Notts spinner replaces W G Grace after history-making performance
Surrey saw their romp towards a third consecutive Division One title lose a little momentum as they were forced to settle for a draw against relegation-threatened Nottinghamshire in the Vitality County Championship at Trent Bridge.
On a day when their teenage off-spinner Farhan Ahmed’s 10-wicket match haul claimed a 159-year-old record set by no less a cricketing legend than W G Grace, the home side, who had been set a target of 298 to win from a minimum 48 overs when Surrey declared at 177 for nine in their second innings, were 121 without loss when the sides shook hands on a draw at 5pm, openers Haseeb Hameed and Ben Slater having each made half-centuries.
At the other end of the table, after Warwickshire and Worcestershire both won, the points taken for the draw - a merit worthy achievement after trailing by 120 on first innings - leaves Nottinghamshire 10 points ahead of Lancashire in the battle to avoid being relegated alongside Kent. All sides have three matches to come.
Rory Burns made 71 to go with his first-innings 161 with Liam Patterson-White finishing with five for 94 before the declaration came, but the Nottinghamshire left-arm spinner’s achievement was again upstaged by his young team-mate Ahmed, with whom he shared all 53 overs of the Surrey second innings.
Already in the record books on his Championship debut as the youngest player to bag five wickets or more in a first-class match in Britain, he achieved another mark of distinction, arguably even more prestigious, when he claimed Jordan Clark as his 10th wicket of the match.
This enabled him to replace Grace as the youngest to take 10 or more wickets in a first-class match in Britain - in fact anywhere other than in South Asia.
Grace returned the extraordinary match figures of 13 for 84 - on his first-class debut - for Gentlemen of the South against Players of the South at the Oval in June 1865, at the age of 16 years 340 days.
With a match analysis of 10 for 247 at the age of 16 years and 192 days, Ahmed lowers the record by 148 days. He bowled a staggering 76.4 overs in the match, which may be a record in itself for a debut appearance.
Nottinghamshire’s Liam Patterson-White, who took five for 96, said: “It was a pleasing performance across the whole game. We knew what we were up against, champions two years in a row, top of the league again and a very strong side again, so to go toe-to-toe with them over the four days bodes well for the team going forward.
“After the defeat at Durham, there have been a lot of chats either with the coaching staff or among the players, really honest and harsh chats at times but very open and I feel that has reaped its rewards this week.
“To get the draw was so important considering the situation in the table. We wanted to put ourselves in a position where we were able to not lose that game and we did that pretty successfully this week. “The changing room is a really positive place. We never think we’re out of the game even if the opposition puts a big score on the board or not, we always back ourselves to do our best and in the context of the table it feels more like a win for us. We can take a lot of momentum from this game.
“From my own point of view, I was pleased with my own performance. It is nice to get back into the team and to perform for the team. There is a lot of competition for places and I feel like I’ve worked hard for the opportunity, so I wanted to grab it with both hands if I could.”