Luke Fletcher took three wickets as Nottinghamshire’s bowling battery picked up valuable time in the field on the second day of their friendly against Loughborough UCCE.

On a day which saw Trent Bridge enveloped in early spring sunshine and a pitch flattening out, the Green and Golds passed the test of being made to work for their wickets.

Fletcher’s trio made him the hosts’ best bowler, but there was also success for Brett Hutton, who added two further scalps to his one the previous day, as well as Joey Evison, Zak Chappell, Lyndon James, and Ben Slater, as the university side were dismissed for 238.

In an bid to extend their lead, Haseeb Hameed and Ben Duckett concluded proceedings at 54-1 in the final session, giving the home side a 256-run advantage heading into the final day.

It had taken only half an hour of the morning before Notts made further inroads to the visitors’ top order, as Fletcher struck to remove Max Luckett, caught poetically by Duckett in the slips.

That sparked a tumble, with Fletcher snaring another in his very next over, that of Joe MacGregor for 27, who feathered through to Tom Moores.

Evison then capitalised further, producing a pearler to uproot fellow Green and Gold Matt Montgomery’s off stump for four, leaving the visitors 48-4.

Donald Butchart and Jack Nightingale led an afternoon fightback, putting on 80 for the fifth wicket to see Loughborough through to lunch and beyond, before the former nicked Hutton to Duckett for 33.

That took little out of the batting of Nightingale, who manoeuvred himself to a gritty half-century, though he was beginning to run out of partners as Chappell got in on the action, inducing Moazzam Rizvi to chop on.

James then broke Nightingale’s resistance as he tempted him into a heave that could only pick out Calvin Harrison in the leg side outfield, but the tail did wag somewhat as tea approached.

Gus Miller and Alistair Frost combined for an eighth-wicket stand of 48, before the latter was pinned lbw by Slater just two balls into the evening session.

Adam King added eight before also being pouched by Harrison to hand Fletcher his third wicket, and Hutton then wrapped proceedings up by pinning last man Will Rogers in front for nought.

The Green and Golds took to the middle again, this time with bats in hand, and after the loss of Slater, who chopped Luckett to Frost at backward point, Hameed (29*) and Duckett (23*) negotiated the remaining overs.