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Successful return to opening for Somerset has the former Test opener on the selectors’ radar after he was named to tour Sri Lanka with Australia A

Alex Malcolm29-Apr-2022

Matt Renshaw’s newfound versatility is making him an attractive option for Australia’s selectors as they begin to plan for life beyond David Warner and Usman Khawaja in the coming years.Renshaw, 26, made a sparkling century for Somerset on day one of their division one LV= County Championship clash against Warwickshire, just a day prior to being named in the Australia A squad to tour Sri Lanka.The former Test opener has returned to the top of the order in his last three innings for Somerset having not opened in a first-class match since December 2019 when he was dropped from Queensland’s Sheffield Shield team and needed to take a break from cricket.Since then, he has re-established himself at No.5 in Queensland’s side and won a place in the Australia A team against England Lions last summer where he ended up batting at No.3, a spot he remained in for the Bulls for the rest of the summer.But his successful return to opening for Somerset with scores of 48 and 129 in his last three innings has showcased his versatility as a player, something Australia’s chairman of selectors George Bailey has noted.Related

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“He could probably fit anywhere, certainly given his development over the last couple of years,” Bailey said. “We know he can open, he’s scored [a Test hundred] so there’s a skillset that he has there. He got back to batting No.3 at the back end of the season for Queensland. He’s had some good success at No.5.”As I said to him in the last couple of days, it’s great to see him back at the top over in England.”Looking at scarcity of resources and where the hardest places to bat are you’re on the lookout for guys who have the ability to bat at the top of the order and hopefully stay there for long periods of time as far as tenure goes.”I think the learning that he’s gone through, to go down and feel like what it feels like and how he has had to change his game to bat at No.5 will help him and he’s gone back to the top and he said it’s taken a little bit of adjusting and it’s a bit of a different feel. Because after a couple of years at No.5 he was starting to get used to it. But he’s enjoying the challenge.”For him, like any batter, it’s about scoring a mountain of runs, and then if the opportunity arises, he’s probably got a nice little advantage at the moment that he’s got that flexibility in his game.”Usman Khawaja has proven that flexibility is a valuable asset after he scored twin centuries at No.5 for Australia in the Sydney Ashes Test before being moved up to open following the return of Travis Head and dominating the Pakistan series at the top of the order.Khawaja and Warner both turn 36 later this year and Australia will need depth at the top of the order sooner rather than later. Marcus Harris, who has made an excellent start to the English summer for Gloucestershire, has been left out of Australia’s Test squad for the tour of Sri Lanka but has been included in the Australia A squad.Marcus Harris was making his Gloucestershire debut•PA Images via Getty Images

Harris, Renshaw, Peter Handscomb and Mark Steketee have all been named in the A squad that will cause disruptions for their respective county sides as they head to Sri Lanka for the tour in June.Glamorgan will also lose Marnus Labuschagne, as expected, who has been selected for Australia’s ODI and Test sides. But Michael Neser is set to remain in England after being overlooked for the Australia Test and Australia A squads.”It’s an important consideration because those guys have committed to big chunks of time getting some great experiences over in England,” Bailey said.”We just wanted to make sure that the skillsets were fitting and where we see Ness at the moment, he’s actually in the right place. We see his skillset as being really well-suited to English conditions, as opposed to probably not as much at the moment in subcontinent conditions, where we found in Pakistan, that little bit of extra air speed can be quite crucial.”Not saying that Sri Lanka is going to be exactly the same as Pakistan, but certainly for Ness going forward and we’ve been really clear to him on this, one is that the fact that we’ve been out on smaller squads, so we’re not carrying those extra players, which is great because it means he gets to continue playing and putting performances up over there.”

