Picture by John Heald. Ben Cliff struck twice in two balls quickly after lunch to continue a memorable fortnight.
Both Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire battled hard for reward during a see-saw opening day of the season-finale at Trent Bridge.
This is the final fixture of 2026, with the two sides aiming for win number six of their respective Rothesay County Championship campaigns. For Notts’ it is imperative if they are to snatch the title from the clutches of league leaders Warwickshire.
Inserted Notts’ ended the day on 242-9 from 96 overs
Yorkshire will have bowled worse than this for more reward already this season.
Ben Cliff led the way with 3-39 from 17 overs to continue his impressive fortnight following 11 wickets in the win over Essex at Headingley last week.
But all the seamers were miserly, with George Hill particularly unfortunate to not strike more than once. He finished with figures of 1-37 from 18 overs.
Ben Coad also impressed with 2-42 from 21 overs, as did Jack White with 1-43 from 20 and Matthew Revis 1-39 from 14.
Picture by John Heald. Ben Coad with the morning breakthrough to remove Ben Slater.
Third-placed Notts’ need a miracle to usurp leaders Warwickshire, with Somerset sandwiched in between. Before a ball was bowled today, they trailed the Bears by 15 points.
Warwickshire have the advantage after day one against Leicestershire at Edgbaston.
Opener and captain Haseeb Hameed led the way for the hosts with a patient 71 off 187 balls.
On the back of two successive wins, the White Rose made one enforced change, with White returning to replace the departed Indian Kuldeep Yadav.
The morning session – played out on a pitch with a green tinge – was attritional, and both sides could be satisfied with their work. In truth, the word attritional summed up the whole day.
Notts’ advanced to 63-1 from 29 overs, with Coad claiming the only wicket when a back of a length ball seemed to deceive the left-handed Ben Slater, who was on the back foot when he prodded a catch to Adam Lyth at second slip.
That wicket – 48-1 in the 24th over – came during the latter stages of a run of seven successive maidens from Coad, Hill and Matthew Revis.
Picture by John Heald. Matthew Revis removed Nottinghamshire captain Haseeb Hameed just before tea for 71.
There were plenty of plays and misses and a couple of edges which dropped short of the slips early on. Perhaps, having been inserted, Notts’ would have been the happier of the two camps at lunch.
Thankfully, that view changed pretty quickly after lunch thanks to Cliff striking twice in as many balls to leave the hosts at 64-3 in the 32nd over.
First he had Ben Martindale and then Joe Clarke both caught at second slip by Lyth. The first was a peach of a catch going low to his right, the second much more straightforward.
That forced Hameed and Jack Haynes into a rebuild task through the heart of the afternoon, something which they achieved impressively to swing the pendulum back in their favour.
Hameed was resolute and reached his fifty off 145 balls, while Haynes was more aggressive for 48.
Haynes, of course, hurt Yorkshire in last month’s Metro Bank One-Day Cup quarter-final at York with an unbeaten 116.
Hameed and Haynes brought up their century partnership – they shared 112 in all – during the latter stages of the afternoon, which Nottinghamshire ended on 176-4.
Picture by John Heald. Haseeb Hameed at the crease for Nottinghamshire, with Adam Lyth in the background. He took three catches at second slip today, all of the first three wickets to fall.
Shortly before the interval, Haynes saw Revis remove his captain Hameed with a beauty – angled in and nipped away as the score fell to 172-4 in the 62nd over.
After tea, he then loosely slapped Cliff to Sam Whiteman at cover two short of his fifty, leaving Nottinghamshire at 177-5 in the 70th over.
Mitchell Hay, a wicketkeeper-batter from New Zealand, and all-rounder Lyndon James then advanced their side’s cause both against the old ball and then new, which was taken with the score 208-5 after 80 overs.
They shared 56 for the sixth wicket, a stand broken when Hill had Hay caught behind for 24 by Jonny Bairstow the ball after the skipper had received treatment to his left hand following a blow stood up to the stumps.
He went back for the catch as Notts’ fell to 228-6 in the 86th.
Coad then had Liam Patterson-White caught and bowled off a miscued drive with the score on 229 before Cliff returned to grab a fourth. He had James caught at wide mid-on off a miscue for 33, leaving Notts’ at 239-8 in the 91st over.
White got the ninth wicket in the day’s penultimate over, that of Brett Hutton caught behind down leg as the score was reduced to 241-9.
