Peter Moores hailed Haseeb Hameed’s thoughtfulness after the Nottinghamshire captain led his side to a first win of the Vitality County Championship season.

Hameed hit a career-best 247 not out as Nottinghamshire secured a comprehensive victory over Lancashire – the first win since the opener took the reins as skipper.

“It was an exceptional game for two or three of our lads, but most notably Haseeb,” said Moores.

“He had a tough start for the season in some ways, but came back with an absolute bang this week.

“Credit to him, because I think he did a little bit of soul searching after [the last game at] Edgbaston, about how he's going to go about making sure he looks after his own game while also being there for other people as captain.

“He came back with some answers, and he's come back and has proven on the field what a great player he can be.

“His strength has always been his ability to focus, and he showed those great powers of concentration, along with his fitness and his quality.

“He played beautifully on a pitch that was quite challenging at times against the new ball, and I’m really pleased for him.”

Hameed compiled a 163-run partnership for the eighth wicket with Olly Stone, who made his own career-best score of 90 in the process.

Moores was impressed by the maturity shown by the seamer, as he made only his second score of 50 or more in First-Class cricket.

“He played like a batter,” he said.

“The biggest credit I can give him is that he wanted to build a partnership with the captain – he said as much in the morning – and thought he could make a good stab at it. And he did just that.

“In those kinds of partnerships, the opposition always bring the field up for the tailender at the start, but he was getting his shots away. So after about 20 overs, they were bowling to both players in the same way, and the game started to get away from them.

“To bat for a full session without losing a wicket was a huge part of the game, it really sent the momentum our way and gave us a decent lead, and we carried that all the way through with Dane Paterson then chipping in at the end.”

Stone’s exploits with the ball saw him pick up three first-innings wickets, in a fixture which saw each member of the attack making crucial contributions.

“I thought we stuck at it really well on the first day,” recalled Moores.

“We kept the value on a run all the way through, and got our reward quite late in the day with a little flurry in the last session, but it set the game up for us to take more wickets the following morning.

“Olly bowled beautifully on that first day, didn't get any wickets at first, then got three the next morning, which seemed like a fair result for him

“Dillon [Pennington] was probably the standout bowler, but also I thought Dane Paterson bowled well, Lyndon James bowled his best spell on the last morning, and Calvin Harrison continues to impress.”

Pennington took his Nottinghamshire haul to 16 wickets in four fixtures with seven across Lancashire’s two innings.

It was a return which Moores felt the paceman deserved.

“He's had a really good winter behind the scenes, and has worked hard with Kevin Shine [Assistant Coach] on adjusting a few little bits here and there,” he said.

“He was bowling really well in his first games for us but not quite getting the wickets, but in the last couple of games he's really started to come to the fore.

“He bowled beautifully at Edgbaston, and he’s backed that up here. On what I would say were fairly flat pitches, he’s shown the quality he’s got – and that quality is a mixture of genuine pace, the ability to move the ball, and also a really strong will to keep running and doing the work, which I think you need to have if you're going to become a top-flight seamer.

“There’s no easy route to taking wickets, you're going to have to bowl the overs.”

The encounter was also notable for Nottinghamshire’s excellence in the field, with Calvin Harrison and Will Young among those to take eye-catching chances in the slip cordon.

“I think we were one of the top teams for catches in the slips last year, so it's something we pride ourselves on, and we caught exceptionally well all through this game,” said Moores.

“It makes such a difference, especially on flat pitches. Will Young started us off with a really good diving catch, and was that was backed up all the way through.

“It’s great to win at home, and it was a proper four-day game. The sun shone all the way through, it was a really good pitch by Steve Birks [Head Groundsperson], and it was a hard-fought win that went deep into the fourth day.

“Those wins always feel the best if I'm honest.”

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