Nottinghamshire secured their first win of their LV= County Championship season when they overcame Derbyshire by 9 wickets on the final day at the County Ground.
Made to wait, by a stubborn sixth wicket partnership and indifferent weather conditions, Notts eventually dismissed the home side for 229, leaving them to knock off the 43 required for victory.
Stuart Broad took four of the last five Derbyshire wickets, ending with second innings figures of 4-34, giving him a match aggregate of 8-91 on his summer debut.
“I felt I’d got good rhythm and it was pleasing to get wickets and help Notts to get their first win of the season." Stuart Broad
“I felt very good from the first ball really,” said the England international. “I felt I’d got good rhythm and it was pleasing to get wickets and help Notts to get their first win of the season.
“I think the wicket had flattened out after the heavy roller and we needed to get to the second new ball to make something happen.”
Pitching the ball up, three of Broad’s second innings wickets came with lbw decisions.
“They were all out,” he said. “The umpire had an easy job with them. The wicket had become slow after the heavy roller, so it was important for me to get it full and straight. I came through the four days pretty well but it feels strange to think we’ll go again on Monday but I’ll rest up and be ready.”
Notts’ task would have been made much easier had they manufactured an early breakthrough on the final morning and they almost got through in the second over of the day as Samit Patel found the edge of Dan Redfern’s bat but the ball found its way between Chris Read and Alex Hales.
David Wainwright then clipped the same bowler onto the arm of Riki Wessels at short leg but the ball fell straight to the ground.
From that point the pair began to eat into Nottinghamshire’s advantage and an hour into the day a four from Wainwright, off Harry Gurney, wiped out the deficit.
A bowler light, due to Andre Adams’ injury, captain Read looked to his part-time bowlers to do a job in the lead-up to the second new ball.
Riki Wessels bowled a couple of overs and Ed Cowan, having only ever bowled three wicketless overs in his career, sent down the 80th over, which went for just three runs.
Patel was preparing to bowl the next over when a sharp shower sent the players scurrying to the pavilion. After a delay of fifteen minutes the conditions improved and Notts had a change of heart and took the new ball.
With its first delivery Stuart Broad speared in an unplayable yorker and Redfern was trapped lbw, with his resistance finally ended on 61.
That breakthrough opened the door for Notts and in Broad’s next over he capitalised by having Wainwright (33) caught behind and Tom Poynton (0) lbw in successive deliveries.
Three wickets in ten deliveries had wrestled the initiative back but lunch and a heavy and prolonged rain delay interrupted any further progress.
After a stoppage of ninety minutes Notts wasted little time in taking the game forward. Broad collected his fourth wicket in 17 deliveries as Tony Palladino (4) hobbled off to a toe-crunching lbw. Gurney delivered the final blow as Jon Clare (5) lost his off pole.
Chasing only 43, the reply began poorly with Alex Hales (4) nicking Groenewald through to ‘keeper Poynton from just the fifth ball of the innings.
Ed Cowan (15 not out) and Michael Lumb (24 not out) ensured there would be no further alarms as they raced to the finishing line in just 5.4 overs.
Nottinghamshire’s 100th visit to Derbyshire brought them 22 points and earned them a visit victory in the championship since the match against Sussex at Hove last May.