His 219 follows last week’s 239 for an aggregate of 611 runs from his first four innings for Derbyshire

ECB Reporters Network22-Apr-2022Pakistan international Shan Masood became the first player in Derbyshire history to post back-to-back double centuries as Leicestershire’s bowlers were put to the sword on day two of the LV= Insurance County Championship match at the Uptonsteel County Ground.The 32-year-old opener was out for 219, having hit 24 fours and a six as Derbyshire racked up 401 runs in the day to lead by 224 with six first-innings wickets still in hand. Wayne Madsen made 94 and Mattie McKiernan is 63 not out.Masood’s magnificent innings followed his 239 in last week’s drawn match against Sussex, giving him an aggregate of 611 runs from his first four innings for Derbyshire, another county record.Left-arm spinner Callum Parkinson finally claimed his wicket this time, bowling him with a ball that turned sharply from outside the left-hander’s off stump. Masood turned for the pavilion but could leave the field only after every Leicestershire player, led by Parkinson, had offered a handshake of congratulation on a superb exhibition of high-class batting.It capped a day that began with Leicestershire’s bowlers hoping for a productive morning with a relatively new ball. Instead, after resuming on 36 for 1, Derbyshire added 111 runs before lunch and lost only one wicket in doing so.Brooke Guest was the sole casualty, given out leg before to Will Davis for 23. It might have been two but Madsen, having hit the first two balls of Wiaan Mulder’s third over of the morning to the fence, was dropped on the legside by wicketkeeper Harry Swindells on 14 in the same over.Masood by that point was looking in ominously good touch and as he completed his first fifty just before Madsen’s let-off there was already a sense he had his eye on another big score. Parkinson’s introduction helped stem the flow of runs in the last 40 minutes of the opening session but it was a different story after lunch when the Leicestershire bowlers conceded runs at more than four an over.Madsen passed fifty and Masood his hundred from consecutive balls off Davis, the latter’s including 12 fours. There was seldom any hint of a breakthrough until Madsen, within sight of what would have been a sixth century against Leicestershire and a third on this ground, decided to chance a single to mid-off off Beuran Hendricks with the odds clearly against him and paid the price, Ed Barnes beating the 38-year-old’s despairing dive with a direct hit.Understandably, Madsen looked mortified, yet his partnership with Masood had added 221 for the third wicket and put Derbyshire firmly in control. He and Masood shared a partnership of 292 against Sussex last week.When tea arrived at 295 for 3, their lead was 82. Now Leicestershire were pinning their hopes on the second new ball, which would be available an over into the final session.But that proved fruitless too as Masood continued to prosper. Most of his boundaries had come from sweetly timed drives or clips off his legs but he showed an aggressive side when he drove Davis for four and pulled him for six in the same over.McKiernan, though dropped on 39 off Mulder, was striking the ball confidently at the other end and he and Masood added 129 at almost five an over, passing his previous highest score of 52.Derbyshire supporters are already likening Masood’s impact to that of the Australian Simon Katich, who scored 433 runs in his first four innings for the county in 2007, and Martin Guptill, the New Zealand batter, who was the key figure the last time Derbyshire won promotion from Division Two of the County Championship in 2012.Although he is not alone in making consecutive double hundreds, no player in the history of cricket has made three in a row.

The pair’s 196-run stand set up the game; England agonisingly short despite Sciver’s fighting 109*

