Debutants Fergus O’Neill and Josh Tongue snared six wickets between them on Day One of Nottinghamshire’s season-opening Rothesay County Championship clash against Durham.

Australian overseas signing O’Neill led the attack with a return of 4/74, while Tongue claimed 2/92 to ensure that, despite Colin Ackermann’s century, the Green and Golds retained a foothold in the contest.

Farhan Ahmed also snared 2/53 as the visitors, inserted after Haseeb Hameed won the toss, closed a wonderfully warm and sunny opening day of the 2025 campaign on 370-9.

Having only stepped off a flight from Melbourne earlier this week to begin his four-game stint, O’Neill displayed no signs of jet-lag as he vindicated skipper Hameed’s decision to bowl first early on.

Ben McKinney was the 24-year-old’s maiden scalp for Notts, caught behind by Joe Clarke for five, before O’Neill repeated the trick in his next over to see off Emilio Gay for a duck.

Durham captain Alex Lees remained fluent and resistant in equal measure, but after hitting a 60-ball half-century, he too was uprooted before lunch, caught at mid-on by O’Neill for 52 off Ahmed.

It was the dismissal of Gay that had brought Ackermann to the crease, but he initially had to dig in during the first half of the afternoon.

With Ackermann watching on, Tongue struck for his first Notts wicket, having Ollie Robinson held by Lyndon James at first slip.

O’Neill then returned to take his third, removing Will Rhodes via a sharp one-handed catch from Clarke behind the stumps.

However, Ackermann proceeded to resist the threat being posed by the home attack, reaching a half-century in 88 balls as part of a 93-run stand with Graham Clark.

Tongue picked up the wicket of Clark to end that particular stand, caught by Freddie McCann at third slip for 45, but only after Ackermann had reached three figures shortly before tea.

He was eventually dismissed by the 17-year-old Ahmed, who bowled with guile and control to be the most economical member of the Green and Gold attack in his 18 overs.

A swift partnership between George Drissell and Ben Raine followed, before Notts again dug deep to put the handbrake on when it mattered.

Raine was first to go, bowled by a brute of a yorker from Dillon Pennington for 27, before O’Neill increased his personal haul to four late on by seeing Drissell claimed by Clarke for 45.

Last-wicket pair Matt Potts and Paul Coughlin were able to grind out the remainder of the day unbeaten, leaving one wicket to be claimed on the second morning before Notts will begin their response.