Peter Moores says lack of batting consistency was the reason for Notts struggling in County Championship this season

They ended their campaign for another year with a rain-affected draw against Warwickshire, with Moore left to reflect on a disappointing season.

“If I look at where things were perhaps a problem this year I’d say that though we had a series of batters who had good returns but maybe, in the back half of the season we sometimes got it wrong,” he said.

"We didn’t perform as well in the first innings as we should, though we often fought back well in the second. There’s been some inexperience in the line-up and it takes time, I think, for people to learn together the tough quality you need to keep up right through a four-day game. Four-day cricket is a genuine test and if you et even one session slip you’re in trouble

“Other teams get injuries, of course we know that, but I think we had real problems with bowlers being absent, Brett Hutton for so many games with injury, Paterson away at the end on paternity leave, Luke Fletcher in and out, Dillon Pennington injured in August and Josh Tongue absent throughout. I thought Calvin Harrison was making really encouraging progress in his first full season but even he was out for the last four games, too.

“We didn’t get relegated and a lot of good points emerged from the young players we turned to, Rob Lord, Freddie McCann and Farhan Ahmed. Farhan’s the best player his age that I’ve seen in my time, wonderful enthusiasm and able to keep good batters thinking in the way of bowlers ten years older.”

The draw, for which the pitch was probably intended from the start, thus duly arrived with ease, Notts taking 14 points to the visitors’ 13. Sam Hain signed off the season with an unbeaten 153 and his overnight partner Ed Barnard made 81 before Michael Burgess struck 56 from 71 balls in an eventual 373-7 after the resumption on 143-4.

It was not until the 13th ball after lunch in fact that the fifth-wicket partners were finally separated after adding exactly 150. The wunderkind off-spinner Farhan Ahmed switched to bowling over the wicket for the first time in the day and Barnard, who had passed 5000 first-class runs on the way, immediately top-edged a sweep to the deep.

The catch was well judged by the 21-year old substitute Sam King, yet to gain a first-class debut, with Brett Hutton briefly off the field. But only 84 more runs were then needed to avoid the follow-on, reduced to 58 by the time Hutton returned to take the new ball five overs later.

In a challenging summer during which “personal reasons” and concussion had seen him miss six games, Hain had completed a heartening second hundred of the season from 202 balls just before lunch. As Ahmed shared the new ball, he remained the anchor while Burgess proved typically combative.

The follow-on target of 333 was passed with 43 overs remaining but the match, bonus points aside, long since academic as certain to be drawn. Burgess entertained with four sixes in all until he swiped at Lyndon James 21 runs later and failed to clear mid-on. Ahmed came off next over with three for 93 from 33 overs, good figures on this pitch.

A second substitute, James Hayes, also without first-class experience, then took a gentle catch at cover off Rob Lord as a loose cut undid Danny Briggs without score. After tea taken at 361-7, however, just four bonus-point overs remained, neither side adding to their tally. Notts brought Ahmed back on but he found no further success and bad light conveniently ended play at 3.50.