Valkerie Baynes05-Mar-2022Meg Lanning had wanted to do departed Australian greats Shane Warne and Rod Marsh proud. She had also spoken of Rachael Haynes’ importance to her side’s World Cup campaign in the build-up to their opening match against England.Both talking points were apt as Australia held on for a tense 12-run victory on the back of Haynes’ hyper intelligent century as England fell just shy of their hefty 311 target in a high quality, high-scoring affair in Hamilton.A plucky second-wicket partnership between Tammy Beaumont and Heather Knight worth 92 was no match for the 196 runs put on by Haynes and Lanning. Nat Sciver then made a late dash to make a gutsy 109 not out off 85 balls, but it wasn’t enough for England. Leg-spinning allrounder Alana King – who tweeted earlier in the day of her sadness at the loss of her “inspiration” Warne – took three wickets and Jess Jonassen took two in the final over to seal the win.At the halfway point of the Australian innings, Haynes had faced 60 deliveries for her 39 not out, but she reached a career-best ODI score of 130 off 131 after she and Lanning read the game to perfection. Their stand became Australia’s second-highest for any wicket at a Women’s World Cup. Lanning posted an excellent 86 off 110 in a contest that began as an arm-wrestle on a tacky pitch which made scoring difficult through the early stages.Knight won the toss and opted to bowl first and, despite boasting a vastly experienced attack in Katherine Brunt, Anya Shrubsole, Kate Cross, Sciver and spinner Sophie Ecclestone, their failure to take wickets proved costly.Amy Jones kept up to the stumps from the third over onwards, and the plan nearly paid off in the sixth when Alyssa Healy was nearly stumped. She punished anything short or overpitched, and managed to overturn an lbw decision on Sciver’s third delivery, with ball-tracking showing it narrowly missed leg stump. Sciver struck three balls later, however, as Healy tried to clear midwicket and picked out Brunt, who took a straightforward catch.Rachael Haynes and Meg Lanning put on 196 for the second wicket•Getty ImagesAt the end of the power play, Australia were 37 for 1 and, after 15 overs, their run rate was 3.86. At the end of the 16th, there had been just 31 scoring shots. But, with nine wickets in hand and 19 overs remaining, Haynes and Lanning were free to up the tempo and they did so without being rash.Haynes swivelled and pulled Brunt for four behind square to bring up Australia’s 200 and Lanning struck a powerful six off Brunt over deep midwicket. But Lanning finally fell when she slapped Brunt to Beaumont at point.Beth Mooney arrived as Haynes brought up her century off 115 balls, turning a single off Cross towards midwicket. Mooney and Haynes took their partnership past fifty in just 29 deliveries as they set about carrying Australia towards the 300-mark and beyond.Sciver put in a magnificent dive running in from midwicket which would have had Haynes out for 117, and, as if to rub it in, Haynes pulled Sciver for just the second six of the match in the next over. Haynes’ knock finally came to an end two balls later when Sciver had her caught by Danni Wyatt at deep midwicket.England’s chase began terribly with struggling opener Lauren Winfield-Hill falling for a four-ball duck. Beaumont and Knight rebuilt with the ball coming onto the bat much more than it had during Australia’s innings. Knight brought up their fifty stand by advancing down the pitch to Jonassen’s first ball and lofting it over the rope at long-off.After the power play England were 53 for 1 and tracking ahead of the curve. Beaumont raised her fifty off just 54 balls and she passed 3000 career ODI runs, becoming the fifth England Women’s player to do so – and the fastest – reaching the mark in 78 innings compared to Sarah Taylor’s 87.Tahlia McGrath and Lanning combined to make a crucial breakthrough to dismiss Knight, who fell for 40 when she picked out the Austtralian skipper at cover.Alana King tweeted of her sadness at the loss of her “inspiration” Shane Warne•Getty ImagesKing entered the attack in the 26th over and struck a short time later to remove Beaumont. Having made her international debut during the recent Ashes, King deceived Beaumont with a flighted gem that pitched outside leg stump and found the Healy’s gloves outside off before she whipped of the bails for the stumping. As Beaumont trudged off, King roared and slapped the twin black armbands she wore in honour of Warne, and Marsh.When King removed Jones and Wyatt cheaply, England had it all to do. They needed 88 off the last 10 overs as Sciver and Sophia Dunkley put on another fifty partnership to give England hope. But, no sooner had King worn a hard-hit straight drive from Dunkley on the ankle in her follow through, she bowled Dunkley round her legs with the very next ball.Sciver and Brunt didn’t let up though, and with three overs remaining, they needed 36 runs with Sciver reading the ball beautifully and batting with her trademark cool head.The tension mounted as Sciver was put down at mid off in the penultimate over but, entrusted with bowling the last over, Jonassen’s lightning reflexes kicked in to remove Brunt with the sharpest of return catches, thrusting her left hand out above her head, a deadpan look of shock on her face before breaking into a disbelieving smile. Jonassen then had Ecclestone caught off the final ball as England fell short.

