Notts batsmen stick it out to earn a draw
GLAMORGAN BOWLERS LEFT FRUSTRATED AS VISITORS EXTEND LEAD IN PROMOTION HUNT
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE showed why they are leading the way in Division Two by batting through the day in Cardiff to frustrate a Glamorgan side who needed nine wickets for victory.
Chasing an improbable 455 to win, Notts finished on 259 for four with wicketkeeper batsman Joe Clarke making 95 and Lyndon James unbeaten at the end on 76. Captain Steven Mullaney was 28 not out, while Notts finished 195 behind.
Glamorgan were left to rue a couple of decisions which could have exposed the Notts tailenders to the second new ball, but the Cardiff wicket remained true and in the end the pursuit was called off with just over nine overs to go as both sides agreed a draw.
The Welsh County were only able to take three wickets on the final day, two of those to the occasional spin of Colin Ingram and Kiran Carlson, and they were unable to claim the win that would have moved them to second in the table.
Notts will feel they have earned their 21-point cushion in the promotion hunt ahead of second-placed Middlesex, with Glamorgan in third one point further back, as just nine wickets fell on the final two days of this match.
Clarke would have enjoyed giving Welsh cricket fans an exhibition of his talents as he will be back at the Cardiff Wales Stadium on a regular basis in the next few weeks as part of the Welsh Fire squad in The Hundred.
He came to the wicket early as Glamorgan got the perfect start, James Harris trapping Matt Montgomery LBW in the second over of the morning. Getting rid of the first innings top scorer seemed a crucial breakthrough for the Welsh County.
However they had to wait until six minutes before lunch for another wicket to fall as Clarke and Ben Slater successfully blunted the bowling attack.
Glamorgan captain David Lloyd ran through his options and brought on occasional leg spinner Colin Ingram who lured Slater into giving a caught and bowled chance with the batsman departing for 48.
That put Notts three down at lunch, probably the minimum Glamorgan required to continue their push for victory.
The afternoon session was one of frustration for the bowlers with even half chances few and far between as Lyndon James joined Clarke and the pair took the score to 184 for three at tea.
Clarke seemed odds on to move onto his century, especially when Glamorgan brought on part-time spinner Kiran Carlson for the first over after tea.
An innocuous ball outside off stump flicked Clarke’s edge, Chris Cooke took the catch and suddenly the game was thrown open.
Glamorgan took the second new ball as soon as it was available with 25 overs to go and the mood of the game changed as Notts captain Steven Mullaney joined James at the crease.
Australian Michael Neser charged in with the new ball and had a strong LBW shout against Mullaney turned down second ball, while the fifth ball was edged past first slip.
A couple of overs later he had a huge appeal for caught behind, again off Mullaney. The Glamorgan players sank to the ground when umpire Hassan Adnan kept his hand down, knowing a win was slipping away.
Afterwards, Glamorgan captain David Lloyd said: “We thought if we got a breakthrough we would have a chance to go bang, bang, and the way we bowled we were unlucky at times not to get a wicket.
“We have competed well against Notts over two games this year, but they batted really well today. We have put ourselves in a good position in this competition and there is no reason why we should not keep going right to the end.”
Nottinghamshire batsman Lyndon James said: “Obviously a good day for us, probably a pretty big day in the context of our season – both our seasons really. Whoever came out on top today would have seen a big points swing.
“Gritty, grindy days are not that pretty, you are not scoring at a particularly high stroke rate, not hitting pretty shots, but you have just got to stick in there, build partnerships and bat time so it was nice to do that.
“As a team over the last two years we have built up that confidence and in the first game against Durham we had to do exactly the same thing, so we knew we had done it before.
“Joe (Clarke) batted beautifully for his 95, to fall short of a hundred like that was pretty unlucky, but it was nice to see him put in a big contribution.”