Nottinghamshire ended the day on the back foot as they returned to LV= County Championship action with a game against Northamptonshire at Wantage Road.
The home side made 260, having been put in but they reduced Notts to 38-4 before bad light called a premature halt 3.2 overs early.
Adam Rossington and David Willey were the heroes for the home side.
Rossington scored 103, his maiden Championship hundred, before Willey picked up three crucial wickets at the start of Notts’ reply.
The 21 year old Rossington, on loan from Middlesex, scored his runs from 124 deliveries, hitting 13 fours and two sixes, enabling his new county to recover from a position of 108 for six during the early part of the afternoon session.
Mick Newell admitted that his side have work to do, during the remainder of the match.
“We’re on the wrong end of that first day but I thought Northants came out and bowled very well there,” he said. “We’ve now got to make sure we get as close to Northants first innings score and see where that takes us.
“Rossington played very well, he controlled the batting with the tail and I think we bowled pretty well for the most part.”
Gary Keedy and James Franklin were omitted from the named squad when the team was announced at the toss. Chris Read called correctly and invited the home side to bat first under cloudy skies.
James Middlebrook and James Kettleborough weathered the opening barrage from Luke Fletcher and Harry Gurney, in adding 27 together. Bowling changes seemed imminent when Gurney made the breakthrough with the final ball of the twelfth over, as Kettleborough (10) misjudged a delivery and inside-edged it back onto his stumps when not playing a shot.
Kyle Coetzer immediately looked to up the tempo, getting off the mark with two boundaries off Andre Adams. The Scottish international raced past Middlebrook as the second wicket stand materialised exactly 50. It was broken 15 minutes before lunch when Steven Mullaney was introduced into the attack.
Enhancing his reputation as being something of a ‘golden arm’ he induced Middlebrook (32) to chase after his first delivery and nick it through to wicketkeeper Read.
If Notts had been slightly under-par in the morning session it perhaps wasn’t surprising, given their exertions on and off the field over a mad-cap three days that had seen them drive to Durham, then London, then Northampton, as well as play two testing fixtures.
Any lethargy was somehow removed during the interval and Notts were back to their best during the early stages of the afternoon as they wreaked havoc with the Northants middle order.
Kyle Coetzer (30) lost his off peg to Andre Adams, who then had Rob Keogh dropped at slip.
Ben Duckett (5) edged Fletcher high over the slip cordon but then wasn’t so long as a snick was sharply taken by Alex Hales at third slip.
Adams got his due reward as Mullaney clung on to remove Keogh (12)and then nipped one back to bowl Andrew Hall (3) to pick up the third wicket to fall in 19 deliveriesinside four overs.
Adam Rossington survived a confident and prolonged appeal for lbw against Adams’ bowling when he was on 9 but didn’t look back from that point as he bossed his seventh wicket stand with Matthew Spriegel.
The pair added 66 before Fletcher removed the left-handed Spriegel (19) with a bottom-edge carrying through to Read.
Rossington brought up his 50 (74 balls 6x4) by pushing Samit Patel out into the off side, with the same bowler then deposited into the stands by David Willey.
A sharp catch from Hales removed Willey (19), off Gurney but Rossington then took command spectacularly.
He scored all of the runs in partnership of 26 with Neil Wagner (0), which ended when the New Zealand international, on debut, nicked Gurney to Wessels.
A period of near-stalemate then ensued as Notts put everyone on the fence for Rossington, in the hope that they could bowl to last man Mohammad Azharullah but the established batsman was able to farm the strike to good effect.
Rossington reached his hundred with a pulled 6 off Ajmal Shahzad but was then bowled two balls later.
Notts reply was soon in tatters as Hales (5) and Mullaney (1) fell to Willey, in the second over. Hales was bowled by one that shaped back and Mullaney was adjudged to have feathered one behind.
James Taylor (4) was adjudged lbw to Azharullah and Samit Patel (1) was taken at slip by a diving Hall, to give Willey his third scalp.
Michael Lumb and Riki Wessels kept Northants at bay until bad light brought a halt to proceedings.