Far too early to be writing off a championship push.
If anything I’m heartened by the display this week.
An average team wouldn’t have been able to do that on a pitch that flat against a team that’s got plenty of good batting in it.

Most batting points in the division. Full bowling points. A game in hand. Still to play Surrey again. I also think in the next couple of rounds of fixtures Surrey will struggle with the Kookaburra ball. Whilst in OHD and Ali we have players suited to extract the most from it. And there’s a lot of cricket to be played.

Afterwards from Rich Wilford that it’s a hamstring issue. And he can bat if required. However the idea is to ensure he is fit for the T20 on Friday against Worcestershire. Which suggests it isn’t too bad.
Probably also shows where the team are mentally, they still feel they can get this done without batting again. So a big first hour with the new ball, a wicket or 2, goes a long way to getting that done.

Still pretty positive. Took 9 wickets today. Only 6 needed tomorrow.
Use the new ball well and should get it done. They have a fairly long tail.

Follow on enforced.
Obviously they’re backing themselves to not have an issue with the heat.

Someone has pointed out that it’s not as if this is the end of a 4 match stretch. OHD, Rushworth and Ali have played just one T20 between them in the last few weeks. So should be in good shape. Barnard has had plenty of rest too. Rhodes hasn’t done much either.
And with Briggs, Mousley and Yates, there’s plenty of spin options to allow rotation.
Got lots of bowling. Time to put it to use.

Handy that Moores and Harrison both decided to partake in coordinated batting self-destruction in consecutive balls.
They were being deeply stubborn and then….

I think it’s one of those where we need to take care of ourselves first. Then we can see their results. Let’s get these last 5, make a decision on the follow on, and see what happens.

One big thing for us is that, we’ve got 4 batting points, Surrey and Hampshire got none. We should get full bowling points (please don’t let this jinx it). So even if they win. We gain ground, and have a game in hand.
Hampshire still trail by over 100 in their second innings. Surrey trail by over 350 with Kent still having 4 wickets in hand. Let’s keep our fingers crossed but first things first, let’s take care of our business. Hopefully, some moisture and the covers have juiced the pitch up, and we can make it tough for Notts today.

Shame I’m a big fan of Matt’s.
I thought he was poorly treated last year considering he had one poor match and was dropped never to be heard from again.

If they didn’t want to offer him a new deal to let Mousley or Bethell play, then fair enough. But treat him fairly during the season.

Think it speaks a lot to our bowling depth Miles and Brookes have gone out on loan and performed well.
Johal going to Gloucestershire for 2 weeks too, so we’ll see how he does.
Plus we’re still yet to see Norwell this year.

Great to see Miles can still contribute in red ball, and smart by the club to keep him in practice.

But how can it be bad light without the floodlights being on?
Surely you turn the lights on first?

And they keep saying it’s not raining on the stream. Don’t want to be robbed due to time lost again this year. Happened with Somerset, almost with Kent.

I too appear to have really misread the pitch. Thought it would be tough going early and then lose the green and get really flat.
Appears keeping them out there for as long as we did has drained them mentally. Tough to concentrate and make the right choices when batting if you’re physically and mentally exhausted from being cooked.

OHD looks a completely different bowler in his second spell. Ball climbing off the pitch, pushing players back, then beating the edge as they hesitate to get forward.

Funny what a wicket or 2 can do for a team. Time to capitalise now.

Totally agree with the declaration seeming odd. The only thing I can think of is Rushworth came back and said that it was very flat and we’d need all the time we could get.

It’s looking very hard going for the bowlers already. But I’ll be interested to see how Briggs goes.

I think it might be because we were always 60 odd for 3 or 4. So Hain and Burgess inevitably had to rebuild.
Davies, Yates, Sibley and Rhodes barely scored last year. So perhaps that’s more of it.

Is it me, or does our top 4 seem to bat very slowly this year compared to last?
Hain seems to have gone very anti-BazBall. Davies and Yates take a long while to get going too.

Rhodes goes at a more brisk pace, but really hasn’t scored that many this year.

Puts all the pressure on Mousley, Barnard and Burgess to up the rate.

Looks a good batting track. Hope at least one of these 2 goes on to get a century. (If I haven’t jinxed them).
If the track continues to play this well, I suspect the only way to get a win will be a big first innings score, and keeping them in the field for as long as possible in the heat. Use tiredness as an advantage rather than the pitch. As I’ve not seen any ball behave in a way that would make a batsman worry.

I’m impressed by the fact that after weeks of no rain and baking sun, Notts have managed to prepare a very green pitch.

I’m pretty sure I saw something on one of the socials, that he was aiming to return for these 2 matches.
How long is he contracted for? Let’s be honest at this stage, is it time to just cut ties? Thanks for the memories, and he’s outstanding bowler on his day, but apart from one season, his day is about twice a year. Just can’t seem to play more than 2 or 3 matches a season.

I don’t think it’s just Moeens wicket. It’s something I’ve noticed in general the last couple of matches. They just seem to have that bit less passion in the last couple of matches.
It’s easy to have great enthusiasm and spirit when you’re winning, maybe they just need one of those great moments that lift a side, and get them back on track.

The problem is Robinson has pinned his colours to the mast now. Does he have the strength, but also the support within the dressing room to hold his hands up to making some selection mistakes, and change some things within that side.
He’s given Moeen and Davies the leadership roles. One who performed awfully last year, and there was never any guarantee of performances. And the other first year back at the club, hadn’t even practiced with the team. Just parachuted in and expected to know everything about everyone.

You’ve got some players on decent wages and recent extensions like Benjamin, Miles, Brookes, who if not picked, you wonder what they’re at the club for, as it seems they have no chance of playing in the red ball side. Whilst players like Barnard & Rhodes seem to have earned their chance aren’t getting a fair shot, or even the likes of Burgess who for whatever reason has been written off in this format altogether. So you wonder if this is starting to become an ego thing with Robinson, refusing to back down from his decisions and in denial that he’s made some selection mistakes. As it seems we’re picking on reputation rather than performance. Yates being dropped after scoring a rapid 70, whilst Benjamin and Davies staying in after being very slow and scratchy for a while now, being the perfect example.

There’s a couple of players who seem to be undroppable, like Benjamin, but repeatedly offer very little.

Think I’d rather see Barnard or Rhodes get a proper chance.