Notts finish on top on a day of tumbling wickets
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE and Derbyshire both collapsed spectacularly as 18 wickets fell on the opening day of the LV Insurance County Championship match at the Incora County Ground.
It was not a day many batsmen will look back on with affection – except for Ben Slater, who celebrated back-to-back centuries on his return to face his former county.
The Notts opener scored 107 off 191 balls, sharing a third-wicket stand of 163 in 39 overs with Joe Clarke, who made 66 from 95 balls.
But from the point where their stand was ended at 194-3, the day took a spectacular turn as the ball began to swing plenty under the floodlights.
The Notts innings imploded with their last eight wickets falling for 62 runs, as Fynn Hudson-prentice claimed career-best figures of 4-36 and Ben Aitchison took 3-27 to bowl their neighbours out for 256.
Stuart Broad responded by taking 2-22 before Luke Fletcher (3-23) and Dane Paterson (2-28) left Derbyshire reeling on 86-8 at the close.
Haseeb Hameed scored two centuries in the previous game but was out to the second ball he faced, edging Luis Reece to first slip.
When Hudson-prentice found lift to have Ben Duckett caught at second, Derbyshire’s decision to put Notts in looked good but they squandered the initiative by bowling short and wide.
Slater and Clarke took full advantage, the latter passing 5,000 firstclass runs while his partner more than made up for his pair against Derbyshire last season while on loan with Leicestershire.
Clarke pulled Reece for six and repeated the stroke against Sam Conners on his way to a 69 ball fifty, his second of the season.
Slater reached his hundred from 160 balls by clipping Aitchison through midwicket but Clarke’s dismissal, fencing at Aitchison, plunged the innings into decline.
Hudson-prentice was rewarded for bowling full when he trapped Lyndon James and Steven Mullaney lbw and when Slater was caught in front pushing half forward at Matt Critchley to the second ball after tea, Notts had slumped to 205-6.
Tom Moores and Liam Pattersonwhite counter-attacked briefly but the innings folded quickly after Moores miscued trying to pull Reece.
After the last three wickets fell for two runs, Broad had Reece caught behind before Tom Wood failed to beat Luke midwicket.
Broad removed Wayne Madsen with late inswing, Leus du Plooy was lbw shuffling across to Paterson and Fletcher trapped Harvey Hosein on the crease before Critchley was the sixth man to go as he edged Paterson behind.
Fletcher then sent back George Scrimshaw and Hudson-prentice with successive balls to complete a day that promised a batting bonanza but ended in bowling carnage.
Fletcher’s throw from