Only 7.3 overs of cricket were played at Headingley on the second day of Nottinghamshire’s LV= county championship match against Yorkshire.

Replying to Notts’ first innings total of 205, the home side advanced their score from 52-2 to 76-2, with Jack Leaning on 35 not out and Andrew Gale unbeaten on 23.

Mick Newell reflected that Notts have lost a considerable amount of time to the rain this season.

“We’ve been a bit unlucky with the weather in recent times,” he said.

“It’s been following us around a little bit, so not much achieved today but I thought we bowled quite nicely but obviously without taking any wickets so we haven’t been able to make any progress.”

The director of cricket felt it had been an ideal opportunity to get amongst the Yorkshire top order today.

“They were good conditions for bowling this morning , cloudy and overcast, typical Headingley conditions, so we are disappointed we didn’t take a wicket but we didn’t lose much either.”

Although the match appears to be going nowhere after so much time lost, Newell said his side have to try and make the most of the remaining two days.

“From our perspective we have got to take 18 wickets to win this match which is going to be a lot of work with only 200 overs left to play and we’d still have to bat ourselves as well,” he added.

“It’s going to be difficult for us but we’ve got to be fully focussed when we come back on the third morning and make sure we are ready to try and bowl Yorkshire out and put ourselves in as strong a position as possible.”

The day began with Ajmal Shahzad bowling the one remaining delivery of an unfinished over. Andre Adams then kicked things off properly, with a maiden from the Football Stand End – before Peter Siddle replaced Shahzad at the Kirkstall Lane End.

Leaning got his morning’s work up and running with an exquisite cover drive off Adams that resulted in an all-run four after Phil Jaques had to run to the furthest boundary to retrieve.

Michael Lumb then had a similar chase, dragging it back from the third man fence as three more were added.

Both bowlers repeatedly beat the bat but to no avail as the pair steadily rotated the strike and extended their stand beyond fifty.

After 37 minutes of action the umpires decided that the light had deteriorated so badly that they needed to call a temporary halt to proceedings but within several minutes heavy rain began to fall.