Speaking after Nottinghamshire thrashed Durham by an innings and 141 runs to earn 23 points at the Riverside, Luke Fletcher has spoken of his delight at how the Green and Golds secured victory.

Having dismissed Durham for 230 on the opening day, a colossal double-century from Ben Slater and a maiden hundred for Lyndon James helped Notts reply with 488/9 declared.

Fletcher and his fellow bowlers then comprehensively secured victory as they skittled Durham for 117 inside 34 overs on the third day.

“I’m absolutely chuffed. It’s a great all-round team performance with individual bits of class,” said Fletcher. “I’m buzzing for Ben Slater and Lyndon James, but as a team, those last two sessions were absolutely brilliant.

“It was such good fun to be out there in those last two sessions.”

Observers of the game may have been even more taken aback at the Durham collapse instigated by Fletcher, James Pattinson, Dane Paterson, and Liam Patterson-White, given the ease with which the Green and Golds had piled on the runs.

Fletcher noted that the surface had the potential to be somewhat benign, but underlined that the uncompromising effort of his fellow bowlers was instrumental in sealing a win.

“It was just about being aggressive and going at them,” he explained. “As long as we worked hard as a bowling unit, we could make things uncomfortable for the Durham batters.

“We know we have pace in our attack with James Pattinson, then alongside him Liam Patterson-White has been absolutely outstanding as our spinner.

“We have a nice attack individually, but the biggest factor in making things happen out there was how we worked together.”

The seamer was also at pains to express his sheer delight at the bouncebackability on display from Notts, who responded to a loss last week in crushing fashion.

Fletcher himself was forced to sit out that defeat to Glamorgan on account of an injury sustained a week earlier against Sussex, but roared back into the side in Chester-le-Street.

“No-one likes being injured, and I’ve had a hard week with [strength coach Liam Price] and [physio Kunwar Bansil] getting back to fitness,” noted Fletcher.

“I don’t like being away from the game, I like to be amongst the lads and out on the field, and ultimately be putting in match-winning performances for Notts, which is what it’s all about.”

The performance put in by Fletcher sealed a crucial win for the Green and Golds at a venue where conditions can be unfamiliar, a fact not lost on the 33-year-old.

“This win proves that we can go about it in a different way,” he beamed. “That surface is a lot different to what we’re used to playing on at Trent Bridge, so to come away here and face different challenges, it’s a great result.

“Four-day wins are hard to come by, so to bounce back on the defeat that we had last week was really important, and to win like we have is brilliant.”

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