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Nottinghamshire’s Haseeb Hameed fell three runs short of a first century of the season before Lancashire took the upper hand on a rain-affected second day of their LV= Insurance County Championship clash at Trent Bridge.
England strike bowlers James Anderson and Stuart Broad both finished the day wicketless as Lancashire overturned a first-innings deficit of 35 to lead by 63 runs with nine second-innings wickets in hand.

Haseeb, who captained England Lions during the winter after hitting more than 1,200 first-class runs in 2022, missed out when he was leg before wicket to Will Williams on 97, although it was thanks to his measured five-hour innings that Nottinghamshire, who had been 119 for five overnight, more than doubled their score to be 249 all out.

While Anderson finished 0-49 from 13 overs, three Lancashire bowlers took three wickets each as Will Williams, Tom Bailey and George Balderson shared the honours, Bailey the most impressive but a miserly Williams bowling 10 maidens as he finished 3-31 from 17.4 overs.

Lancashire’s wish for an early breakthrough was achieved after Nottinghamshire had begun the day five down and still 95 behind the visitors’ first-innings score. Steven Mullaney, who was only a few short of 1,000 first class runs last season, looked key to his side wiping out the deficit but fell to the 18th delivery of the first session, mistiming a ball from Williams to give an easy catch to mid-on.



It left responsibility squarely on the shoulders of Hameed at 125 for six but the 26-year old opener was quite unfazed, even when Brett Hutton, squared up by a ball from Bailey, edged behind for seven. He emerged unscathed from an interesting battle with Anderson, who generally bowled better than he had on the first evening, beating the bat several times.

In the event, Olly Stone played some nice shots in his 22 before nicking a good ball from Balderson to be caught behind and three boundaries by Broad off the same bowler took Nottinghamshire ahead of Lancashire’s total on 218 for eight at lunch, with Hameed on 95.

After almost five hours at the crease, a century against his former teammates looked there for the taking only for Williams to strike Hameed’s front pad and hear his lbw appeal upheld, the opener’s frustration at missing out plain to see as he threw his head back and turned towards the pavilion.

Williams claimed his third when Broad swished at one on the leg side but though Nottinghamshire missed out on a batting point the last four wickets had added 124 runs, which Lancashire would see as too expensive in the circumstances.

Nonetheless, it was Lancashire who ended the day on top, thanks to a second-wicket partnership between Balderson and Josh Bohannon so far worth 83.



Nottinghamshire’s all-seam attack struck an early blow when Luke Fletcher removed Luke Wells in the eighth over via a catch behind, but as in the first innings, Broad, Olly Stone and Brett Hutton to a degree were guilty of giving away too many scoring opportunities.

It did not help that, having been impressive in the field on day one, Nottinghamshire failed to take two chances to dismiss Balderson, who was put down by Ben Duckett at second slip off Hutton on four and by Hutton at first slip off Stone on 32.

Balderson survived to be 44 at tea, with no further play possible afterwards due to heavy rain, with 32 overs lost from the day’s schedule.

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Lancashire’s George Balderson and Josh Bohannon put Lancashire in a strong position on a rain-disrupted third day of the LV=Insurance County Championship match at Trent Bridge only to suffer personal disappointment.
The two shared a partnership of 188 for the second wicket in Lancashire’s second innings but both fell short of individual hundreds, Balderson missing out on what would have been his maiden century in first-class cricket when he was out for 91.

Bohannon fell on 92 soon afterwards as Nottinghamshire made gains late in the day but there was concern for their England pace bowler, Olly Stone, a player who has had more than his fair share of bad luck with injuries in his career, had to leave the field after being unable to complete his 15th over in the innings.

Nonetheless, thanks to the efforts of the second-wicket pair, at 219 for four Lancashire will take a lead of 184 and six wickets in hand into the final day, when a much better weather forecast raises the prospect of a positive result despite losing 72 of the third day’s scheduled overs to rain and bad light.

