Superb Notts set up victory chance against Surrey

Rothesay County Championship Division One, Kia Oval (day two)

Nottinghamshire 231: Fisher 5-61 & 219-8: Patterson-White 58; Fisher 5-57

Surrey 173: Burns 47; James 3-35, Tongue 3-43

Notts (3 pts) lead Surrey (3 pts) by 277 runs

An explosive 17-wicket second day at The Oval ended, remarkably, with Liam Patterson-White and Lyndon James producing the highest partnership of an absorbing low-scoring match to tilt the potential championship title decider Nottinghamshire’s way.

At 219-8 in their second innings, Notts are 277 runs ahead of Surrey and after Patterson-White fell for 58, the best individual score of the match so far, they saw Brett Hutton (23 not out) and Josh Tongue, unbeaten on 14, add more vital runs before the close.

Matt Fisher did his best to keep Surrey in the game with 5-57, removing James for an 84-ball 47 just before Patterson-White’s own brave knock ended, to complete a maiden career 10-wicket match haul following his opening day 5-61 in Notts’ first innings 231.

Surrey had earlier crumbled from 101-1 to 173 all out in the top-of-the-table match, a first innings deficit of 58, but Notts then slid to 89-6 second time around before batting conditions seemed to ease at last and Patterson-White and James put on 91 in 23 overs.

James’ runs completed a fine day’s work for the all-rounder, who had earlier picked up 3-35 as the Notts seam quartet rocked Surrey, who are chasing a fourth successive County Championship triumph.

Tongue also impressed with 3-43, as did Hutton (2-31) and Dillon Pennington (2-41) to earn Notts three bowling bonus points and deny Surrey a single batting point.

As a result, the two teams remain separated by just a single point – as they were before the game – as they continue the scrap for the 16 points available for a victory which may well decide who finishes the season as county champions after next week’s final round of matches.

Patterson-White faced 90 balls, pulling Tom Lawes for six and also hitting five fours, before Dan Worrall had him well held at second slip to leave Surrey to chase a fourth innings target likely to be around 300 – a stiff task on a pitch still giving the faster bowlers plenty of encouragement.

Notts’ second innings had begun badly with Worrall angling one through Ben Slater’s defences to bowl the left-hander for four, while Haseeb Hameed was leg-before for 14 to Fisher’s sixth ball.

Joe Clarke and Freddie McCann also went lbw to Fisher, for one and 11 respectively in the bowler’s next two overs, and it was 53-5 when Jack Haynes inside-edged the rampant Fisher on to his leg stump to go for 16.

Kyle Verreynne made 18 to help James rally Notts a little in a useful stand of 36 but the South Africa wicketkeeper looked distraught when adjudged caught behind off Worrall in the second over of the final session.

But then Patterson-White emerged at number eight to frustrate Surrey’s bowlers in alliance with James, with the day two action being watched by a crowd of almost 3,500 – taking the aggregate championship attendance at the Oval this season to 80,484, a 21st century record.

The first hour of the morning gave no hint of the carnage to come with Surrey captain Rory Burns and nightwatchman Lawes, resuming on 43-1, taking their second wicket partnership to 59 with few alarms.

The 33rd over of Surrey’s innings, however, lit the touchpaper for the resulting fireworks with Lawes initially extra cover driving and then pulling James’ medium pace for two fours in three balls to suggest that bat was finally getting on top of ball.

It was only a mirage because Lawes, on 22, then stretched out to drive James and only succeeded in lifting a comfortable catch to cover. And his dismissal was the beginning of a startling collapse which saw Surrey lose nine wickets for just 72 runs in 20 overs either side of lunch.

Burns went for a gritty 97-ball 47 in the next over, leg-before to Hutton, and five overs later Ben Foakes edged James behind. Dan Lawrence departed for a three-ball duck, in the next over, beaten twice by Hutton’s outswingers before giving a catch to mid on off a leading edge from an inswinger.

And it became three wickets in three overs when Ollie Pope, to his clear annoyance, nibbled at one from James and gave McCann a waist-high catch at second slip.

Pope’s dismissal for 11 left Surrey reeling at 129-6 and, soon after lunch, it got worse for the champions when Ryan Patel tried to play Tongue’s pace from the crease and was leg-before for four.

Tom Curran’s 11 was curtailed by Pennington’s nip-backer and another successful lbw appeal and the end of the innings was nigh when Gus Atkinson nicked an unplayable leg-cutter from Tongue to Verreynne.

Fisher offered a few quality strokes but on 13 edged Tongue to second slip but by tea no fewer than five top order Notts wickets had also tumbled as the game moved on at breakneck pace.