Division Two leaders Nottinghamshire consolidated their advantage over Leicestershire on day two of a rapidly evolving LV= Insurance County Championship match at Trent Bridge, setting their winless opponents a fourth-innings target way beyond anything achieved in the county’s history.
After 20 wickets fell on Monday, Nottinghamshire made hay throughout the course of day two before declaring their second innings on 390/7.
It left Callum Parkinson’s team needing 499 runs to win - 105 runs more than the 394 the post-war Leicestershire team scored to beat Derbyshire at Grace Road in 1947, which remains the county’s highest fourth-innings total to win a Championship match.
After the declaration, openers Sam Evans and Hassan Azad negotiated 13 overs at the close without mishap, but two more days in the middle await Leicestershire as the hosts bid to stretch their lead over Middlesex in the Division Two table.
Earlier, there were half-centuries for Nottinghamshire’s Joe Clarke, Haseeb Hameed and Lyndon James. Michael Finan, the left-arm seamer, dismissed Hameed and Matt Montgomery to claim two more debut wickets, but such good balls as he did deliver had to be set against his 10 no-balls, giving him a match total of 17.
In the morning, under cloud cover so heavy and threatening that bad light caused an interruption after only 39 minutes, Leicestershire had hoped wickets might tumble as they had on day one as Nottinghamshire resumed on 15 without loss. Yet they were disappointed.
Instead, the home side progressed to 112/1 at lunch, with Ben Slater the solitary casualty. The pitch was offering less help to the bowler after the heavy roller was deployed, but Leicestershire served up too many loose deliveries.
Slater fell on 39, caught and bowled by Ed Barnes. Hameed completed an 80-ball half-century just before the interval.
The vice-captain, enjoying his most productive summer to date in Notts colours, looked in complete control, before top-edging Finan to Harry Swindells behind the stumps.
If a second breakthrough was some kind of encouragement for Leicestershire, the next 75 minutes or so were not, thanks largely to Clarke, who looked as comfortable at the crease as he has all season, punishing every error as he rushed to a 45-ball half century with nine fours.
Combined with Montgomery’s 32 and another batch of no-balls from Finan, Clarke’s runs were enough to see Notts pull away from Leicestershire, the third wicket partnership adding 101 in 112 balls before Montgomery departed to a short ball from the errant Finan, the one bright spot in an awful over that cost 17 runs..
Clarke fell soon afterwards as Parkinson found his outside edge, but by then the Nottinghamshire lead was 353.
James and Steven Mullaney extended it to 403 in less than 10 overs before the latter, making room for himself, was caught at slip off Louis Kimber.
James went past fifty for the seventh time this season before he was caught behind off Roman Walker, and after Tom Moores was caught at deep backward point, terminating a six-over thrash with Liam Patterson-White, Mullaney signalled the declaration.
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The Royal London Cup Final
The timeless pomp, ceremony and tradition of county cricket's historic 50-over final is soon to take place at Trent Bridge.
Lancashire and Kent will go head-to-head in the showpiece finale of the Royal London Cup at our historic home on Saturday 17 September.