to have got away quicker with some runs this season but hasn’t been able to because our top three have done so well, but he batted really well in this match and really contributed to a good day for us.”

Day Three

Another Vitality Championship draw is beckoning at Edgbaston after rain wiped out the first two sessions of the third day of the match between Warwickshire and Nottinghamshire.

In the 35 overs that were possible, Warwickshire took their first innings to 175 for five in reply to the visitors’ 400 all out, Ed Barnard building a studious 69 (142 balls) to deny Nottinghamshire the clatter they need to force the game forward.

As in the first two games of the season at Edgbaston, a combination of placid pitch and weather interference has shunted the contest inexorably towards a draw. Ben Duckett’s brilliant double-century gave Nottinghamshire a platform from which to press for victory, but the excellent bowling conditions of the stormy second afternoon, when Warwickshire dipped to 26 for three, were not replicated on the third.

The cloud was high and the pitch well-behaved as Warwickshire, having resumed on 71 for three, advanced towards the follow on figure of 251. If they reach that on the final morning, a draw, always highly likely, will become a certainty. 

When play belatedly began at 4pm, Barnard and Dan Mousley (30, 58 balls) took their fourth-wicket partnership to 59 in 20 overs before the latter misjudged an attempted flick to leg and fell lbw to Dane Paterson. At 84 for four, Warwickshire still had plenty of work to do to reach that follow on figure, but Barnard was implacable. The former Worcestershire player reached 50 in 100 balls and was supplied with staunch support by Jake Bethell.

Bethell’s natural ability demands a much higher first class batting average than 20.37 and he showed a patience and selectivity of stroke which suggest he is determined to improve it. The 20-year-old (38 not out, 84 balls) helped Barnard to add 84 in 25 overs for the fifth wicket before, late in the day, Barnard edged a superb delivery from Dillon Pennington to wicketkeeper Joe Clarke.

That was fully deserved reward for Pennington whose figures of 18-4-40-3 on a good batting pitch accurately portray his excellence. The late wicket, taken just as the cat was about to be put out, also kept alive Nottinghamshire’s glimmer of hope of turning their domination of this match into victory. If their seamers have a productive first hour tomorrow, they could yet put the home side under serious pressure.  

Warwickshire all-rounder Jake Bethell said:

“It was a good day for us. After sitting in the pavilion all day it could easily have been the kind of day where we lost a few poles so it was a good effort to lose only two. We were unfortunate to lose Mous because he played lovely last night.

“The weather kind of fluctuated and when the clouds came over it did a bit, but when the sun was out it was quite nice to bat. We did come on and off a couple of times and it is tough to switch on and off but we stayed nice and ready and we were really unfortunate to lose Barn at the end because he played so well.

“I was pleased to get some time at the crease. It has been a bit of a weird season so far for me personally because our top order has batted so well that I have not really had a chance to get into the season myself so this knock has been quite nice to get some time in the middle and kick-start my season.” 

Day Two

Dan Mousley and Ed Barnard batted brilliantly against high-class seam bowling and tricky conditions to halt a Day Two charge by Nottinghamshire.

The Bears pair came together on 26/3 but stood strong in the face of off an onslaught of pace and lateral movement from the visiting attack.

They put on 46 before bad light forced an early end to play with Warwickshire on 71/3.

Ben Duckett’s chanceless 218 (264 balls, 25 fours, one six) earlier lifted Nottinghamshire to 400 all out against an attack skilfully led by Olly Hannon-Dalby who claimed his 11^th First Class five-fer for Warwickshire

Nottinghamshire resumed on the second morning on 367 for eight with Duckett two runs short of the fifth double century of his career.

He soon moved to 199 and then turned down numerous chances to acquire his 200^th run as he farmed the strike before eventually reaching the milestone from 240 balls.

The England batter received intelligent support from Dillon Pennington in a ninth-wicket stand of 44. Their alliance steered their side to 400 before Mousley bowled Duckett through an attempted carve over the off side. Pennington then pulled Hannon-Dalby to long leg in the next over.

Nottinghamshire’s seam attack inflicted heavy early damage on Warwickshire’s reply.

Alex Davies, Will Rhodes and Rob Yates are among the highest-scorers in the country this season but this time managed just 25 between them. Pennington had Davies superbly taken by Will Young at first slip and trapped Rhodes lbw. A perfect off-cutter from Dane Paterson took Yates’ edge through to wicketkeeper Joe Clarke.