Rain restricted the action to 20 overs and three balls in the morning session followed by 11 overs and three balls after a five o’clock restart, with four and a half hours lost in between, and it may be that the long interruption to their concentration worked against the two not-out batters.

Balderson, who had moved from 44 overnight to 90 during that shortened but productive morning session, completed an 89-ball half-century that included nine fours and added a further seven boundaries against some Nottinghamshire bowling that was for the most part fairly ordinary.



But he had added only one more single to his score following the long stoppage when he edged a ball from Stone to second slip where Ben Duckett, who had put him down on four on Friday, held a good low catch.

The 22-year-old Mancunian was understandably disappointed, but after being pushed up the order to open the batting in the absence of the injured Keaton Jennings, he had served his side admirably well.

Balderson had also been dropped on 32 on day two by first slip Brett Hutton, whose normally reliable hands let him down again only three balls after the evening restart, with Bohannon given a life on 85 off Lyndon James.

The mistake was less expensive this time. After another, mercifully very brief stoppage for a shower, Bohannon edged James to second slip, where Duckett got his hands under another low catch as Lancashire’s top scorer so far this season perished for 92.



James quickly followed that success with a second wicket, pinning stand-in skipper Dane Vilas lbw for two with a ball that struck just below the knee roll, and Lancashire will have welcomed a final stoppage for bad light more than Nottinghamshire, even after Stone had left the field four balls into his fifth over of the truncated evening session.

Although conditions were much in their favour with heavy cloud cover and the floodlights blazing, it was a much better effort with the ball from Nottinghamshire, who had offered too many scoring opportunities, particularly to the short boundary on the Bridgford Road side of the ground, in the early part of the day.

Stuart Broad was unlucky at times in the five overs he sent down, inducing false shots from both Balderson and Bohannon to no gain. The England pace bowler is wicketless from 11 overs in the innings, having conceded 50 runs. He did not bowl in the evening session.



Bohannon’s knock continued a fine start to the season that has seen him make a century against Surrey in the opening round of matches, as well as 85 against Somerset two weeks ago.

It is likely that both sides will be looking for a positive result on the final day.

Nottinghamshire are keen to bounce back from defeat against Middlesex at Lord’s in their last match as they try to establish themselves in Division One following promotion last season.

Lancashire have yet to taste defeat but neither have they experienced a victory after rain denied them in good positions away to Essex and Somerset.

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Nottinghamshire fought a gritty rearguard action to deny Lancashire victory after losing their first six wickets for 55 chasing 295 to win on a dramatic final day of their LV= Insurance County Championship match at Trent Bridge, finishing nine down for 136.

Lancashire had given the home side 67 overs to chase victory after declaring on 329 for eight at lunch on the final day.

After George Balderson, Lancashire’s 22-year-old all-rounder, who had three wickets and 91 runs from the first innings, took three wickets in 11 balls to have them six down, Nottinghamshire looked to be heading for a third defeat in four since their return to Division One.

But after Joe Clarke (42) and seam bowler Brett Hutton combined in a defiant stand spanning 34 overs, Nottinghamshire hung on, losing two more wickets in the remaining 13 overs, the ninth with just four balls remaining, the match ending with Olly Stone blocking a ball from left-arm spinner Tom Hartley with every other Lancashire player clustered round the bat.

England’s Jimmy Anderson, who finished with three for 35, saw off both Clarke and Hutton but the contest concluded with his international strike partner Stuart Broad at the other end, having faced 50 balls for his three not out.



Lancashire’s day began with a continuation of their Saturday evening wobble, which had seen them slip from 203 for one in their second innings to 214 for four in the space of little over half a dozen overs following four and a half hours off the field.

That was against a backdrop of heavy cloud with the floodlights blazing, yet the contrasting conditions of a bright Sunday morning were not enough to arrest the slide as George Bell departed to the second ball of the opening over, caught at second slip as Lyndon James squared him up. Luke Fletcher then produced a beauty to bowl Colin de Grandhomme off stump.

