Paul Franks hailed Nottinghamshire’s focus as the hosts took three wickets with the Kookaburra ball on day three against Yorkshire.

Liam Patterson-White secured two scalps, with Farhan Ahmed picking up another late in the day, and with the pair having bowled 92 overs in the innings so far.

Nottinghamshire’s Assistant Head Coach felt the duo’s attitude was key.

“I thought we controlled the run-rate really well,” he said.

“We’d hoped for slightly more turn as the day went on, but an enormous amount of credit has to go to Liam and Farhan, who controlled the game really well.

“It takes concentration, fitness, desire to compete and the will to want to try and force the issue for your team.

“You’ve got to want to get out there and try and create a winning opportunity. It seems like that might be tough now, with one day to go, but you never know what’s around the corner.”

While the demands of a day in the field can’t accurately be replicated in a winter’s work, Franks feels Notts are well-equipped to deal with the challenges that this fixture has posed.

“It’s difficult to prepare in some ways, because it’s unrealistic to bowl that number of overs in training.

“When it comes to being in the field for that length of time, mentally as much as anything you’ve got to be ready for the chance when it comes.

“But they’ve done it before, it’s not uncharted waters for them, so it’s good to see when they front up and do their best.”

This is the first fixture of the summer to be played with the Kookaburra ball in place of the traditional Dukes – but Franks views the nature of the challenge in a positive light.

“You’ll have noticed that the ball seems not to have raced over the Trent Bridge outfield like we’re used to seeing, which is probably one of the reasons why the scoring rate has been a bit lower than usual,” he said.

“But it’s part of the game we’re exploring as a country, so we need to do the best we can with it.

“The team on the whole stuck at it manfully, and fair play to Finlay Bean too, who played well for his double-hundred.

“We’ve just got to bowl them out as quickly as we can and get batting, then see where tomorrow takes us.”

*******