Nottinghamshire guaranteed promotion back to Division One of the LV= Insurance County Championship as their dominance over Durham continued on day three.
The Green and Golds secured the required bonus points to be guaranteed a top-two finish by dismissing the visitors for 207 – and will wrap up the Division Two title if they complete victory or secure a draw on the final day.
Free tickets for day four of Nottinghamshire v Durham can be claimed here…
Wickets were shared evenly around the hosts’ attack as Durham folded some 455 runs in arrears, and it fell to Dane Paterson to snare the final scalp as Matty Potts holed out to midwicket.
Paterson’s celebrations were surpassed, however, by skipper Steven Mullaney’s jubilant salute to the skies, as a promotion some three summers in the making finally came to pass.
Earlier, Durham resumed on 53/2, and found themselves firmly on the back foot as Scott Borthwick slashed Hameed to gully for 27.
Nightwatchman Drissell soon followed, chipping tamely to Mullaney at midwicket as the North East county’s porous defences continued to crumble.
Two wickets in the first hour were followed by a further pair in the second – Nic Maddinson providing a regulation chance to Joe Clarke off Broad, and a juggling Matthew Montgomery pouching Chris Benjamin for a fifth-ball duck.
The Durham deficit remained somewhat daunting as lunch came and went, and the hosts still required in excess of 500 as Ben Raine was comprehensively pinned by Paterson for nine.
The departure of Bushnell followed shortly afterwards, prodding Patterson-White to Mullaney, before promotion was almost sealed in fairytale fashion by a direct hit run-out from Luke Fletcher at mid-off.
Potts may have made his ground on that occasion – and he may have shown the gumption that has earned him plaudits on the international stage by smashing a quickfire 40 – but he would hole out to Slater off Paterson to signal the start of the Nottinghamshire celebrations.
With either a win or a draw enough to secure the Second Division crown, Slater and Haseeb Hameed re-emerged in a bid to pile more misery onto the visitors – and a brace of boundaries from the blade of Slater showed clear positive intent.
Slater’s stay was cut short on nine by Potts, and Matthew Montgomery would make the same score before edging Raine to Sean Dickson at second slip.
From there, progress was serene for Hameed and Clarke, the latter unfurling a glorious straight drive off Gibson, and hoicking Liam Trevaskis into the Fox Road stand for six to move within touching distance of a half-century.
Hameed, too, was proceeding merrily towards another fifty before the light forced the players from the field – and as the late-evening sun returned, Notts declared their second innings closed on 121/2.
Returning with ball in hand after a break of 30 overs, Luke Fletcher hit his straps immediately – as did Stuart Broad, securing his 897th First-Class wicket with an impeccable delivery which Dickson could only fend to Lyndon James in the cordon.
Fletcher's rewards came soon after, Drissell elevated up the order for the second time in the contest only to be trapped in his crease for 6.
The light became problematic once more just moments later, leaving the tantalising possibility of the Division Two trophy to be sealed on the season’s final day.
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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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