This left Lancashire 231 for six for a lead of 198, vulnerable to handing the initiative to Nottinghamshire, yet it was seized back emphatically by Croft and Hartley as the home attack, which lacked consistency throughout the match, failed to maintain the pressure.

Olly Stone was off the field after tweaking a hamstring on Saturday, and neither Broad nor Hutton could achieve much with either the old ball or the new one. Hartley impressed in making his second first-class fifty, passing that mark with a lofted drive for four off Hutton and celebrating with a hooked six. Croft, who took two painful blows to the body for his trouble, failed on 49 only after an instruction from the dressing room to throw the bat ahead of a lunchtime declaration.

A runs requirement of 4.4 per over with two sessions left did not look too daunting a target for Nottinghamshire, yet it soon became one as Tom Bailey uprooted England opener Ben Duckett’s middle stump for the second time in the match and Anderson had first-innings top-scorer Haseeb Hameed caught behind off a lovely delivery that moved late.

Ben Slater and Matt Montgomery managed to survive the remainder of the strike duo’s opening salvoes, Montgomery’s positive approach yielding some success and raising the hope that he and Slater could put the chase back on track.



Instead, the change of bowling at both ends set off a flurry of wickets, four in five overs.

Balderson, confidence high after his handsome contributions with bat and ball, did much of the damage, taking three wickets for three runs in the space of 11 balls. Slater feathered a thin edge to ‘keeper Bell, who then took his third catch of the innings to remove James via an inside edge on to thigh pad. Home captain Steven Mullaney nudged a catch to first slip.

In the midst of all that, Will Williams threaded one between bat and pad to bowl Montgomery for 30. Nottinghamshire, having been 52 for two, were 55 for six and had it all to do to escape with a draw with still 47 overs remaining.

The situation demanded that Clarke, whose reputation increasingly is that of a destructive top-order batter in short-form franchise cricket, rein in his attacking instincts and lead Nottinghamshire to safety and for two and a half hours he showed that he can still summon the qualities required.

He and Hutton passed the first test by surviving nine overs to tea and with their partnership still intact as the contest entered the last hour, the odds against a Lancashire win had lengthened considerably, with visiting skipper Dane Vilas unable to conjure a breakthrough.

Yet it came with 13 overs left as Anderson returned to the attack. He positioned Croft at leg slip, and in the second over of his new spell fired a ball down leg side that Clarke, seemingly unable to resist, flicked obligingly into Croft’s waiting grasp.

Still, it looked short odds that Nottinghamshire would hold on only for Anderson to produce his second real jaffa of the day to take out Hutton’s middle stump, for a brave 23 spanning 153 minutes and 141 balls.

Another scare came in the final over as Luke Fletcher was leg before to Hartley but Stone saw out the last four deliveries to secure the draw.

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LANCASHIRE v SOMERSET

OLD TRAFFORD 11/5/2023 to 14/5/2023


www.bbc.co.uk/weather/2643123

somersetcountycc.co.uk/

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James Anderson and Will Williams enjoyed early success to give Lancashire the advantage on a rain-hit opening day in the LV= Insurance County Championship match at Emirates Old Trafford with Somerset closing on 109-4 after being put in.
Of the three hours of play possible, the first proved to be most eventful as the Lancashire attack struck early to have the visitors struggling on 12-3 with both Anderson and Williams finding swing and movement.



Anderson had Tom Lammonby dropped twice in the slips before he made the initial breakthrough when Steven Davies edged the first ball he faced from the England ace to Tom Hartley at third slip for 4.

Lammonby then enjoyed a third let-off when he drove back up the wicket with Anderson just failing to hang on to a reflex one-handed catch, but the bowler was soon celebrating his 1,099th first-class wicket when Somerset captain Tom Abell played across a swinging delivery to be lbw for 1.