Tom Harrison, the ECB’s chief executive, has sent a formal proposal to Cricket Australia encouraging it to involve young English players in the Sheffield Shield.Harrison, who arrived in Australia before the inquest into another Ashes drubbing for England kicked into gear, said in an interview with the BBC’s , “The reality is we need to be spending a lot more time with players in Australian conditions. I’ve had a number of conversations with Cricket Australia and have written formally to Cricket Australia to ask if they would consider allowing us to put players into Sheffield Shield cricket, for example, as one significant change that we can bring to bear.Related

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“We’ve had to cancel a lot of individual player preparation plans – which would have involved time in Australia – due to the [Covid-19] pandemic, because effectively, Australia has been closed, and a number of other tours that were planned to enable us to get in better shape for this tour have had to be shelved.”Australian cricketers are regularly signed as overseas players in county cricket, with Marcus Harris, Marnus Labuschagne, Travis Head and Michael Neser among the Ashes squad members involved in the 2021 County Championship.But with fewer teams in the Shield – only six compared to the 18 in the Championship – reciprocal opportunities for England players have been few and far between; when Mason Crane was selected for a single game in 2017, he was New South Wales’ first overseas player since the 1980s.Isa Guha, the ex-England international and current broadcaster, drew parallels last month with the Big Bash League, which has featured 18 England signings this season.”There’s a few good cricketers doing well in the BBL from England, and I think they could have a huge impact on Sheffield Shield cricket as well,” she told News Corp. “Fans and broadcasters want a contest… surely it’s in the interest of Cricket Australia to say, ‘yep, some of your players who are going to be part of the Ashes can come here and play in our Sheffield Shield for a few games.'”

With the January transfer window now just around the corner, Arsenal reportedly have their eye on a number of players, most notably attackers, with manager Mikel Arteta keen to solve his side’s woes in front of goal.

Among those thought to be interesting the Gunners are Paris Saint-Germain striker Randal Kolo Muani, Sporting Lisbon’s Viktor Gyokeres, and Newcastle United star Alexander Isak. Their top target, however, according to The Daily Briefing, is Juventus hitman Dusan Vlahovic.

The publication reported on Monday that Arsenal are keen to bring the Serbian to The Emirates after the New Year, and are expected to make contact with Juve in the coming days.

Vlahovic, who is contracted with Juve until 2026, has scored 50 goals in 117 games for The Old Lady since joining from Fiorentina in 2022, including nine this term. Understandably, the Serie A giants are keen to keep him in Turin, but according to the Daily Briefing, are struggling to get him to pen a new deal.

William Gomes wanted

Another player is reportedly interesting Arsenal is Sao Paolo youngster William Gomes. According to CaughtOffside, scouts from both Arsenal and Chelsea have been monitoring the 18-year-old ahead of a potential transfer, and have been impressed with what they’ve seen. Sao Paolo, for their part, are said to be totally resigned to the fact they will end up selling him to an English club, with both of the London outfits showing serious interest.

Gomes, who can play as either an attacking midfielder or a winger, has made 10 appearances for Sao Paulo this term, scoring two goals, including a superb long-range effort in a 2-1 win over Esporte Clube Vitoria back in August.

It’s not just Arsenal and Chelsea who are interested in Gomes. According to Globo Esporte, Newcastle are also keen on the young star, and held initial talks with Sao Paolo over a potential transfer last month. Serie A side AS Roma also held talks with the Brazilian club about a move for Gomes back in January, according to journalist Andre Hernan.

Who is William Gomes?

Born in Aracaju, Gomes came through Sao Paolo’s academy and signed his first professional contract, which includes a £60 million release clause, in March 2023. He made his professional debut for the club eight months later in a match against Santos, and has since been a regular feature in Luis Zubeldia’s matchday squads.

