Nottinghamshire moved up to fourth place in the LV=Insurance County Championship Division One table, as Peter Moores’ side were made to settle for a share of the spoils on a radiant final day at Trent Bridge.

Near-centuries from Sir Alastair Cook and Tom Westley helped Essex to a healthy second-innings declaration on 362/8 upon the conclusion of the afternoon session, setting Notts an ambitious but achievable target of 219 from 39 overs.

Essex’s top-order batsmen appeared a tough nut to crack for Nottinghamshire’s bowling lineup, frustrating the home side as Cook and Westley held their own in the middle with a pivotal partnership of 157.

Cook seemed destined for his first career century at Trent Bridge, but fate had other plans for the former England captain who fell just one run shy of the target in the day's first wicket, removed by Lyndon James when caught in behind by Clarke.

Westley also came within a hair's length of a tonne, adding 95 to his first-innings tally of 66, but too fell victim to the Notts 'keeper after edging Broad's delivery on his offside.

As the visitors battled on in the sunshine to a lunchtime lead of 114 with Dan Lawrence and Matt Critchley at the crease, the morning’s slower tempo combined with fierce resistance in the middle made a draw appear increasingly certain, although a flurry of afternoon wickets breathed fresh life into the contest.

The dismissal of Critchley, bowled lbw by James, was quickly followed by that of Adam Rossington in successive overs as Calvin Harrison was handed a straightforward catch from his own delivery.

Debutant Harrison went on to take another two wickets - of Doug Bracewell and Shane Snater - on the other side of Mullaney finding the front pad of Lawrence, before the southern visitors handed in their declaration at the end of the afternoon session to tee up an intriguing finish in West Bridgford.

Early wickets of Haseeb Hameed and Ben Slater offered Essex a slight advantage in the opening stages of Notts’ second innings, as Sam Cook claimed them both within the first nine overs.

Joe Clarke found the boundary on eight occasions with a knock of 42 from 74 deliveries in a valiant attempt to kickstart the search for victory, but the two sides shook hands on an entertaining draw with five overs remaining and 122 left to chase.

The stalemate marks the conclusion of the first phase of the LV=Insurance County Championship season, ahead of the commencement of Notts Outlaws’ Vitality Blast campaign on Friday against Derbyshire Falcons.