Positive focus as Mullaney ends captaincy spell
Nottinghamshire 474 drew with Lancashire 276 & 304-7
WHENyour team has not won since the opening round and your talismanic leader breaks his hand, being asked to captain the side could be seen as a curse rather than a blessing.
However, Nottinghamshire allrounder Steven Mullaney insists he has relished the chance to take over from club legend Chris Read, who has missed the last four County Championship games with a broken hand.
Notts have not won any, but Mullaney has proved an inventive captain, not least in the draw with Lancashire at Trent Bridge.
At various points he deployed close-in fielders in unusual positions, while wicket-keeper Riki Wessels stood up to Stuart Broad.
The hosts had the best of the game, collecting 13 points to Lancashire’s nine as they pressed for victory on the final day.
Haseeb Hameed, who looks every inch a Test match opener in waiting, kept Notts at bay with 122 as they were unable to take the last three wickets to set up a chase, Lancashire closing on 304 -7, 106 ahead.
Read is set to return for the visit of Somerset on July 17 and Mullaney is no doubt he will resume leadership of a team who need not worry about relegation.
“Lancashire were top of the league so to play like that leaves me convinced we’ve got nothing to worry about. I’m looking for- ward to the next six games,” he said.
“It was nice to be in a strong position as captain. It was great to have Stuart Broad and Imran Tahir in the team and I thought Brett Hutton and Harry Gurney were fantastic. Samit Patel also did a good job in the limited number of overs he bowled.
“It would have been nice to get 24 points, but we got a high points draw that takes us clear of the bottom two. We can look up the table a bit more now.”
Notts remain seventh but are now 17 points clear of the bottom two. Despite having the best of the game, Mullaney was determined to sign off as skipper on a winning note.
“I wouldn’t have taken that before the game. With the team we have I thought could win, especially when we got in a good position,” he said.
“I’d never take a draw before any game. I’m very confident in any XI we put on the park.
“I’m so proud of the effort we put in on the final day.We spoke in the morning about making opportunities and we did that in periods, but we didn’t have enough to take those last three wickets.
“Fair play to Lancashire, I thought Hameed was fantastic, as was Tom Smith until we got him and Steven Croft, who used all his experience. It wasn’t to be, but I’m very pleased with the lads.
“They should be proud of their performance over four days. We thought we could get 100 off eight overs with a short boundary.
“We were always in the game but couldn’t get back-to-back wickets late in the game. We got 470 so it was obviously a good pitch.”
Notts are straight back in action in the T20 Blast with a weekend double header. Mullaney, who scored 43 and bowled 15 wicket-less overs for the concession of 31 runs, says his team are tired, but determined to press on.
“The guys are giving everything,” he said. “There are tired lads, but we aren’t moping around we’ll get back up for Friday.
“We’ve got a big week of white ball cricket to come with four games in a row.”