Nottinghamshire enjoyed a good day with the bat as their tour of Barbados drew to a close. Michael Lumb top-scored with 82 and Riki Wessels scored 75 out of a total of 313 against Yorkshire at Windward Cricket Club.
Lumb’s innings included 11 fours and was made from 152 deliveries faced and he was understandably pleased with the knock. “I’m feeling good about my game right and now and feel ready for the new season,” he said. “It’s always a challenge after a winter of playing white ball cricket to come back and face the red ball again. It’s especially good to get runs against a good attack and they bowled well at us today.”
The day began disastrously for Notts with Alex Hales (0) bowled by the morning’s first delivery. Ryan Sidebottom, the former Outlaws player, getting one past the defences to clip the off bail.
Michael Lumb joined Sam Kelsall (11) at the crease and took the score to 26 in the eleventh over when a Sidebottom delivery reared and rattled into Lumb’s thumb, causing bleeding around the nail.
The left-hander, who began his career with the Headingley side, was able to resume after treatment.
Kelsall’s solid technique had taken him safely through the first hour of play without any alarms and he was able to execute two sumptuous cover boundaries in that time, off Steven Patterson initially, and then Jack Brooks later.
Brooks, a close-season signing from Northants, struck back though, with a full delivery that thudded into the 20-year’s pads for a successful lbw appeal.
Moin Ashraf was introduced into the attack just before the end of the session and Lumb promptly stroked him through midwicket to move to 47 at the break, with Notts on 77-2 from 28 overs.
The third over of the afternoon saw Lumb reach his fifty (96 balls 7x4) and it was greeted with a clenched fist salute to his appreciative team-mates.
Lumb and James Taylor both looked in good order during the hottest part of the day. The returning Sidebottom, appearing fit and well and bowling quickly, gave nothing away and his battle with Lumb, both former ICC World T20 winners with England, was worthy of a much larger audience.
92 were added for the third wicket before Taylor (24) fell in unfortunate circumstances, chopping on to his stumps when attempting to cut Patterson away.
Patterson wasn’t giving much away from the southern end and struck again when Lumb’s fine innings came to an end. Pushing at a delivery with width his edge was well-taken by a diving Joe Sayers at slip.
Having been in a position of some strength Notts were then rocked by three more dismissals before tea, all to Liam Plunkett, who bowled a spell of 5-3-4-3.
Chris Read (5) and Steven Mullaney (0) fell in identical fashion, both out lbw in the space of three Plunkett deliveries, each keeping very low.
The former Durham and England bowler continued his hot streak by clean-bowling Sam Wood (0).
In his first innings for his new county Ajmal Shahzad (2) got off the mark with a clip behind square off Moin Ashraf but then chipped Rich Pyrah straight to Andrew Gale at midwicket.
On the opening day Yorkshire had lost their tenth wicket with the board reading 168, before the openers were sent in for a second time. Notts went passed that mark after 61.4 overs with Riki Wessels and Graeme White going after their shots.
White swept Adam Lyth for four to bring up the 200 and then kicked on impressively as the total sped beyond Yorkshire’s 226.
Having made 42 from 44 deliveries (6x4, 1x6) White was taken on the long on boundary by Patterson, off Joe Sayers.
Wessels’ second maximum, over extra cover off Lyth, took him to fifty (97 balls, 4x4, 2x6). Ben Phillips made 19 from as many balls, before being caught behind by Hodd off Lyth.
As the day drew towards a close Wessels’ knock of 75 (126 balls, 6x4, 2x6) came to an end with a tired-looking chip to Plunkett at midwicket off Pyrah.
Andy Carter scored 11 not out, Luke Fletcher made 4 before being taken at slip by Sayers off Brooks and Sam Kelsall (2) and Sam Wood (0 not out) had the opportunity of briefly batting for a second time.
The final day of the Yorkshire contest brought the Barbados trip to an end. The party arrive back in Nottingham on Monday afternoon, seven days before the scheduled first UK practice match, against Derbyshire at Trent Bridge.