Brett Hutton claimed his sixth five-wicket haul of the season as Nottinghamshire dismissed Middlesex for 366 on the second day at Trent Bridge, before beginning their innings in gloomy conditions.

That challenge was one negotiated by Ben Slater who finished the day unbeaten on 49, and Joe Clarke not out on 25.

That left Notts trailing by 274 at the close, with Hameed and Mullaney the only wickets to fall in Notts' 28 overs faced. 

The visitors, meanwhile, remain in pursuit of vital points for their survival push, with Kent leapfrogging Middlesex in the live Division One table courtesy of bonus points garnered.

Higgins held Middlesex’s first innings together with 137 - his first hundred for the county - sharing partnerships of 61 with Stevie Eskinazi (58) and 108 with Jayant Yadav (56). Their total of 366 gave them three potentially precious batting bonus points, more than doubling their tally for the season, before Nottinghamshire responded with 92/2.

Brett Hutton finished with 5/94, taking him to 60 wickets for the season, picking up a wicket with his fourth ball of the day to break the overnight partnership between Higgins and John Simpson, the latter falling leg before getting only half-forward.

The dismissal brought immediate confirmation that Eskinazi was none the worse for the blow to the head that had forced his retirement on day one. Eskinazi emerged to resume an innings interrupted on 23, after Simpson and Higgins had added 70, with another 61 runs accrued before Dane Paterson pinned Eskinazi in front for 58.

The best ball of a testing second spell by Hutton accounted for Josh De Caires via a thin edge to ‘keeper Tom Moores, leaving Middlesex in danger at 241 for six. Thankfully for their survival chance, Higgins found an ally who could stick with him in Yadav, as the pair put on a vital 108.

It took him to 99 at lunch, from which he returned keen not to linger long on that nervous mark, joining Sam Robson as the only two Middlesex batters to post hundreds in 2023.

The sixth over with the second new ball ended the partnership when Yadav played around one from Ball to be leg before. The downfall of Higgins came two overs later with a misjudgement, an attempt to scamper a single into the offside off Ball, who stopped the ball with his boot, gathered and threw down the stumps at the bowler’s end with the batter still not home.

In between, Toby Roland-Jones had been struck in front trying to work Hutton, who wrapped things up by having Bamber caught at second slip, thus completing his sixth five-wicket haul in an outstanding season.

With ball in hand, Bamber dismissed Haseeb Hameed via a thin edge to Simpson and Steven Mullaney courtesy of a tight leg before call inside his first five overs, but Slater and Joe Clarke have added 57 for the third wicket.

Bad light and rain cost another 25 overs, following 54 on day one.