NOTTINGHAMSHIRE V SURREY - Specsavers County
Championship - 13 April 2016
Nottinghamshire 446 & 172-7.
Surrey 225 & 389. Nottinghamshire
won by 3 wickets.Nottinghamshire are
the early leaders in Division One of the Specsavers County
Championship after defeating Surrey by three wickets at Trent
Bridge. Set to score 169 in their second innings, the hosts reached
their target in 42.4 overs for the loss of seven wickets, although
the match remained in the balance right up until the winning blow.
Surrey were bowled out, on the stroke of lunch,
for 389 in their second innings, with Arun Harinath eventually
falling for 137. The 29 year old left-hander, who had spent time at
the crease on all four days of the match, batted for almost six
hours and faced 270 deliveries, hitting 18 fours and a six.
Jake Ball was the pick of the Nottinghamshire
attack, adding two more wickets on the final morning, to finish with
figures of five for 98. Notts made heavy weather of their run chase,
slipping from 72 without loss to 100 for five, helped by a
mid-afternoon burst of three for none from Tom Curran, who whipped
out Michael Lumb, Brendan Taylor and Riki Wessels in quick
succession, on his way to figures of four for 58.
Steven Mullaney, followed up his first innings
score of 113 with a run-a-ball knock of 42, which included a huge
pulled six off Ravi Rampaul. The former West Indian Test match
bowler had his revenge, pinning the opener in his crease before
having Samit Patel caught in the slips and Chris Read adjudged lbw.
Greg Smith remained defiant. In seven previous first class innings
for the county he hadn’t got past 14 but he chose his moment to
register his first meaningful contribution with a resilient 54,
before falling with only 17 required.
Brett Hutton edged his side closer, leaving the
stage to Ball to cap a fine match by hitting the winning runs.
Surrey had begun the final day with an overall lead of 76 and soon
added to it, with Sam Curran helping Harinath extend their sixth
wicket partnership to 44, before the second new ball parted them.
Ball, back from his first winter as an England Lions bowler, picked
up his fourth wicket of the innings by trapping Curran for 28 in the
ninth over of the day and a similar mode of dismissal then accounted
for Gareth Batty, for 6.
A sharp catch at first slip by Wessels ended
Harinath’s fine knock, off the bowling of Jackson Bird. The 29
year old had faced 270 balls, hitting 18 fours and a six.
Harry Gurney removed Tom Curran to the third lbw of the morning
before Mark Footitt holed out for 5, leaving Rampaul unbeaten on 13.
Despite pushing their hosts all the way, Surrey had left themselves
too much to do after being forced to follow on and the target
remained within reach. Nottinghamshire collect the full haul of 24
points from the contest, while Surrey collect only four points on
their return to the top flight.
JAKE BALL (Notts):
"Personally and on a team level it is great to get off to
such a good start and get the points on the board early. To get a
five-wicket haul in the first game is really pleasing. I think we
bowled exceptionally well as a unit in the first innings and I
probably didn’t get the rewards then but we knew if we kept doing
what we had been doing and stuck the ball in the right areas then
the wickets will come. I said at lunch that if I have to go and get
my pads on I’d be pretty upset but it’s a great feeling to hit the
winning runs for the team."
MICK NEWELL (Notts’
director of cricket): "It was terrific to
see Brett Hutton and Jake Ball finish the game off. Lots of people
have made contributions over the course of the four days but nice to
see those two get us over the line. Having dominated so many
sessions in a match you should win, unless you make a pigs ear of
one and that was the danger today. We could have thrown away three
and a half days of good work. But luckily we didn’t quite do that."
(On reports that the dressing room were
motivated to win it for James Taylor) "There
are lots of different motivations over a player’s career - and
indeed, over a season, as to what drives them on to win. Obviously
it was difficult news halfway through this match about Titch but it
certainly motivated one or two to a higher level of performance and
that is a good thing."
GARETH BATTY (Surrey):
"We made it very difficult for ourselves over the first four
or five sessions of the game. You can’t get that far behind against
a very good team and Notts are a proven team.
We gave ourselves too big a hill to climb but it was a pretty
good effort to try and turn it around."
TEA REPORT
All results are still possible at Trent Bridge
where Nottinghamshire have been set to score 169 to defeat Surrey in
the Specsavers County Championship. At tea, the home side have
reached 116 for five, with Greg Smith unbeaten on 44, alongside
Chris Read, who has eight. Notts appeared to be coasting to victory
with Steven Mullaney and Greg Smith putting 72 on for the first
wicket. After his first innings century, Mullaney was in delightful
form as the repeatedly found the cover boundary in a run-a-ball
innings of 42. He was trapped lbw by Ravi Rampaul, who later had
Samit Patel caught spectacularly in the slip cordon by Kumar
Sangakkara. The other three wickets came during a devastating burst
from Tom Curran. Having switched ends, he picked up three for none,
within the space of seven deliveries, removing Michael Lumb, Brendan
Taylor and Riki Wessels.
LUNCH REPORT
An interesting final afternoon lies ahead at Trent
Bridge where Nottinghamshire will need to score 169 to defeat Surrey
in their opening Specsavers County Championship match. The visitors
were bowled out for 389 in their second innings, with Arun Harinath
making 137, having batted for just short of six hours. Jake Ball
picked up two more wickets on the fourth morning, to finish with
deserved figures of five for 98. Sam Curran blazed out of the
starting blocks at the start of the day and helped Harinath add 44
for the sixth wicket before the second new ball parted them. Ball
picked up his fourth wicket of the innings by trapping Curran for 28
in the ninth over of the day and a similar mode of dismissal
accounted for Gareth Batty for 6. A sharp catch at first slip by
Riki Wessels ended Harinath’s fine knock, off the bowling of Jackson
Bird. The 29 year old had faced 270 balls, hitting 18 fours and a
six. Harry Gurney removed Tom Curran to the third lbw of the
morning, for 8, before Mark Footitt holed out for 5, leaving Ravi
Rampaul unbeaten on 13.
GO TO:
BACK TO:
|