hampshire 166 (Gubbins 49, James 3-38, Hutton 3-40, Paterson 3-56) and 344 by Dec. 5 (Holland 138*, Dawson 82, Fuller 52*) nottinghamshire 100 (Netherlands 4-19) and 294 (Moores 81, Clarke 67, Fuller 4-59) for 116 runs
Challenged to make 411 in a theoretical high of 202 overs by their late declaration on Thursday, Nottinghamshire began day three of the LV=Trent Bridge Insurance County Championship match with the clear equation before them of exactly 400 runs required and all ten men on their feet.
The home slump began in the second of the morning when Ben Slater, in what has been a struggling season, was unable to add to his eight overnight before an Abbas beauty straightened up to hit the stump. When Abbott came on as first change and found the immediate momentum to take Will Young’s batting shoulder and watch the Kiwi bowl to the goalkeeper for the same score, Nottinghamshire were 40 for 2.
The rain came three balls later and, shortly after the afternoon restart, Clarke was pardoned with one on the second slip by the same pitcher before Fuller, the fifth closer employed, finished off Haseeb Hameed’s fluid 30 by making the interim captain hold high on the third slip from a defensive edge. He then disposed of South African Matt Montgomery for a ninth-ball duck.
Born in Cape Town but raised in New Zealand, Fuller is one of four bowlers in the Hampshire pace quintet who learned cricket abroad, but it was the lone local closer, Keith Barker, who should have finished with a fifth-wicket revival worth 50.
A top edge cut from Clarke flashed between ‘keeper and slip, the latter only belatedly reacting as a haphazard cap brought Clarke’s fifty. Another shower followed, forcing an early tea, but no time wasted.
It meant the final session went on for potentially 53.2 overs and ten of them had passed when Fuller, in a second spell, sliced one back to remove Clarke’s middle stump for 67. Moores then sped up until the turn made his first Hampshire appearance of the match, and a horrified Liam Dawson watched him fall into the wicket from his twelfth ball.
Refusing to run to farm the strike, Calvin Harrison held on until the new ball became available, and was immediately met with brilliant sunshine at 6:25 with 13 overs remaining. But Toby Pettman, who was left with two balls in front of the first of them, defended himself with short legs from the second. Harrison, last to leave, was leg before Abbas by 39, 27 balls later.
