Nottinghamshire will be hoping for a spirited showing from their lower order when their Specsavers County Championship match with Hampshire resumes on the third morning.
After two intense days of battle at The Ageas Bowl, the visitors are 99 for five in their first innings, 171 runs adrift of the home team.
Ryan McLaren did the main damage, picking up three for 17, as Division One’s bottom side responded well after picking up just two batting points.
Hampshire’s first innings had ended midway through the afternoon, when they were eventually dismissed for 270. Harry Gurney did most of the damage, ending with figures of four for 61 Luke Fletcher added one more scalp to the two he claimed on the first morning and finished with three for 60.
“Obviously with losing all that time on the first day, the fact we managed to keep the runs per over fairly low, meant that although we went periods without getting a wicket the game didn’t disappear from us,” said Andy Pick on the efforts of his bowlers.
“It was good to see us bowling tight lines and getting our rewards at the end.”
Of Gurney’s performance, the bowling coach said, “Ironically, we spoke at lunch-time and he said that he felt he was bowling well. I told him there were wickets around the corner for him. He’s played long enough to know if you stick in there, you get your rewards.”
Brett Hutton will replace Jake Ball for the remainder of the match, with Ball’s England selection meaning a trip north to prepare for the forthcoming Test. Pick said that he’s looking for Hutton to freshen up his attack later on in the match.
“We all know he can bowl, he showed last year how good he is. We hope he’ll come in and keeping it swinging backwards and forwards and give us fresh legs for the second innings.”
Pick confirmed the objectives on the third morning will be fairly basic. “Obviously, the longer we can bat and the more runs we can put on the board, the better position we will put ourselves in.”
The day began with Hampshire resuming from their overnight score of 149 for four, with Sean Ervine and Tom Alsop the unbeaten batsmen.
Ball and Fletcher had evenly shared the four wickets to have fallen on the first day and Fletcher soon had his third of the innings.
Ervine had moved on to 42 but was powerless to do anything about a delivery that seamed away but then swung sharply back to demolish his off stump.
Alsop had made two scores of 150 for Hampshire’s second XI last week and transferred that form into this innings as he progressed to his second first class 50 from 82 balls.
Gurney’s first day performance had gone without reward but he picked up a deserved first scalp to remove Adam Wheater. Bowling around the wicket, he found an inside edge which was brilliantly taken by the fleet-of-foot Chris Read.
Notts took the second new ball as soon as it became due but had to wait until the 91st over before it had an effect. Gurney removed two wickets in the same over; having Alsop caught behind for 72 and McLaren held by Riki Wessels at first slip for 10.
The left arm quick had sent down a wide delivery, from which a scampered run was taken, but then took his third wicket in eight deliveries as Tino Best perished leg before wicket for nought.
Last wicket pair Mason Crane and James Tomlinson added 35 before their fun was ended by Samit Patel. The spinner, playing the 250th first class match of his career, snapped up Crane, who attempted a huge heave away on the leg side but only succeeded in skying the ball straight up in the air, with the waiting Read beneath it.
In the brightest conditions of the day Notts made a poor start to their reply, losing Steven Mullaney, without a run on the board, to the third ball of the innings.
Best’s pace found an edge which flew sharply into the hands of McLaren in the gully and the West Indian bowler was operating when Hampshire struck again.
Michael Lumb pushed Best to point and set off for a sharp single but Jake Libby was unable to beat Michael Carberry’s direct hit and was run out for two.
Lumb and Brendan Taylor added 45 together but both then fell to McLaren. The South African bowler’s first delivery of his second spell had Lumb caught at slip by Jimmy Adams for 32.
Taylor then survived a run out scare, with Best’s accurate underarm just failing to beat the dive. The reprieve was short, as Wheater then gobbled up a chance behind the stumps to end the Zimbabwean’s knock on 28.
Patel, who made a blistering century against Warwickshire in the previous match, fell for only three, edging to Will Smith as McLaren celebrated his third wicket.
Wessels and Read batted throughout the final 45 minutes of the day and will look to add to their unbeaten sixth wicket partnership of 27 when the match resumes.
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