Anderson’s opening spell was an impressive 8-5-5-2 with the fast bowler looking in good shape ahead of the first Test Match of the summer in a fortnight’s time.



Williams added to the visitor’s woe when he trapped George Bartlett lbw for a four-ball duck but Lammonby, who made the most of his escapes, and Tom Kohler-Cadmore rallied with a determined 43-run partnership during the second hour of the morning to head towards lunch in better shape.

But fifteen minutes before the break Kohler-Cadmore, who had played some good counter-attacking shots, chose the wrong ball to attempt a big hit in the direction of midwicket, instead losing his leg stump in spectacular style to Saqib Mahmood for 20.



Lammonby (34 not out) and James Rew (20 not out) dug in to successfully negotiate their way through another searching spell from Anderson and Williams after lunch before rain arrived to end the day’s proceedings early at 2.45pm.

Both teams fielded new overseas signings with New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell making his first-class debut for Lancashire, the 704th player to do so, while Kiwi bowling all-rounder Matt Henry replaced Cam Bancroft in one of Somerset’s overseas berths.

Luke Wood returned to the Red Rose line-up with Tom Bailey rested and Colin de Grandhomme dropping out from the overseas spot to accommodate Mitchell.



Saqib Mahmood said it “was nice to be back playing here,” after his first game at Emirates Old Trafford since April 2021.

"The last game against Somerset (at Taunton) was hard work on that wicket and outfield but afterwards I thought 'it's just good to be back playing again.

The pace bowler, who picked up the important wicket of Tom Kohler-Cadmore, added: “I thought we bowled well as a unit this morning.”

“There was movement with the new ball and our seamers made the most of it.

“Then the wicket started to get better and we had to adapt to that.

“Hopefully now the wicket has been back under the covers this afternoon and tonight, it might give us that little bit more (assistance) off the wicket again tomorrow morning.



“We’ve had four draws and the weather has played a part in all of them.

“We’re happy the way we are playing our cricket, we just need a bit of luck with the weather especially on good wickets like this. You need to maximise the time you are out there.

“If we are disciplined, bowl in the right areas and there’s enough there (in the wicket), we will get our rewards.”

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James Rew struck a fine century, his second against Lancashire this season, and shared a century partnership with Kasey Aldridge, to shift the momentum Somerset’s way on the second day of this LV= Insurance County Championship match at Emirates Old Trafford.
Daryl Mitchell, on his Red Rose debut, and Will Williams both took three wickets apiece to help bowl Somerset out for 361 but a further four dropped chances, not all of them particularly easy, proved costly for the hosts.

In reply, Lancashire lost Luke Wells and Josh Bohannon to reach the close of play on 72-2, 289 runs behind.

Rew had resumed the day on 20 with Somerset 109-4, and he immediately received a let off when Luke Wells failed to gather a difficult, ankle-high, chance to his left at slip from an edge off Williams.

It was Mitchell who became the unexpected hero with the ball, taking three wickets during the course of the day, as Lancashire came to terms with the non-appearance of James Anderson, with the England ace side-lined by what was thought to be a minor issue that is being assessed.

Tom Lammonby became Mitchell’s first wicket for the Red Rose when he edged his 184th delivery to Anderson’s fielding replacement Rob Jones, who took an excellent catch over his head at slip, to send back the opener for 38.



That was the only wicket to fall in the morning as the game went into something of a stalemate, with Somerset batting defensively and the Lancashire bowlers, not finding much assistance from the pitch - and missing Anderson, resorting to bowling straight and drying up the scoring.

Rew and Aldridge steadily built their alliance either side of the interval, the latter thumping a mighty six just before lunch while Rew was the beneficiary of another dropped catch in the slips on 70 just after the resumption, although that shouldn’t detract from what was another fine innings from this impressive nineteen-year-old wicketkeeper/batsman.

