Joey Evison scored an unbeaten hundred and Ben Duckett, Lyndon James and Zak Chappell hit fifties on a free-scoring first day against Loughborough UCCE which saw the visitors close 424 runs in arrears with nine wickets in hand.
The all-rounder’s ton helped elevate the Green and Golds from 213-6 to 440-9, but featured no shortage of expansive shots – the 20-year-old struck 13 fours and a swashbuckling straight six during his 142-delivery stay at the crease – ensuring Notts ticked along at a healthy rate as they eased their way back into competitive action.
Having elected to bat first, an 85-run fourth-wicket stand between Moores and Duckett proved to be Notts’ first demonstration of dominance after the university side had picked up the wickets of stand-in skipper Haseeb Hameed – bowled by a pearler from Will Rogers – Ben Slater (strangled) and Joe Clarke (caught behind), with minimal harm inflicted.
And after Duckett departed for a 50-ball 61 – caught sharply by Nottinghamshire's Matt Montgomery, plying his trade for the opposition at second slip – Lyndon James picked up the baton, displaying stubborn defence yet unfurling textbook drives through the cover region when afforded the opportunity. But both he and Tom Moores, who matched watchfullness with his usual flamboyance, were bowled by Don Butchart for 54 and 48 respectively, with the home side’s innings finely poised.
Evison and Calvin Harrison – making his first red-ball appearance for Notts – steadied the ship once again before the latter was run out, leaving Brett Hutton (19) to accompany the former England U19 international as he went about his assault.
The arrival of Zak Chappell – who batted steadily before bursting into life by hitting Zain Rizvi for 20 off the 72nd over, and Montgomery for 15 off the 79th – pushed the scoring rate higher still, Notts rattling along at more than five runs per over.
Chappell’s departure for a better than run-a-ball 63 cued the arrival of Fletcher, who was tasked with keeping the Loughborough bowlers at bay until his teammate reached his landmark, a feat achieved in the 85th over with a comprehensive pull to the square-leg boundary.
Loughborough remained plucky in their efforts throughout the day, with 3-60 for Will Rogers and 1-67 from 17 overs for Montgomery, helping to to stunt the hosts’ progress, and a resolute second wicket stand between Joe MacGregor and Max Luckett ensured the university side would return on day two with nine wickets in hand after Brett Hutton trapped Ben Chapman-Lilley lbw in the fourth of nine overs bowled by Nottinghamshire before close.
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