He’s been described by scout Antonio Mango as “one of the best young players in Sao Paulo right now”.

Sao Paolo’s Director of Football Carlos Belmonte, meanwhile, has previously called him extraordinary: “We see him as a different player, with a lot of strength, playing on the right side, sometimes on the left.”

David Beckham’s twin has been revealed in a hilarious Super Bowl advert, with the Manchester United legend ‘related’ to a Hollywood superstar.

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Ex-England captain told he has long-lost brotherTravels to American to meet his 'twin''Other David' turns out to be Matt DamonFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Ahead of American football’s self-styled ‘Greatest Show On Turf’, Inter Miami co-owner Beckham has linked up with iconic beer brand Stella Artois. As part of their promotional campaign for a global spectacle at Ceasers Superdome in New Orleans, ex-England captain Beckham is said to have discovered that he has a long-lost brother.

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Said sibling was, according to his parents, left in America as Beckham went on to become a global superstar in the European form of football. He has now been reunited with his brother – and it turns out that he is also quite famous.

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Beckham’s twin is revealed to be Jason Bourne and The Martian star Matt Damon. He plays ‘other David’ in the Super Bowl commercial and shows that he boasts his own ability when it comes to kicking a football. He is surprised to learn that his brother is a “famous soccer player”.

Newcastle United have been plagued by injury problems in the past year or so, but it looks as though an “incredible” player is now “close” to being back in the fold.

Newcastle's injury problems

The Magpies’ form since their superb 2022/23 season has been patchy, in truth, with both performances and results too often proving to be inconsistent. While Eddie Howe and his players deserve an element of criticism for this, there is no question that injuries have also played a big part in Newcastle’s shortcomings, leading to them struggling to hit the levels they want to in the Premier League.

Centre-backs Sven Botman and Jamaal Lascelles have been long-term fitness casualties for the Magpies, having suffered serious knee issues, while Kieran Tripper has recently joined them on the sidelines with a hamstring problem.

There have also been so many others players unavailable at different times, however, including Nick Pope, Dan Burn, Joelinton, Joe Willock, Callum Wilson and Alexander Isak, meaning it has been hard for Howe to field a settled starting lineup.

"Incredible" Newcastle ace "close" to return

Providing a key update on the injury situation ahead of Saturday’s clash with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge [via The Northern Echo], Howe said that Newcastle striker Wilson is “close” to returning from injury, having impressed in training.

“He’s (Wilson) close. He’s trained and looked really good, but collectively we have to make a decision on the long term interests of Callum. What we don’t want to do is push him too early, so let’s see how he does this week.

“It will be massive (to have him back). You could see (against Brighton), if we had a fit and firing Callum Wilson available, in any sense whether that’s starting or coming off the bench, it will have lifted our performance. Not just the player, but the character of the player and the leadership qualities he possesses. He’s been a big miss.”

This is an enormous boost for Newcastle, and while Wilson may not definitely be available for the trip to Chelsea, it now looks like a matter of time until he is back on the pitch. Admittedly, the 32-year-old may not quite be the force he once was, with injuries not helping – he is in the final year of his contract, too – but he is a player who Howe values greatly.

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Having the £46,000-a-week Wilson available suddenly gives Newcastle some much-needed added firepower, with the Englishman scoring 48 goals in 108 appearances for the club, and his return could help coincide with a change in fortunes for the Magpies.

Almost two years after Sourav Ganguly had announced that the financial health of domestic cricketers would be his “biggest priority” as BCCI president, the board on Monday announced sizeable hikes in match fees for men and women at the end of its apex council meeting. The new pay slabs, which will be in place 2021-22 onwards, will have the senior men earning between INR 40,000 and 60,000 [USD 540 to 810 approx] per day while senior women will earn up to INR 20,000 [USD 270 approx.] per day.In another major update, the BCCI has also decided to allot 50% match fees “as compensation” for the Covid-19-affected 2019-20 season where the board could organise just the Syed Mushtaq Ali (T20) Trophy and the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy for the senior men.Related

