Nottinghamshire assumed control at the halfway stage of their LV= Insurance County Championship match against Sussex courtesy of ten wickets shared by overseas bowler James Pattinson and Dane Paterson, and a sizable contribution with the bat from Haseeb Hameed, with Lyndon James playing a vital supporting role.
Ollie Robinson proved dangerous with the new ball for the second time, reducing the Green and Golds to 40/3 in their second innings. But after Hameed made 94 and James 56, Nottinghamshire finished on 284 for seven, with a lead of 381.
Earlier, Pattinson and Paterson finished with five wickets each as Sussex were bowled out for 143 in reply to Nottinghamshire’s first innings 240.
The hosts needed just under an hour in the morning to take the final five Sussex wickets, the key breakthrough coming in the sixth over when Paterson trapped Cheteshwar Pujara with an inswinging ball that was too good even for a player of the Indian Test star’s calibre.
His wicket ended a partnership worth 71 with Archie Lenham and caused a collapse from the visitors, with all five wickets falling for 23 runs in the space of 34 deliveries.
Pattinson removed Lenham for a gutsy 31 and Robinson was strangled down the leg side to give the Australian his first five-wicket haul of the season.
Not to be outdone, Paterson knocked out Sean Hunt’s off stump before having Ari Karvelas plainly leg before to finish with five for 43, Pattinson having taken five for 56.
As on day one of a breathtakingly fast-moving contest, Robinson came up with a superb opening spell as Sussex, trailing by 97 on first innings, made early inroads.
Again, his fourth and fifth overs were productive as Ben Slater, Ben Duckett and Joe Clarke departed in the space of six deliveries.
Slater was caught taking on the short ball at fine leg, while Duckett was caught behind off an inside edge before Clarke, offering no shot, was lbw to a ball that kept low.
Hameed, closing on 1,000 first-class runs for the season, remained resolute though, and looked in splendid touch.
A superbly timed straight drive for four in Robinson’s opening over was evidence of that and by the time he pulled Brad Currie to the fence for his ninth boundary he had 50 from 71 balls. Having seen the back of Robinson for a while, he and James added 138 in 33 overs.
Hameed missed out on a hundred when a ball from Hunt nipped away to have him caught behind. In his best spell of the match, Hunt also dismissed James, lbw trying to work him to leg.
Currie removed Tom Moores shortly after tea with another delivery that found the edge and Steven Mullaney, whose 70 was the key innings in Nottinghamshire’s first innings, added another 42 before he was leg before sweeping another 18-year-old, Lenham.
Pattinson and Liam Patterson-White added 34 before bad light brought the close forward by two overs.
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