An evening session burst and three wickets for Dane Paterson saw Notts peg back the momentum after Ben Slater and Liam Patterson-White scored fifties on a see-saw Day Two of Nottinghamshire’s LV= Insurance County Championship clash with Hampshire.
Keith Barker claimed a seven wicket-haul as the Green and Golds, resuming on 29 for one, were dismissed for 155 despite 55 for Slater and 53 for Patterson-White, who added 70 for the sixth wicket.
That left Hampshire with an advantage of 71, but Paterson’s afternoon return of three wickets for two runs in four overs saw Notts fight back, reducing the hosts to 33 for four at tea.
James Vince and Liam Dawson then added 82 for the fifth wicket in an arm-wrestle of an evening session, before both fell in a late swing to see Hampshire close on 133 for seven, leading by 204.
On a gloomy morning under the Ageas Bowl floodlights, the Green and Golds’ top order struggled against Barker, who took two wickets in the day’s first over and ultimately returned figures of seven for 46.
However, Slater and Patterson-White rebuilt the innings with a stand that was initially watchful but gathered pace as the morning wore on, and a back-foot cut from the latter increased its worth to 50.
Slater, who had passed the early Barker test with flying colours, then brought up his own individual half-century shortly before lunch off 85 balls, and the partnership totalled 68 when Notts reached lunch on 107 for five.
Barker did bring the stand to an end moments after the first break with the wicket of Slater, but Patterson-White remained steadfast and advanced to his fifty from 88 balls shortly afterwards.
His dismissal, however, precipitated the end of the innings as Brad Wheal took two of the final three to fall, and the Green and Golds were all out midway through the afternoon.
Openers Joe Weatherley and Ian Holland extended Hampshire’s lead to 97, before Paterson’s dramatic intervention kept the game on a knife-edge.
With his very first delivery of the innings, he induced an edge from Holland to sub fielder Calvin Harrison at first slip, before following it up just two balls later by seeing Tom Alsop loop one to Haseeb Hameed at midwicket.
Luke Fletcher then had Weatherley held by Tom Moores behind the stumps, before Paterson trapped Nick Gubbins in front to lift Green and Gold spirits heading into the tea break.
With the shadows lengthening, Dawson and Vince put the hosts back in the ascendancy, with the latter reaching a half-century, before Patterson-White struck to end their stand, trapping Dawson in front for 29.
A potentially crucial moment then saw Fletcher strike to remove a well-set Vince, bowling the Hampshire captain for 52, and Patterson-White claimed another when Felix Organ was trapped lbw for 11.
The remaining overs, played out under low sunlight, passed without incident, but with the game now at its halfway point and at a critical juncture, a fascinating battle will continue to play out from tomorrow morning.
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