Mohammad Abbas and Liam Patterson-White both claimed two wickets apiece as Nottinghamshire were made to work for their rewards on a placid third day at Utilita Bowl.

Abbas snared his 100th First-Class wicket at this venue and added another to return figures of 2/66, while Patterson-White bowled another marathon spell of 43 overs for his 2/90.

Indian overseas batter Tilak Varma made 112 for the hosts before becoming the final wicket of the day at the hands of Freddie McCann, while Felix Organ finished unbeaten on 71.

Their battling efforts took the hosts to 367-6, an overall deficit of 211 and one that leaves them still requiring 61 to avoid the risk of being asked to follow on.

As Notts fought with the ball, Varma put on 42 with Nick Gubbins, 58 with Ben Brown, and most substantially 126 with Organ to bite into Notts’ large 578 first-innings score.

Fletcha Middleton and Joe Weatherley, who hunkered down for 32 overs the previous evening, both collected half-centuries in the morning.

The former reached 52 but was bounced out by Abbas to give the seamer his milestone Utilita Bowl wicket, being caught on the hook by Farhan Ahmed.

Middleton also scored 52, before falling with the Hampshire total on 111 when he edged Abbas behind to Kyle Verreynne.

However, despite Abbas’s mid-morning burst, the Kookaburra ball softened and the yards became harder for the Green and Gold attack.

That did not, though, stop Liam Patterson-White ripping one to pin a leaving Nick Gubbins lbw, before Tom Prest loosely hoicked to substitute fielder Calvin Harrison at mid-on.

Home captain Ben Brown tried to stick alongside Varma, but shortly before tea, he was lbw to second-day double-centurion Lyndon James for 28.

While Notts’ bowlers found themselves with little reward for their considerable efforts, they will have taken pleasure at the rate never reaching three runs an over.

The pace of play slowed even further as the ball went softer, but while Organ made fifty in 138 balls, there was late joy for Notts to raise spirits.

Varma, having amassed a century from 203 deliveries with 13 fours and two sixes, tickled to Verreynne off Freddie McCann in the final trappings to put an end to his resistant innings.

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