Latest Match Report – Warwickshire vs Notts 2023

Nottinghamshire 155 (Hasan 3-30) and 457 6 (Clarke 229*) drew Warwickshire 571 Dec 9 (Hain 100, Mousley 87, Burgess 77*, Hasan 54)

Clarke’s marathon unbeaten 229 in eight hours and 38 minutes saw Nottinghamshire claw back a deficit of 416 in the first innings after he dealt a blow to Warwickshire’s title ambitions.

The Bears move above Hampshire and Essex to move up to second in the Division One table with 12 points, which they take from the draw, but have room to defend their title against Surrey, whose extraordinary win over Kent in Canterbury gives them a 32-point lead. though from seven matches to Warwickshire’s six.

Clarke fell for 128 in the morning session – a difficult occasion, even if it had to be deployed on a slow, flat track with a shortage of bowlers. Incidentally, the former England Lions player didn’t have many mistakes, hitting 35 fours and a six from 365 balls.

Clarke, whose 12 first-class hundreds in his first three seasons at Worcestershire marked him as a future star, has struggled for consistency since moving to Trent Bridge. He scored three centuries in his first season in 2019, but just three more in 55 innings since, but there was no doubting his quality on this occasion.

Resuming with deficits of 149 and the second new ball available with two overs to the final morning, Nottinghamshire knew that if they could get through the opening session without suffering too much damage, their chances of a draw would go up considerably.

With this important piece of luck from Clarke, they achieved their target, reaching lunch with one victim and Warwickshire’s advantage to 75. One man was Steven Mullaney, the Nottinghamshire skipper, who was bowled without offering anywhere. Rushworth, the country’s leading wicket-taker, caught a rare deviation from the pitch in the 10th over with the new ball pulling back and hitting the stumps.

The fifth wicket stand had matched the fourth by adding exactly 100 runs, Mullaney having batted over two hours with his 48 runs.

Clarke’s dismissal came three runs later, the shot hitting the outside off stump of Will Rhodes in a moment where his character was vulnerable with the rest of his innings. In fairness to Rob Yates, who missed an opportunity to slip, the ball came off the edge at head height with enough speed to reach the boundary, although it went through his hands on the right. Even so, Nottinghamshire would have been six down on 292 had they stuck, so it felt like a big moment.

Undeterred, Clarke took the next two balls to surpass his previous best in Nottinghamshire (133), before restoring his balance with another classically executed straight four. He swept Danny Briggs for six in his first innings and was on 166 for 341 at lunch for five. Warwickshire, who came up with a Game Plan overnight to take the remaining six spots in two heats, were already well behind schedule.

Rushworth made things happen again after the break, bowling Tom Moores with a ball that perhaps stayed a little low. At 361 for six, the home side were still 55 behind and Warwickshire now sense an opportunity.

But Clarke found another determined partner in Calvin Harrison, who, playing in only his second Championship match, was disappointing despite Warwickshire bringing every fielder close at times.

Thanks to Harrison holding his nerve as firmly as Moores and Mullaney before him, Clarke was able to bide his time and swept his 318th ball against Danny Briggs’ boundary to move to 203. on the home team’s balcony, but initially just a tap of gloves between the pair for the seventh point before Clarke, determined to see the job done, momentarily raised his bat in recognition of the spectators.

Nottinghamshire took the lead for the first time in the match soon after and were 20 up at tea with 36 overs remaining. There is still time for Warwickshire to seal victory if they can break the seventh-wicket partnership soon after.

Another crucial chance was wasted with just 40 and 30 overs left when Harrison, 33, miscued a drive against Rushworth but was dropped by Olly Hannon-Dalby on the long-leg boundary and that was enough for Warwickshire skipper Will. Rhodes offered his handshake in the draw at 5pm when Harrison finished on 38, but he helped add 103 runs in two hours and 19 minutes.