Foxes Fall to Defeat Despite Late Innings Fightback

By Jon Culley

Nottinghamshire wrapped up a three-day victory over Leicestershire to strengthen their position at the top of Division Two, despite a defiant final-wicket stand of 83 between Foxes captain Callum Parkinson and first-class debutant Michael Finan.

Set an implausible target of 499 to win after Nottinghamshire declared at 390 for seven on Tuesday after 20 wickets fell on Monday, Leicestershire were bowled out for 257 in their second innings to give the home side victory by 241 runs

Nottinghamshire might have pocketed their 20 points much earlier but for a stoppage of more than two hours for rain with Leicestershire nine wickets down, their frustration compounded by having put down two catches as last-wicket pair Parkinson and Finan added 83 runs.

The players left the field for a delayed tea at eight minutes to four and did not return until six o’clock. Rain began to fall again within moments of play resuming with the prospect of the teams being forced to come back on Thursday morning, potentially for just one ball.

However, it took only 10 deliveries for Nottinghamshire to take the final wicket as Finan edged a ball from Dane Patterson to second slip.

Finan - on his first-class debut - made 58 after being dropped first ball, while Parkinson was given a life on 13.

Skipper Steven Mullaney (three for 29) and Brett Hutton (three for 51) were the pick of the Nottinghamshire bowlers.

Nottinghamshire’s nearest pursuers in the promotion race, Middlesex and Glamorgan, have a game in hand but they play each other at Lord’s next week, which means the picture will look clearer when Nottinghamshire next play, against Worcestershire at New Road a week on Tuesday.

Realistically, Leicestershire knew at the start of the day that they had only self-respect to play for, the measure of which would be how long they could survive.

One down at lunch would have represented a solid start. After an hour and a half, it looked possible, with Sam Evans the only casualty, caught behind after being drawn into playing a ball outside off stump from Paterson that he knew, on reflection, he would have been better advised to leave.

With the pitch much more docile than at the start of the match. Hassan Azad and Louis Kimber looked as if they could hang around but then Mullaney’s decision to have a bowl himself quickly transformed the picture.

The veteran all-rounder, an authentic medium pace bowler with a well-established reputation as a partnership-breaker, separated this pair with his second ball, angled in and trapping Azad leg before.

Mullaney’s 132nd first-class wicket was quickly followed by two more. Kimber spooned a dolly catch to mid-off and Colin Ackermann, to whom Leicestershire would have been looking for a long stay, was leg before playing across the line.

Four down for 97 at lunch therefore represented a somewhat less optimistic picture, which soon worsened as Rishi Patel and Harry Swindell both gave their wickets away, each clipping straight to Patterson-white at midwicket.

Ed Barnes and Roman Walker stalled Nottinghamshire’s progress for a time, adding 48 for the seventh wicket. Barnes was probably batting above his station coming in at seven but a long Leicestershire tail made it necessary and, in the event, the pace bowler confounded his doubters by batting positively and productively, hitting six fours and a six in his 37.

He did well against the short ball but such a delivery brought about his downfall in the end as Hutton, having loaded the legside field, banged one in that seemed to follow Barnes as he backed away, the ball looping to short leg as he instinctively brought the bat up to protect his head.

The legside trap also did for Walker, who also batted nicely for a while before pulling to deep backward square, and for Chris Wright, who was looking to do the same when he was caught behind down the leg side.

It should have been all over next ball as Finan too was fed a short delivery that he obligingly hooked, but Lyndon James, the catcher in Walker’s dismissal, let this chance go down.

It was a costly and frustrating error, made worse when Parkinson was dropped at slip off Patterson-White on 13. Even with the statutory delay to the tea interval that comes into play when a team is nine down, Nottinghamshire could not prise them apart before the rain arrived.