Notts title dream dies in defeat to Yorkshire
Nottinghamshire’s reign as county champions is over after defeat to Yorkshire in the final game of the season.
Notts slipped to a one wicket defeat in a low-scoring and dramatic match at Trent Bridge.
Needing just 158 to win with more than five sessions left in the match, Yorkshire suffered a major wobble in which seven wickets fell for 61 runs before skipper Jonny Bairstow flat-batted Pakistan seamer Mohammad Ali for six over cover to clinch the spoils.
It followed an earlier collapse by newly toppled champions Nottinghamshire in their second innings as they crashed from 55 for three overnight to 85 all out, losing seven wickets for 30 runs in the space of 17.1 overs.
Nottinghamshire head coach Peter Moores said: “It was a really good game of cricket. We'd be frustrated because we missed out in the third innings really. From 127 in front for three down overnight, any sort of partnership would have set up a really challenging run chase for them. “Even so, if we’d had Olly Stone out there, we'd have been probably favourites, I think, the way he's bowling at the moment. To see a decent crowd here and everybody hanging on the end of their seats, it was great to see.
"Sometimes you win them and sometimes you lose them and that was tight. But credit to Jonny Bairstow, I thought he played really well in that second innings. He's experienced, and that told, but on another day, he maybe gets a little scrape on one and we’re home.
“The pitch had something for batters and bowlers in some ways, because there are a lot of county pitches where you don't go through the first day without bowling a side out. Yet we batted 96 overs for nine down, so you could play on the pitch.
"It was a classic Trent Bridge pitch for me, if you missed your areas as a bowler, you got scored off. This morning, there was a heavy dew, so at half-past-ten there's still a bit of moisture around and they exploited it really well.”
Nottinghamshire, who looked favourites to retain their 2025 title after winning impressively at the Kia Oval at the start of the closing block of fixtures - and were just four points behind then-leaders Somerset with two matches remaining - finish fourth.