Nottinghamshire batted throughout the final day to ensure that their LV= County Championship match at Trent Bridge, against Yorkshire, ended in a draw.
The home side had begun the final day 61 runs ahead but managed to extend their second innings into the final session before the two captains were happy to shake hands at the start of the final hour.
Chris Read top-scored for Notts, making an unbeaten 83, and was still there at the close as his side reached 354 for seven at the time of the declaration.
There were solid contributions throughout the middle order, with 76 from Samit Patel, 43 from Riki Wessels and both Vernon Philander and James Taylor passed 30.
Mick Newell, Nottinghamshire’s director of cricket, agreed it was a match that ebbed and flowed throughout.
“There were periods today when we lost wickets at crucial times and we had to fight and battle hard,” he said. “But over the four days there was a lot of good cricket played by both teams.”
Newell agreed that it hadn’t been ideal to have to bat first on the opening day. “We lost the toss, yet made over 400 which was above par. When we went out on Sunday morning in the gloom and doom, with the floodlights on, and the ball nipping around I thought a score of about 275 would be par but Alex Hales played an outstanding innings.
“The wicket got flatter over the second and third days, I’ll reserve judgement on how well we bowled, but Yorkshire played very well.”
Will Gidman, who had batted out of position as nightwatchman on the third evening, made 13 and lasted for a further 45 minutes before being drawn into nicking Steven Patterson behind.
The other wicket to fall was that of James Taylor, who had battled his way to 35 before lifting Will Rhodes into the hands of substitute fielder Moin Ashraf, down at long leg.
Patel had survived a confident lbw shout from the first ball he faced, from the bowling of Patterson, but then found his range with a succession of crisp drives, both straight and through extra cover.
He took 13 from the first two overs after lunch and then reached his 50 in the next, getting there from 75 balls, with 7 fours.
A three-figure score looked to be within range before he flashed hard at Will Rhodes and edged the ball through to wicketkeeper Andrew Hodd.
Hodd then clung to his third catch of the day to remove Wessels from the spin of Jack Leaning, with the wicket falling four deliveries before the second new ball became due.
Read and Philander ensured there would be no further mishaps though, with an unbroken stand of 109 for the eighth wicket.
Read has now scored 252 runs in the championship, whilst being dismissed only once and Philander’s 38 was a fine return on his maiden Trent Bridge outing.
The draw means that both sides collect 11 points from the fixture.
The excitement of the NatWest T20 Blast returns to Trent Bridge in May as Notts Outlaws hope to break the 10,000 barrier for the arrival of reigning champions Birmingham Bears on Friday 15 May.
Adult tickets are available at a special price of £10 and further discounts in place for under 16s (£5), under21s (£7) and senior citizens (£7) when buying in advance. Make Trent Bridge a firm fixture for your Friday nights and secure your seats now.