IT’S SWEET ONIONS
BOWLER STARS IN LANCS’ FIRST VICTORY
LANCASHIRE needed little more than an hour on the third morning of their match against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge to claim their first victory of the Specsavers County Championship season.
With Graham Onions taking six for 55, Nottinghamshire were bowled out for 138 in their second innings, leaving the Red Rose to celebrate success by an innings and 67 runs.
Having top-scored with 34 in the home side’s first innings score of 133, Jake Libby again played the leading hand for Notts before being dismissed for a battling 46.
Onions, whose career-best figures of nine for 67 came in 2012 at Trent Bridge during his time as a Durham player, strengthened his love affair with the ground with a high-quality exhibition of new-ball bowling.
With three victims already in the scorebook he found little resistance in advancing to the 27th five-wicket haul of his career.
Resuming from their overnight position of 106 for five, with an overall deficit of 99, Nottinghamshire’s sixthwicket pairing of Libby and Tom Moores were parted inside the first half an hour of the day.
Onions claimed his fourth wicket of the innings by having Moores caught behind for nine and backed it up by gaining an lbw verdict against a disbelieving Stuart Broad for four.
James Anderson sent Luke Fletcher on his way for a two-ball duck and then had Libby caught at slip, after the 25-year old opener had battled at the crease for over three hours.
Onions, appropriately, delivered the winning moment to his new side by having Jake Ball caught in the deep by Steven Croft.
The Red Rose bowler was delighted with the result.
“It’s absolutely brilliant, there’s been a lot of hard work for the last six weeks, so to get a win against a top side is pretty special,” he said.
“We’ve done a lot of good things this season but we were completely outplayed by Notts (in the first week of the season at Old Trafford), so we’ve come here wanting to show them how good we are. To come here and have the bowling attack that we’ve got on a wicket that just had enough consistently. We put the ball in the right areas and managed to get the win.
“Obviously a special mention to Keaton (Jennings) for putting the runs on the board. If you don’t get the runs you’re not going to win. The fielding and the buzz and the energy was brilliant here. If we’re really going to be critical then we could have been better in the first session on the first day but we got our rewards after lunch.”
Lancashire collected 22 points in taking their first County Championship away win since 2015, whilst Notts gained only three bonus points.
The two counties will not have long to wait before renewing rivalries as they meet again at Emirates Old Trafford on Thursday, where Notts Outlaws will begin their defence of the Royal London One-Day Cup.