That was 26 for three, at which point the follow on figure was far in the distance but in batting conditions about as tough as could be – moderate light, moisture in the cold air, high quality bowlers with their tails up – Barnard and Mousley avoided further damage.

Ed Barnard finished the day on 18 not out and Dan Mousley 26 not out as they dug in to start a recovery.

Warwickshire all-rounder Ed Barnard said: “Credit to Ben Duckett, he has played a fantastic knock and put them in a really strong position and then they came out and bowled really well in helpful conditions.

“It has been cloudy overhead and that can have a big effect on conditions and the lights were on the whole time we were batting so I think we did well to get through with only three down. When bowlers come in with 400 runs on the board they are going to be giddy and have lots of energy.

“Dan Mousley came in and batted brilliantly. He went out and played his normal game which is great to see. He is a positive player who always looks to put the bad ball away and put the pressure back on the bowlers so, as a batter, it is always good to see him coming out to join you. We have had a lot of very good batting conditions this season so to see him bat like that in tough conditions was really nice.”

Day One

Olly Hannon-Dalby took four wickets as Ben Duckett held Nottinghamshire’s batting together on the opening day of their Vitality Championship Division One match against Warwickshire at Edgbaston.

England batter Duckett constructed an unbeaten 197 (230 balls) as his side made erratic but highly entertaining progress to 367 for eight.

It was a patchy display from Nottinghamshire as three batters – Duckett, Ben Slater (65, 108) and Jack Haynes (74, 120) – passed 60 but nobody else reached double figures against an attack led by the redoubtable Hannon-Dalby.  

With Liam Norwell and Chris Rushworth still injured, Warwickshire gave a debut to seamer Aamer Jamal who joined fellow Pakistan international Hasan Ali in the seam team. Making his 200th appearance for Warwickshire, Hannon-Dalby, finished with 19-3-58-4 – superb figures on a good batting pitch. 

The first two championship matches of the season at Edgbaston having yielded 2,496 runs, Nottinghamshire captain Haseeb Hameed did not hesitate to choose to bat, but he perished early and carelessly when he lifted Hannon-Dalby to cover in the seventh over. The Yorkshiremen should have had further immediate success when Slater edged to third slip before he had scored but Jake Bethell grassed a straightforward chance. 

It proved a costly reprieve as Duckett and Slater added 146 in 32 overs. Slater batted with increasing fluency, 52 of his 65 runs coming in fours, before Hannon-Dalby returned to unfurl a lovely away-cutter that took the edge through to wicketkeeper Michael Burgess. 

That triggered the loss of three wickets for 15 runs as cricket’s enduring ability to bring people down to earth with a jolt spectacularly showed itself. Last week, Will Young and Joe Clarke shared 397 runs in a record partnership against Somerset at Taunton. This time they managed just five between them after falling to the first and last balls of a Will Rhodes over, both sweet outswingers which were nicked to Burgess.

Duckett advanced to his 27^th first class century from 126 balls and found a solid partner in Haynes. The former Worcestershire player struck 11 fours in an attractive knock before the new ball brought another cluster of wickets. Hannon-Dalby produced a nifty in-ducker which trapped Haynes lbw and then Hasan Ali had Lyndon James caught behind and bowled Calvin Harrison who offered no shot.

When Olly Stone, back in the team against his former team-mates in place of Brett Hutton (achilles injury) edged Hannon-Dalby to second slip, Nottinghamshire were eight wickets down and Duckett still needed nine for his double ton. The first four of those came from an audacious ramp over over the wicketkeeper’s head off Rhodes, but then bad light closed in to leave the England man poised on the threshold overnight.

Warwickshire bowler Olly Hannon-Dalby said: “It’s a good cricket wicket. There was a bit of nip with the new ball and it moved around a bit but once you got past 40 overs it became soft and hard work for the bowlers as you’d expect. There is something there for the bowlers. It’s the best pitch for bowling we have had this season after some pretty flat ones.

“Ben Duckett showed why he is an international cricketer. He batted really well and scored over half his team’s runs. It was a fluctuating day and the conditions changed a little bit with the weather. When it went overcast just after lunch the ball did a bit for us and then again later on we were glad to be bowling and took advantage with a few late wickets.

“I couldn’t believe it when I found out it was my 200th game for Warwickshire. I am pretty chuffed to have achieved that and it was nice to get a few wickets too.”