Haseeb Hameed showed the virtue of patience and value of counter-attacking with a splendid century on Nottinghamshire’s return to LV= Insurance County Championship action against Middlesex at Trent Bridge.
In a battle between the two sides atop the Division Two table, Hameed scored in bursts during an innings worth 101, striking 14 fours yet remaining watchful throughout whilst Ben Duckett and Joe Clarke offered support.
As the day wore on, Steven Mullaney and Lyndon James made the most of tired bowling and added 151 for the fifth wicket, including 16 overs of a new ball spell, to see Notts close 378/4, the pair positioned to close in on centuries of their own in the morning,
Having lost Ben Slater in the fourth over - caught behind poking at Toby Roland Jones - Notts’ innings got off to a steady start after winning the toss, but Duckett and Hameed sprung into life with the introduction of the visitors’ first change bowlers.
The latter clipped Martin Andersson cleanly off his pads in the 12th over, sparking a shift in momentum as the pair pummeled 62 off five overs.
Tom Helm - himself the recipient of some punishment, conceding nine and 13 off his first two overs respectively - had the last laugh in an entertaining passage of play, however, when Duckett edged through to John Simpson who caught well in front of second slip, the left-hander dismissed having hit seven fours from his 37 deliveries.
Joe Clarke’s arrival at the crease brought with it a modicum of calmness as he and Hameed saw Notts through to lunch on 120.
And matters resumed in the same manner after the break. Hameed brought up his fifty from 89 balls with a thick top edge through a vacant third slip region, but he remained characteristically circumspect.
The 25-year-old invariably latched onto loose deliveries when given the opportunity but was more than happy to leave, defend and sway from deliveries which merited such a response.
20 runs, however, across the 41st and 43rd overs advanced the right-hander towards his century, with the third wicket partnership reaching one hundred in the 47th over, the score 184/2.
Clarke looked set to reach his own half-century having moved onto 47 off 91 balls by muscling Luke Hollman over mid-wicket for four, but fell a ball later, top edging a cut shot to Jack Davies at first slip who showed quick reflexes to take the catch above his left shoulder.
The wicket did not spark the collapse the visitors may have hoped for, but they were to be rewarded with the wicket of Hameed before the tea interval.
Five balls after driving through the covers to reach three figures, the opener attempted to sweep Hollman, but the full delivery snuck through and rattled the stumps to end his 154-ball vigil, with Notts on 227.
After the break, Lyndon James and Steven Mullnaey accumulated without risk against the spin of Hollman and Mark Stoneman to ease the score above three hundred, each totting up fifties.
Against increasingly tired bowlers, the pair passed their hundred partnership in the final over before the new ball was taken to see the score to 327, and staved off the threat of Tim Murtagh and Roland-Jones intent on claiming scalps late in the day.
James was offered a lifeline when dropped on 78 in the slips, but negotiated the remainder of the day to finish on 90*, with Mullaney unbeaten on 79*.