Notts dominate against Lancashire but still need 14 wickets to win

Nottinghamshire completely dominated the third day of their Bob Willis Trophy game against Lancashire at Trent Bridge but must still take 14 wickets in the final three sessions if they are to record their first victory in a four-day county match since 2018.
Zak Chappell took three wickets as Nottinghamshire dominated. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)Zak Chappell took three wickets as Nottinghamshire dominated. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
Zak Chappell took three wickets as Nottinghamshire dominated. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Replying to the home side’s 472, Lancashire were 129 for six at the close after Zak Chappell had taken three wickets in a long evening session to put Steven Mullaney’s team in almost total control of the game. Mullaney will now hope to bowl out the visitors for far fewer than the follow-on target of 273 and then hope his bowlers can dismiss Lancashire a second time and complete a triumph founded on the centuries made by Ben Slater and Ben Duckett on Saturday.

In the morning session Lancashire earned their first, and so far only, point of the match a quarter of an hour before lunch when Slater was dismissed for 142, well caught low down in the gully by Steven Croft off the first ball of Tom Bailey’s second spell of the session. Slater had faced 298 balls and hit 17 fours to make his highest score for Notts in a 409-minute innings that began on Saturday morning.

Resuming on 352 for three after lunch, Joe Clarke and Steven Mullaney immediately sought to pick up the pace of the innings but that approach carried risk.

Clarke was the first batsman dismissed when he was bowled for 57 by George Balderson when attempting to hit a full-length ball on middle stump to leg. Three balls later Peter Trego, having made a single, could only edge Bailey high to Alex Davies’ right, where the wicketkeeper took an athletic, one-handed catch.

Lancashire took five further wickets in the session but since they all fell after the 110th over, they did not earn any more bonus points for them and have so far taken one point from this game as against Notts’ haul of seven.

Having helped Mullaney steer the side past the 400-run landmark Tom Moores was caught at long-on by Dane Vilas off Liam Hurt for 18 and Samit Patel fell for a golden duck to the next ball of the match when he swung Liam Livingstone to Steven Croft at deep midwicket.

Matt Carter’s 14-ball 22 included big sixes of Livingstone and Hurt before he was caught by Tom Hartley off Hurt when trying to repeat the trick. Zak Chappell reverse-swept Livingstone to Josh Bohannon and departed for nought. Mullaney was the last to go, caught at long on by sub fielder Rob Jones off Livingstone for a 71-ball 67 that had included seven fours and one six. Livingstone was the most successful Lancashire bowler, although his three wickets cost 79 off 14 overs. Tom Bailey finished with three for 91.

The visitors’ reply to Nottinghamshire’ s formidable total began badly when Keaton Jennings edged Chappell to Haseeb Hameed at third slip in the sixth over. Davies and Bohannon then followed in the space of four balls, Davies caught by Moores off Trego for 26 and Bohannon well taken by Chappell when he failed to get over a drive and gave a return catch.

When Livingstone drove loosely at Mullaney and was bowled for 14 Lancashire were 59 for four and there was at least another 90 minutes left to play. Dane Vilas and Croft combined to put on 50 for the fifth wicket but Chappell returned to claim the vital wicket of Vilas, who was caught behind for 26, and the rookie, Balderson was then caught at point by Chappell off Trego for eight. Croft was unbeaten on 37 at close of play.

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