Brendan Taylor wrote his name into the Nottinghamshire record books with a century on the final day of the first class friendly against Loughborough MCCU at Trent Bridge.
Taylor scored 105, becoming only the 12th player in the county’s history to register a hundred in his maiden match.
His runs came from 111 balls, with 15 fours and two sixes as Notts made the most of their final opportunity to get in some last minute practice ahead of the LV= County Championship season.
Alex Hales scored 83, after Riki Wessels had fallen for 60, as Notts posted 361 for three declared in their second innings.
The students posted 86 for two in their second innings before the two captains agreed to shake hands on a draw.
Mick Newell, Nottinghamshire’s director of cricket, agreed that the contest had been hugely beneficial. “We’ve certainly got a lot out of the game,” he said. “The pitch has been flat and the weather good, so we’ve been able to get in plenty of batting and bowling. All in all, it’s been an excellent three days of cricket.”
Resuming from their overnight position of 104 without loss in their second innings, Notts were quickly into their stride. Wessels, 55 not out overnight, crashed the first ball of the day to the backward point boundary before pushing a single.
Brendan Taylor wasted no time in bringing up his own half century. Needing just one for the landmark, he skipped down the track to lift his first ball of the day over long on for six.
Wessels fell shortly afterwards, given out lbw against the bowling of Robert Gamble. That allowed Hales and Taylor to settle in for a productive second wicket stand of 97.
It was broken shortly after Taylor had reached his ton, following in the footsteps of Greg Blewett, David Hussey, Steven Mullaney, James Taylor and Jake Libby, all of whom have scored a hundred on their county debut since 2001.
Hales looked set to begin his red ball campaign with a three-figure score of his own, blazing three huge sixes and seven fours before dancing down the track and being bowled by Kumar.
James Taylor went past 8,000 first class runs as he reached 62 not out, completing his half century from 59 balls, and Chris Read was unbeaten on 46 at the time of the declaration.
Loughborough lost their captain at the start of the second over as Harry Gurney removed Anish Patel’s off peg but Hasan Azad and Mark Best eased to a 50 stand from only 88 balls either side of tea.
They’d extended the stand to 74 before Steven Mullaney made the breakthrough, having Best caught by Wessels at slip for 42.
Hasan Azad was unbeaten on 29, his second impressive knock of the game, with Nitish Kumar on five when they decided to call time at 5pm.
Nottinghamshire’s next fixture is their opening match in the LV= County Championship, beginning on Sunday, when they play against Middlesex at Lord’s.
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.