Nottinghamshire enhanced their title credentials with a ruthless display on the first day of their LV= County Championship match against Somerset at Trent Bridge.
Second at the start of the day, the home side bowled Somerset out for only 168 in just 51.2 overs, with all four seam bowlers amongst the wickets.
Notts then responded in style, closing on 208 for one, a lead of 40, after openers Phil Jaques and Steven Mullaney had put on 203 for the first wicket.
Mullaney fell just before the close, for 91, but Jaques remained unbeaten on 111 at stumps.
Harry Gurney and Andre Adams each picked up three wickets of the wickets to fall in the Somerset innings, with Peter Siddle and Ajmal Shahzad grabbing two apiece.
The visitor’s tally would have been much worse without the contribution of their captain, Marcus Trescothick, who scored 87 from 133 deliveries, hitting 16 fours, although he had been badly put down by Samit Patel on 22.
Although disappointed to get out just before the close, Mullaney was keen to focus on the runs he did score and not those he missed out on.
““I don’t feel I’ve been out of form at any time this season but I’ve just not been getting the scores, so if you’d asked me at the start of the day would I accept 91 and help put on 200 for the first wicket I’d have bitten your hand off.”
“We would have batted had we won the toss but Harry Gurney set the tone right at the start of the day with his opening spell. Tres played nicely for them but we’ve put ourselves into a really good position after the first day.”
Nottinghamshire were forced into one change, with Mullaney returning to the eleven in place of Michael Lumb, who was missing with an injury to his left arm.
Under clear blue skies Trescothick elected to bat first, upon winning the toss but soon lost his opening partner, Chris Jones.
Jones (4), had only an involuntary snick to the third man fence to his name when he inside-edged Siddle back onto his stumps.
Five balls later Nick Compton (0), feathered his second delivery from Gurney through to Chris Read.
Gurney’s opening burst from the Radcliffe Road end was mightily impressive. He kept going for 10 straight overs and returned figures of 2-24, although they could have been much even better.
Alviro Petersen (10) led a charmed life. He got away with an outside edge off Gurney that flew past Mullaney’s hands at third slip and then played a Chinese cut off Adams, for four.
Gurney’s second scalp was that of the South African, who went for a lavish pull but miscued the ball high into the air. Looping towards third man, four fielders set off in pursuit but Riki Wessels led the sprint then dived to pull off an astonishing catch.
Trescothick had a huge let-off on 22, nicking the unlucky Gurney to Samit Patel at second slip but the offering, at ankle-height went in and out, in a flash.
James Hildreth (2) paid the full price for not attempting a shot off Adams, and lost his off pole.
Craig Kieswetter drove Gurney to the extra cover boundary, in the 20th over, the first four to arrive in front of the wicket, after 7 had been hit to third man, as well as the Chinese cut.
After lunching on 90-4 Somerset were again thrust onto the backfoot. A lengthy delay preceded the start of the second over of the afternoon, with a gentleman behind the arm at the Pavilion End.
His presence irked Keiswetter (17), even when he bobbed down behind the advertising boards. Seconds later Adams’ full delivery had thudded into the batsman’s pads and umpire Saggers’ deliberation went in favour of the hosts.
Peter Trego (1), so destructive when the sides met at Taunton last month, came and went quickly, taken by a stunning catch by Hales at fourth slip; the fielder reaching high to pull down the flash off Gurney.
Craig Meschede (14) provided some support for Trescothick, until driving Shahzad loosely to Jaques at mid off.
Craig Overton (0) edged Adams behind, prompting a spell of cat and mouse as Trescothick turned down a number of runs in his attempts to farm the bowling and keep George Dockrell off strike.
Siddle replaced Adams and the change brought the prized wicket of the Somerset captain.
Trescothick (87), and without a century in 25 first class innings at Trent Bridge, drove hard at the Australian’s first ball of the new spell. The edge flew high and was taken, magnificently, one-handed by a flying Patel at second slip -a catch of the highest quality.
The last pair added 9 more runs before being parted by Shahzad, with Wessels taking a more-straightforward first slip catch off Jamie Overton (9).
Mullaney, having missed the last three matches, returned to open alongside Jaques.
Mullaney, quickly into his stride, stroked two boundaries off Trego’s first over.
Runs came at a healthy rate, with both batsmen finding the boards with great regularity. Jaques, who made scores of 65 and 150 not out when the sides met at Taunton a few weeks ago, was first to his half century (57 balls 9x4)
Mullaney followed a couple of overs later (69 balls 10x4), bringing up the century stand in the process.
Five days after Jaques had put 156 on for the first wicket with Alex Hales, in the victory over Middlesex, the pair went past that tally and then Mullaney took the score from 157 to 163 with the first six of the match, over the side of the Radcliffe Road Stand (near to the William Clarke) during George Dockrell’s first over.
Shortly after the first innings lead had been secured, Jaques brought up his hundred, from 109 balls, with 18 fours but then lost his partner, as Mullaney hoisted Dockrell to deep square leg.