The century partnership duly arrived from 36 overs and one ball before Mitchell, swinging the ball nicely, struck again when Aldridge on 46 edged to Wells who took a good catch at first slip.

Rew hammered a flashing square drive for four to go his third career hundred from 233 balls with 11 fours but five runs later became Mitchell’s third wicket when top edging a cut to Jones at first slip.



Craig Overton hit out aggressively to help Somerset to a second batting point, losing partner Josh Davey to a catch at mid-off off Williams for 9, but Lancashire missed out on a third bowling point when Henry, on 3, survived a caught and bowled chance off Saqib Mahmood in the 110th over with the visitors 302-8.

Overton fell lbw to Williams for 35 but Henry – on his Somerset debut – cashed in, hitting three sixes in one Hartley over, on his way to a belligerent 39-ball fifty before Somerset were all out for 361, when Leach was superbly caught by a leaping Dane Vilas at deep mid-on off Williams for 9.



In the 28 overs left, Lancashire lost Wells for 1 to a superb catch by Henry off his own bowling, the Kiwi parrying the ball with his right hand and then grabbing the rebound while George Balderson was relieved to see an edge fly between wicketkeeper and first slip off Overton in a tricky opening period for the Red Rose top order.

Balderson and Bohannon survived that spell to prosper with a 67-run partnership until Bohannon was beaten just before the close by a sharply turning delivery from Leach after making 31.

Balderson (38 not out) and nightwatchman Williams (0 not out) will resume in the morning with Lancashire behind by 289 runs.



“It was nice to bowl them out and see us build a partnership, and for us it’s about backing up those partnerships to put a score on the board (tomorrow) and see where the game ends up,” said Daryl Mitchell.

The loss of James Anderson was clearly a big blow for Lancashire today and the New Zealand international added: “You’d love to have somebody of Jimmy’s class (out there), but I thought the way the boys stuck at it was good, on what is quite a nice batting surface.

“We built pressure for periods, and we got our rewards in little clumps, but we would have liked to have bowled them out for a bit less,” he said.



And Mitchell was pleased to have made an immediate impact today.

“It’s always nice when you start for the club, you want to put an impression on the fans,” he admitted.

“You want to contribute to the team, and it helps when you get a few cheeky poles in!” he grinned.

“It’s all part of your job to try and help the team win games of cricket. Whether it’s with bat or ball, or in the field, I guess you just try your best. Do it with a smile on your face, puff your chest out and see what the game brings you.”

It was pointed out to Daryl that there were a few Kiwis out on the pitch in this match. “We’re taking over!” he laughed. “It was awesome to be out there with Will Williams and obviously Matt Henry – although that was a massive six he hit up onto that balcony! It’s a bit weird playing against him because he’s my domestic team-mate as well. It’s all part of the wonders of playing all around the world.”



Looking ahead to the next couple of days, Mitchell added: “I think the wonderful thing about first-class cricket is that it can go down to the wire on the last day.

“For us we’ve got to control what we can control. Build partnerships and try and get as close as possible to their score.

“If we can get past it and put some pressure back on them, that’s exciting.

“But there’s a lot of cricket to be played in the next two days and for us it’s important not to look too far ahead, keep doing the job for the team and hopefully we are in a good position tomorrow.”

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Daryl Mitchell made his Red Rose debut a memorable one by making a superb century to add to the three wickets he took yesterday as Lancashire and Somerset battled hard to try and gain an advantage on the third day of this LV= Insurance County Championship match. The day ended with the game intriguingly poised with the visitors on 114-3 and leading by 149 runs.
Mitchell’s philosophy is to “play with a smile on your face, puff your chest out and see what the game brings you,” and the New Zealand international did just that today, clearly enjoying the responsibility as Lancashire steadily chipped away at the Somerset total of 361 and relishing the personal battle with his good friend and team-mate Matt Henry.