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That hike is a small one for the players in the first category (under 20 matches), but an almost 100% hike for more experienced hands (40-plus games), while those who have played between 21 and 40 matches will earn INR 50,000 [USD 680 approx.]. Earlier, senior men’s cricketers earned INR 35,000 [USD 470 approx.] per day for first-class and one-day games, and INR 17,500 [USD 240 approx.] per game for T20s.The new pay slabs will apply to both first-class and limited-overs cricket.For the senior women, who earlier earned INR 12,500 [USD 170 approx.] per one-day match and INR 6250 [USD 85 approx.] per T20 match – there isn’t, currently, a first-class competition for women in India – the pay has been raised to INR 20,000 for playing XI members and INR 10,000 [USD 135 approx.] for those on the bench.There were upgrades for the age-group cricketers, both male and female, too.When he took over as BCCI president, Sourav Ganguly had promised to “look after the financial health of our first-class cricketers”•BCCI

Men’s Under-23 players will now earn INR 25,000 [USD 340 approx.] per day (earlier INR 17,500) if they are in the playing XIs, and INR 12,500 (earlier INR 8750) if in the reserves, while Under-19s in the playing XIs will get INR 20,000 (earlier INR 10,500) and INR 10,000 (earlier INR 5250) will go to reserve players. For the Under-16s, the corresponding amounts are INR 7000 (earlier INR 3500) and INR 3500 (INR 1750).For women, the daily fees for Under-23s, Under-19s and Under-16s have been raised from INR 5500 to INR 10,000 for those in the playing XIs and from INR 2750 to INR 5000 for those in the reserves.Till 2017-18, domestic players were paid in two instalments: a flat match fee and a bonus calculated on a pro-rata basis based on the BCCI’s gross revenue share (GRS) – its non-IPL earnings from media rights, team sponsorship rights, apparel sponsorship rights, series sponsorship rights, etc. This would be paid the following year after the accounts were ratified at the annual general meetings.Since 2018, though, the GRS component has been added to the match fees, leading to a near 200% hike for players. However, in the absence of AGMs in the past two years, the GRS component has not been ratified by the BCCI, which had left domestic players disgruntled. The pandemic then made things worse.But a few months ago, the BCCI formed a sub-committee to work out a new payment structure, including ways to compensate players who had taken a hit financially during the pandemic since March 2020.

The international break could well have come for Leeds United at the worst possible time, killing any momentum that was potentially building after the Whites had finally found their feet this season.

Two draws and a defeat in all competitions was a nightmare start for Daniel Farke's men, but that has since been forgotten about with two wins on the spin in the Championship, with the second-tier promotion hopefuls now up to a promising fourth spot in the early league standings.

Mateo Joseph has been a bright spark across those two wins, with Farke and Co hopeful that their young Spanish hotshot can continue to lead the line effectively, even during more tense contests to come down the line.

Joseph's rise at Leeds

This does feel like the season where Joseph really comes into his own in the senior fold, removed from the comforts of U21 football and unleashed onto the Championship in full force.

Bagging 19 goals for the U21s across 33 games, it was only a matter of time before Farke began to regularly play him from the start in the men's games, having been the manager to give Archie Gray his big break last campaign.

He hasn't quite been as free-flowing in front of goal as in his golden youth days yet, but his instinctive finish against Hull City saw him finally get off the mark for the new second-tier campaign, after cleverly connecting with Manor Solomon's cross.

It has actually been Joseph's creativity that has stood out over his ability to rifle an effort home, with two assists managed from four league games, as both of those assists allowed Leeds to win away at Sheffield Wednesday 2-0 to secure their first three points.

Far more muscular and confident in appearance than the youthful Joseph that fired home two excellent strikes away at Chelsea in the FA Cup last season, the still raw Whites number 19 will hope he can develop even more and become an even deadlier finisher the men's team can rely on in big moments.

