NOTTINGHAMSHIRE V SURREY - Specsavers County
Championship - 10 April 2016
Nottinghamshire 446.
Surrey 7-0.
Steven Mullaney’s second century of the week put
Nottinghamshire in command on the opening day of their Specsavers
County Championship match against Surrey at Trent Bridge. The
opener, who scored 139 against Cambridge MCCU on Tuesday, continued
his impressive start to the new campaign by making 113, scoring his
runs from 114 deliveries, with 18 fours, as the home side made 446
before being bowled out late in the day.
Rory Burns and Arun Harinath reached the close
together on seven without loss from the two overs they had to face.
Despite a greenish tinge to the wicket, bat dominated the ball and
Samit Patel, with 85, Riki Wessels, with 81 and Chris Read, who made
an unbeaten 63 all added to Surrey’s woes, despite Ravi Rampaul
taking five for 93 on his debut for the county.
Mullaney was quickly out of the blocks, hitting a
four and a three from Tom Curran’s opening two deliveries and the
extra pace of Mark Footitt was certainly to his liking, 18 coming
from the sixth over of the day. When on 92, a shy from Sam Curran at
cover was Mullaney’s only real moment of concern but that was
quickly forgotten as a drive through the off side took the 29 year
old to his ninth career century. The milestone was greeted with a
guttural roar of delight, an arm wave and a fist pump, as the
century-maker showed what it meant to register the first hundred of
the championship season.
Ravi Rampaul, appearing in first class cricket for
the first time in over three years, looked a little under-cooked but
ran in purposefully all day and deservedly picked up his five wicket
haul. He claimed two of the key wickets,
finding the inside-edge of Mullaney’s bat before a more orthodox
edge accounted for Riki Wessels. Wessels’ innings was dominated by
the crispness of his drives but a mighty leg side six off Tom Curran
will stay in the memory. Tom Curran had a decent day, nevertheless,
claiming two of the first three wickets to fall, with both Greg
Smith and Brendan Taylor nicking into the hands of Kumar Sangakkara
at first slip.
Smith, included in the starting line-up in place
of the unwell James Taylor, averaged only 10 in his first season
with Notts and missed out again, making just nine before becoming
Tom Curran’s 100th first class victim. Former Nottinghamshire bowler
Mark Footitt trapped Michael Lumb lbw for 24 before lunch and
demolished Brett Hutton’s stumps later on but it was left to Rampaul
to polish off the innings by removing Jake Ball, Jackson Bird and
Harry Gurney in quick succession; the latter two off consecutive
deliveries.
STEVEN MULLANEY (Notts): "It
was nice to get off and running from the first ball of the day, it
calmed a few nerves. I’ve felt in good nick for most of pre-season
and we’ve talked about people who are in nick cashing in,
I did that to a certain extent but am disappointed not to go
and get a really big one. I suspected we’d
be batting first but we spoke about it and if there was a toss we
were going to bat first. We think it’s a decent wicket but enough it
for the bowlers."
ALEC STEWART (Surrey's
director of cricket): "Obviously we’re
pleased to bowl Notts out in the day, having asked them to bat first
but they got too many runs on that wicket.
The first two sessions we were disappointing and the bowlers have to
put their hands up and say they didn’t bowl to the consistent high
levels we’d expect from them. Credit to
Notts, they put the bad balls away for fours and Mullaney played
nicely but we fed him some easy runs. Ravi
Rampaul bowled some good balls and to get five wickets on debut is a
good effort. Some people have been
questioning him, well they can keep on questioning him if he keeps
getting five wicket hauls."
TEA REPORT
Steven Mullaney registered the first century of
the new Specsavers County Championship season on the opening day of
their match with Surrey at Trent Bridge. The opener, who also
reached three figures in last week’s fixture against Cambridge MCCU,
made 113 from 114 deliveries, with 18 fours, as Notts reached tea on
315 for five. Mullaney’s fine start to the season began from the
very first ball of the day, which he stroked through the covers for
four and, apart from a run out opportunity when he was on 92, it was
a chanceless knock until he nicked an inside edge through to
wicketkeeper Ben Foakes.
Ravi Rampaul, on his Surrey debut, took Mullaney’s
wicket and followed it up with the other main contributor. Riki
Wessels hit a fluent 81 from 83 deliveries, an innings that featured
14 fours and a huge pull for six, before he was also taken by
Foakes. The visitor’s only other success on the first afternoon was
the dismissal of Brendan Taylor, caught at slip off Tom Curran, for
20. Samit Patel maintained the healthy run-rate by racing to an
unbeaten 38 and Chris Read was on five at tea.
LUNCH REPORT
Nottinghamshire scored 119 for two on the first
morning of their Specsavers County Championship match against Surrey
at Trent Bridge. Invited to bat first, the home side were quickly
out of the blocks with Steven Mullaney hitting a four and a three
from Tom Curran’s opening two deliveries. The extra pace of Mark
Footitt met with the approval of the batting side, with Steven
Mullaney taking 18 from his third over. With 43 on the board Surrey
made their initial breakthrough, with Greg Smith nicking through to
Kumar Sangakkara at first slip for nine, giving Tom Curran his 100th
first class wicket. Footitt’s second spell brought him the wicket of
Michael Lumb, trapped lbw for 24. Mullaney reached his fifty from
just 49 balls and by lunch had advanced his score to 71 not out,
with Brendan Taylor unbeaten on six.
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