Nottinghamshire got their LV= Insurance County Championship season off to a positive start against Durham at Trent Bridge, as a homegrown attack took wickets at regular intervals throughout the day to restrict the visitors to 241/7 at the close of play.
Steven Mullaney won the toss and chose to bowl on a typical green-tinged early-season pitch, with an attack bolstered by the return of Jake Ball from international duty, and the captain was duly vindicated.
The swift demise of Scott Borthwick for none, surprised by a quick Ball yorker that trapped him leg before, followed that of opener Mike Jones in the same over, the fifth of the innings.
Jones, who also failed to score, edged to third slip, where Haseeb Hameed held a sharp catch at the second attempt, at which point Durham were five for two. Ball finished with terrific figures of two for 10 from his six-over new-ball spell.
Durham appeared to have wrestled back the momentum in the latter stages of the morning session - until the last over, when Notts successfully lobbied to squeeze in an extra one before lunch.
Luke Fletcher struck to dismiss an industrious Bedingham, who scored a 76-ball fifty but then edged to Tom Moores, ending an 88-run partnership for the third wicket.
Lees brought up a patient 118-ball fifty after lunch, but was beaten by Joe Clarke’s pin-point throw to the bowler’s end after new partner Burnham had attempted a risky second run to deep backward square off Lyndon James.
Burnham survived to reach 42 at tea but perished in the first over of the final session, caught behind on the legside as he flicked at a delivery from Fletcher, returning to Notts’ red ball side after an injury-hampered 2020.
Ned Eckersley and Stuart Poynter then fell in quick succession, the latter a deserved wicket for a tidy display from all-rounder James.
It was left to Brydon Carse and ben Raine to survive 16 overs against the second new ball.
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Tickets to witness Notts Outlaws’ defence of their Vitality Blast title in 2021 are now on general sale.