The first two sessions became a hard-fought battle as both teams tried to wrestle an advantage, with Mitchell handling the developing situations expertly, defending when necessary and choosing the right moments to play a more expansive, aggressive game.

Resuming the day on 72-2, Lancashire lost Will Williams to the first ball of the day via an edge off Craig Overton to wicketkeeper Steven Davies. That same combination struck three times for the visitors as Steven Croft departed for 7 and later George Balderson for an excellent 71.



Balderson’s alliance with Mitchell provided the early backbone of the Red Rose reply to Somerset’s 361 as the pair fought back well from a position of 82-4 after twenty minutes of play. Balderson, 41 not out overnight, soon reached his sixth first-class fifty to add to his 91 at Trent Bridge in the previous match.

The left-hand opening batsman had progressed nicely to reach 71 just before lunch but fell to the third ball of a new spell from Overton that broke a 77-run partnership for the fifth wicket.

A lively over from Matt Henry straight after lunch saw Dane Vilas help himself to a couple of boundaries but also trapped lbw for 15 leaving Lancashire 176-6 and in a spot of trouble still 150 runs in arrears.

By then Mitchell had already signalled his intent, greeting Josh Davey's introduction into the attack with a lofted drive for four over mid-on, bettered four overs later when he hit a six to the same spot off the same bowler.



George Bell lent great support in contributing 38 to a 57-run partnership for the seventh wicket before edging the excellent Overton’s fifth delivery with the new ball to Aldridge at second slip.

And Tom Hartley helped reduce the deficit below three figures by tea with Mitchell moving up through the gears after the break with a flurry of attacking shots, taking 14 runs off one Aldridge over including a six over long-on, as 61 runs arrived in a hurry from the seven overs after the interval.

Hartley joined in, smashing Aldridge for six over midwicket, until he was caught hooking Henry on the deep midwicket boundary for 47 to end a vital 88-run partnership that had brought Lancashire right back into the game.



Four balls later Mitchell – who had reached his century from 173 balls with 9 fours and 2 sixes – was receiving a standing ovation when last out for 105, the injured Anderson not batting, with Lancashire 326 all out but only 35 runs behind.

Mitchell’s debut century was just the tenth by a Lancashire batsman on their Championship debut, and he is only the second to score a hundred and take three wickets on debut along with Ralph Whitehead in 1908. Some debut.

Tom Abell struck a good 48 at the start of the Somerset second innings after Williams had removed Steven Davies for 9, before the visiting skipper was bowled by Hartley attempting a reverse sweep.



And the Red Rose attack built some good pressure over the closing hour of the day, capped when George Bartlett was bowled by Saqib Mahmood in the last over to leave Somerset three wickets down and 149 runs ahead.

Tomorrow could be a interesting final day.

“It was nice to get a few poles tonight and we will see what tomorrow brings,” said Daryl Mitchell.

“We will try and be relentless with the ball tomorrow, build pressure but I think the ball in many ways is in their court and how they want to come out in the morning and set the game up.

“We’ll keep trying to build pressure and take wickets, and hopefully get a chase later on.

“It’s a nice wicket and the new ball is important,” he added.

“I thought the way Saqib came in at the end of the day with a reversing ball was pretty good. He brought some great energy late in the day – which we needed – so you take your hat off to him.

“Getting that wicket in the last over helps set it up in the morning.”



Mitchell was modesty itself regarding his outstanding century in difficult circumstances.

“It’s always nice when you contribute to the team and get a score on the board,” he said.

“It was good fun. I thought Somerset bowled well in periods, especially with the second new ball.”

And Mitchell was impressed by the contributions from youngsters George Bell and Tom Hartley.

“I think there are some seriously talented young batters in this team,” he said.

“It was awesome to see them do their job and do with a smile on their face. They enjoy their cricket and are only going to get better as their careers go on.

“I thought they played with a lot of class, and it bodes well for Lancashire.”

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