Haseeb Hameed and Matt Montgomery both posted centuries as Nottinghamshire racked up the runs on Day One of their final LV= County Championship match of the season against Durham at Trent Bridge.
Hameed made 115, his highest home score of 2022, and Montgomery hit an unbeaten 101*, as the duo enjoyed a partnership worth 180 for the second wicket, in the process setting a new Notts record against Durham.
Centuries have been regular this year for opener Hameed, whose latest innings formed his fourth First-Class ton of the season, but for Montgomery, it was more of an occasion as he notched his maiden ton in the format.
Their efforts, coupled with contributions from Ben Slater and Joe Clarke, saw the hosts reach stumps on 276/2.with the day ultimately cut short by 11 overs due to bad light.
Earth, Wind, & Fire may have once claimed that there never was a cloudy day in September, though the Nottingham sky proved that regretfully untrue as play began at Trent Bridge at the appointed time.
Despite the overcast conditions, Notts dealt with the early exchanges confidently after winning the toss and opting to have first use of the surface, as Slater and Hameed ground their way to 19 without loss after 10 overs.
Their partnership began to flourish once they had bedded in, with a change in bowling at the Pavilion End proving the catalyst for the runs to flow, as first change Oliver Gibson was hit for 21 in his first three overs.
The hosts did lose Slater for 23, caught by wicketkeeper Chris Benjamin as Ben Raine struck with the opening pair one away from recording a 50 partnership, but that only served to bring Hameed and Montgomery together.
Both rotated the strike comfortably and displayed confidence in spades to tuck away the bad balls when they arrived, as lunch was taken with Notts 96/1 and in the midst of a second-wicket stand worth 45.
The first order of the afternoon was for Hameed to post his fifty, the 12th time he had done so in First-Class cricket in 2022, with a flicked single to midwicket off spinner Liam Trevaskis.
It was a second half-century in as many innings, though it was not to be beaten by Montgomery, who, a little over an hour later, brought up his half-century with two down to third man off England seamer Matt Potts.
The two were turning the afternoon into a run-soaked affair, and though his first fifty had taken him 89 balls, Hameed moved through the gears to reach his ton just 56 deliveries later, cutting a single off Jonathan Bushnell.
He had previously hit 101 against Middlesex at Trent Bridge in June, but went beyond that to post a new home best for the season prior to being dismissed by Potts, who saw Scott Borthwick take a catch at second slip.
However, the end of their record-breaking stand took little away from the batting of Montgomery, who, now with Clarke for company, safely guided the Green and Golds to tea at 231/2 having reached 84* himself.
Upon the resumption, he faced a battle both against the Durham attack and against his own nerves, but he dealt with both in a collected manner, and after a heart-stopping nine deliveries on 99*, finally raised his bat after a 198-ball innings.
He dutifully saluted the watching Trent Bridge faithful, before resuming his work to conclude unbeaten, when bad light set in shortly after 4:30pm, with no restart ultimately possible.
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International cricket in 2023
Trent Bridge will host three international matches next summer, with the sole Test Match of the Women’s Ashes taking place at Nottinghamshire’s historic home, before England’s men face New Zealand and Ireland in IT20 and ODI contests respectively.
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