Nottinghamshire captain Chris Read feels confident about his side’s chance of securing a win at Aigburth against Lancashire but admits their batting needs to improve significantly.
After making a strong start on Day One, the Nottinghamshire lower order failed to provide a solid contribution and push the team towards a daunting total. Notts lost 5 wickets from 9 overs shortly after Tea which gave them a lead of just 36 runs. Chris Read remained diplomatic about afternoon’s events.
“We’d have liked to build a bigger lead but Lancashire bowled very well,” he said.
“For a while now the tail has failed to wag, if you like, but today they faced some high-class bowling and a new ball so it was always going to be a tough situation.”
“The batsmen are well aware a better performance is needed to enforce a win here.”
However, Read is keen to keep perspective and praise the all-round effort over the two days.
“We did well to get those two wickets this afternoon, there is definitely some good cricket left in this game,” he added.
“Our plan tomorrow will be to bowl them out as early as we can, attack their top order and get them out for a score that we can chase down.”
The second day was marred by heavy cloud cover throughout the day which caused play to be stopped twice on account of bad light. With 17 overs remaining the teams were forced from the field a final time to bring an early end to what looked to be a day of bowling success for both sides.
With better weather forecast for tomorrow and the team having an extended evening to regroup and refresh, it’s clear that there is everything left to play for in the two days that remain.