Thorp Arch talent Luca Thomas will take inspiration from Joseph's rise from being once an U21 goal machine to now a member of Farke's main XI and aim to replicate it as a potent goalscorer himself at youth level.

Thomas' statistics at youth level

Thomas has been a consistent source of goals in the U18 and U21 structures for some time now, with the audacious strike against Newcastle United below happening all the way back in January 2023.

Across 56 games, the clinical 19-year-old attacker has helped himself to a very impressive goal return of 30, with Joseph only scoring 20 from 37 clashes when he was exclusively strutting his stuff on youth pitches.

24/25

2

2

0

23/24

18

6

4

22/23

19

7

1

21/22

17

15

2

Already accumulating two goals from two appearances during the infancy of the new Premier League 2 campaign, it feels like only a matter of time before the "class" youngster – as he was labelled by Leeds U21s commentator Thomas Hill last year – gets his moment to shine in the senior spotlight.

In The Pipeline

Football FanCast's In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.

Capable of playing down either flank, as well as terrifying defenders as a centre-forward, Farke could grow to love having Thomas in and around the first-team, having also taken a shining to Gray last season for his flexibility to slot into spaces in the side when needed.

Joseph's story at Elland Road is only starting, away from any young stars aiming to replicate his ascent, with the 20-year-old keen to fire in more goals moving forward that could see the Whites triumphantly return to the Premier League.

Leeds messed up selling "unplayable" ace who's now worth more than Ramazani

The Whites even tried to re-sign the exciting attacker this summer.

1 ByDan Emery Sep 4, 2024

Brett Hutton returned to Nottinghamshire’s LV= Insurance County Championship side to claim three wickets and leave Essex in trouble at the Cloudfm County Ground, Chelmsford.Fast bowler Hutton had only played once previously this season but ripped up the Essex top order, leaving the hosts 15 for 3, and eventually returned 3 for 48.Tom Westley led the recovery with a patient 71 as Essex climbed to 180 for 7 in a match which is likely heading towards a draw.Related

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Earlier, Simon Harmer had taken the last four Notts wickets to end his barren run as the visitors were bowled out for 293.Notts, led by Joe Clarke’s 67 and Liam Patterson-White’s 31, kept Essex out in the field for an hour and a half as they garnered a second batting point before Harmer wrapped up the tail.Harmer, who has now taken 38 wickets this season, hadn’t taken a scalp for 441 balls, across four matches, but claimed 4 for 16 in 7.1 morning overs.Clarke hoicked across the line to wide mid-on, Patterson-White – having been dropped twice – was bowled, Luke Fletcher swung to deep midwicket and Hutton was lbw while sweeping. The last of which gave Harmer his 250th Championship wicket.Nick Browne and Alastair Cook were given half an hour to negotiate before lunch, a period which proved catastrophic for the hosts.Hutton and Fletcher found good nip with the new ball in the seven overs as Essex’s response imploded. Browne nervously prodded at a Hutton ball which threatened to seam back to give Tom Moores a straightforward catch. The bowler-wicketkeeper combo united again two overs later as Cook was drawn into a front-foot drive to an away swinger.Fletcher joined in the fun to have Michael Pepper caught brilliantly behind to leave Essex mulling over their food on 15 for 3.Tom Westley scored 71 in Essex’s first-innings reply•Getty Images

Westley repaired the slump by putting on 55 with Paul Walter, 38 with Ryan ten Doeschate and 35 with Adam Wheater, but substantial runs proved difficult to come by on a wearing pitch. The captain, the county’s top scorer this season with three centuries along with nine single-figure scores, used his grit to reach a 124-ball half-century.But other than Westley, Essex’s batters struggled to get in. Walter was bowled through the gate by Patterson-White, having stuck around for 84 balls, and ten Doeschate edged Hutton to a wide first slip.Westley finally departed after almost four hours when Patterson-White bowled him with a turning beauty, before Wheater pulled to deep fine leg next ball.Harmer and Shane Snater made sure there were no more incidents with an unbroken 37-run stand, with the follow-on target passed.