Nottinghamshire narrowly came up short on an absorbing final day of their LV= County Championship match against Warwickshire at Edgbaston.
Set to score 289 to win, the home side were set up for the victory by a fifth wicket stand of 108 between Sam Hain and Tim Ambrose.
Hain made 63 and Ambrose added an undefeated 82 as the home side finished on 289 for seven , having recovered from losing Jonathan Trott in the first over of the day, to Peter Siddle.
Samit Patel briefly raised Nottinghamshire hopes, collecting figures of three for 36, as a triple-wicket burst, in as many overs during the late afternoon, threatened to turn the contest back towards the visitors.
Mick Newell felt the match wasn’t necessarily lost on the final day. “We threw away good opportunities to bat them out of the game in our first innings,” he said.
“Today we didn’t bowl straight enough. We’d bowled better than them in the first innings but they probably bowled better than us in the second. We’ve had a tough month and just about come out of the other side. It’s disappointing to lose because we could have put a bit of daylight between ourselves and the rest, at the top, but I think we’d happily have taken 50 points from the last three matches if offered it.”
Resuming from their overnight position of 61 for two, needing a further 228 for the win, Warwickshire had Chris Wright, their nightwatchman, on strike. He worked his fourth ball away through midwicket for 3.
The second of two short-pitched balls from Siddle did the trick at Jonathan Trott (19), who got into a horrible mess before fending it off his nose straight into the waiting hands of James Taylor at short leg.
Andre Adams’ early overs weren’t as rewarding, with Wright hitting him for three boundaries in the space of just four deliveries.
Hain, an 18-year old playing just his 8th first class innings, nearly replicated the Trott dismissal, with Taylor doing well to get a fingertip to it as it fizzed by him.
Notts put the brakes on the scoring rate with Patel and Luke Fletcher into the attack and it contrived to produce a second wicket of the day.
Wright (45) had made 45 out of the 59 that had been added in the first hour of the day but then he pushed loosely outside his off peg and edged Fletcher through to Chris Read.
A flurry of boundaries got the crucial fifth wicket partnership up and running. Hain punched Patel to the advertising boards twice and the following over saw Ambrose take 3 fours off Fletcher.
Hain, on 18, was put down at first slip by Riki Wessels, off Patel. A difficult chance – and the player had to leave the field for 2 overs for treatment to his finger.
Both batsmen increased the tempo as the morning session swung decisively towards the Bears, although a confident lbw shout by Mullaney, against Hain, appeared to go narrowly in the favour of the batsman.
113 were still required when the afternoon period began but the balance swung firmly in Warwickshire’s favour as Hain and Ambrose plundered the bowling.
The combination of Fletcher and Patel returned and, as in the morning, reduced the flow of runs to a trickle. Additionally, it brought wickets.
Hain had passed his 50 (106 balls 8x4) but then nudged Patel to Alex Hales at slip, one of a cordon of 5 close-catchers.
Just four more had been added when Patel struck again, getting two wickets in the space of 3 deliveries.
Chris Woakes, who made 91 in the first innings, went for a pull and bottom-edged onto his stumps and then Rikki Clarke (2) popped his second ball up to Phil Jaques at silly point.
NotTs best spell of the day had seen them send down 20 overs, with Warwickshire recording 38-3 during that time.
Ambrose had reached his own half century (89 balls 9x4) and had steered his side to within 28 runs of the finishing line by tea.
Notts took the second new ball immediately after the interval and it’s hardness enabled Ambrose to lift Siddle up, high and handsome over third man for 6.
The end came as Keith Barker (23 not out) eased Siddle through the off side, leaving Ambrose unbeaten on 82.
The defeat was Nottinghamshire’s third of the campaign, second against Warwickshire, but the 8 bonus points lifts them clear at the top of the table, although Yorkshire have a game in hand.