Inevitable draw for Notts after rain wrecks Warwickshire game
Olly Stone proved that he can still deliver top-drawer fast-bowling as champions Nottinghamshire’s Rothesay County Championship match with Warwickshire culminated in the inevitable draw at Edgbaston.
Stone’s fire on his former home ground lit up a final day which brought only a tussle for bonus points after two of the first three days were washed out. After Nottinghamshire declared on 325 for eight (Joe Clarke 150 from 221 balls, Ethan Bamber three for 74), Stone blasted out three wickets in a searing, seven-over opening spell.
Nottinghamshire Head Coach, Peter Moores, said: "We are very happy coming out with 13 points. It was frustrating on the one hand in that the pitch was a really good pitch. Credit to Gary Barwell the groundsman - he has produced a pitch which has a little bit in it for the bowler but, as we saw from the way Joe ClarKe played, batters could play on it too.
"We played really good cricket during the two days that were possible and deservedly came out on top in terms of points. We had a decision to make this morning in terms of a declaration. We could have tried to go on a little but and get 350 but we decided the best way to go was with the ball and try to get nine wickets, which we did.
"The way Olly Stone is bowling at the moment is brilliant. The way he kept the pressure on and, in that respect, credit to all the bowlers and we also took our catches. At this time of year it is about getting back into the red-ball format and all in all it was a really good performance which backed up how we played against Surrey."
That play was possible on the final day at least got Nottinghamshire debutant Fraser Sheat off the hook. The New Zealander had batted well on the second evening but turned down a single from the penultimate ball of the day, keeping his side on 299, one run short of a batting point. When Clarke turned the first ball of the fourth day for a single, Sheat could relax in the knowledge that he had not, on his debut, cost Nottinghamshire a potentially title-retaining point.
Clarke reached a highly-skilled 150 on a pitch offering help to the seamers, one of his finest innings for Nottinghamshire, before edging Bamber to second slip. That triggered the declaration, Sheat unbeaten on a valuable 45 (68), to deny the hosts a third bowling point.
Stone ensured that his side banked their first bowling point in just 13 overs. Swinging the ball at high speed, he pinned Rob Yates, who offered no shot, and Sam Hain lbw and forced Will Young to edge to wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne. When Dillon Penington added the wicket of Dan Mousley, lbw, Warwickshire went into lunch on 64 for four and some Nottinghamshire thoughts strayed back to 17 August 2010 when they took all 20 Warwickshire wickets in a day at Trent Bridge.