After a run of four consecutive away games in the LV= County Championship Nottinghamshire return to Trent Bridge when they host Durham this week.

The sides have only met on eleven previous occasions in Nottingham, with the hosts leading overall by three wins to two, with six matches being drawn.

1992 marked the north east county’s entrance into the championship and they drew their match here, despite being made to follow on. Aussie Dean Jones scored 154 not out to ensure the draw after the home side had registered a couple of centurions of their own – skipper Tim Robinson making 164 and Chris Lewis chipped in with 107.

"In virtually all of the previous meetings there has been a glut of runs and some eye-catching bowling performances."

The last two meetings have produced the most emphatic victories. Two years ago Durham won by an innings and 102 as Steve Harmison’s 6-20 blew the hosts away for just 83 in their second knock.

Last year the roles were reversed as Notts made it four wins out of four at the start of the season, thanks to a win by an innings and 102 runs. A stand of 237 for the seventh wicket between Ali Brown, who made 134, and Chris Read 124 not out, proved significant.

Both Robinson and Read have registered other centuries in the fixture – the opener also making 184 in 1996 and the gloveman got 108 in 2004. 

In virtually all of the previous meetings there has been a glut of runs and some eye-catching bowling performances. Nottinghamshire’s other ton-men have been : Paul Johnson 101 in 1994, Greg Blewett 133 in 2001, Usman Afzaal 103 in 2002, David Hussey 166 not out in 2004, Jason Gallian 114 in 2006 and Bilal Shafayat 100 in 2008.

Durham have had three other centurions in the fixture since Jones’ effort in the debut meeting, with Sherwin Campbell, Darren Blenkiron and Dale Benkenstein all scoring hundreds.

Apart from Harmison’s splendid performance two years ago two other Durham bowlers have picked up 6 wicket hauls – David Graveney 6-80 in 1994 and Mark Davies 6-78 in 2004.

Nottinghamshire’s best home bowling performance against Durham came from Australian leg-sppinner Stuart MacGill, who snared figures of 6-81 in 2004.

Andy Afford with 5-45 and Paul Franks’ 5-41 are the other Notts bowlers to take five wickets in an innings.

A repeat of Franks’ 2004 performance would give him the remaining five wickets he needs to reach the milestone of 500 first class wickets.

This weeks meeting comes only three weeks since the sides met at Chester-le-Street. Nottinghamshire’s Sam Kelsall and Karl Turner made their first class debuts in that drawn match, after Michael Di Venuto had scored 132 for the home side and Chris Read had replied with an unbeaten 133.

Durham ended that contest in pole position in the LV= County Championship but have now slipped to second, thirteen points behind Lancashire. Nottinghamshire’s performance at Taunton extended their unbeaten run to five in the championship and the eleven points they picked up from the fixture keeps them in fifth place, still 28 behind Warwickshire who they face next.

Finally, apologies to Riki Wessels who quite rightly pointed out that I’d omitted his name from last weeks list of players who had made their first class debuts for Nottinghamshire this season.

So to right the wrong, it’s now eight debutants for the county during the current campaign:

Brett Hutton and Jake Ball v MCC, Ben Phillips v Yorkshire, Riki Wessels v Worcestershire, Sam Wood v Lancashire,  both Karl Turner and Sam Kelsall in that fixture mentioned above v Durham and now Darren Bravo v Somerset.

Dave Bracegirlde provides ball by ball commentary on all of Nottinghamshire’s LV= County Championship matches on behalf of BBC Radio Nottingham.