Surrey constructed on Dan Lawrence’s third century of the season to assert a slim first-innings benefit however the first of the summer time’s two confrontations between first and second in final yr’s County Championship appears to be like to be heading for a draw.
With England opener Ben Duckett unbeaten on 35, defending champions Nottinghamshire completed day three on 99-1, placing them 65 in entrance after Surrey posted 449 in reply to the house facet’s first-innings 415, Lawrence making 104.
Nottinghamshire’s Josh Tongue continued his build-up to the Check sequence towards New Zealand by taking 4-89, though he was unwittingly the agent of unhealthy information for England after placing worldwide team-mate Gus Atkinson out of the match with delayed concussion.
Atkinson batted on for 45 minutes after being hit twice on the helmet by brief deliveries from Tongue however finally left the sphere after feeling unwell. Underneath concussion guidelines, he’s mechanically dominated out of Surrey’s subsequent Division One match towards Yorkshire, which might have been his final alternative to search out some red-ball type earlier than the opening Check at Lord’s on 4 June.
Reece Topley takes his place within the Surrey facet for the rest of this match. In the meantime, Ollie Pope, who usually bats at 4, didn’t seem till eight down as a precautionary measure after he suffered a hand harm whereas fielding.
After Dom Sibley’s 77 in more difficult circumstances on Saturday, Jordan Clark’s 54 was Surrey’s subsequent highest rating. Nottinghamshire’s left-arm spinner Liam Patterson-White continued his productive begin to the season with 4-135 from a marathon 45.3 overs, giving him 19 wickets for the season to this point.
Lawrence’s very good innings ended three overs earlier than lunch as a morning session in any other case dominated by his partnership with final week’s debut centurion, Adam Thomas, proved to have a twist in its tail.
Having gone to 3 figures with a fifteenth 4, minimize neatly to 3rd man off Patterson-White, whom he had lofted to 6 over huge long-on within the earlier over, Lawrence seemed to keep up his momentum by driving Tongue down the bottom however may solely edge the ball into the gloves of Kyle Verreynne.
Tongue struck once more earlier than lunch. Having survived one likelihood to second slip on 37, Thomas bottom-edged a pull shot into his stumps. So spectacular in making 120 in his maiden first-class innings towards Sussex on the Kia Oval final week, Thomas had shared a partnership of 108 with Lawrence, saving the follow-on within the course of.
Atkinson’s misfortune adopted as Tongue continued his spell into the afternoon session, though there was no blame connected to the bowler, who had been compelled to duck beneath a number of short-pitched balls himself on Saturday. Atkinson, furthermore, has a Check hundred to his title.
Struck twice in as many overs, Atkinson sank to his knees after the second blow, prompting Tongue to hurry to his facet instantly. It was a shock that he opted to proceed, though he handed the preliminary concussion checks. When he did depart the sphere, it was after intervention of umpires Ian Blackwell and Nigel Llong, who clearly observed that he was nonetheless feeling the consequences.
Within the circumstances, Atkinson’s 27 runs proved necessary as he and Clark added 51. The latter, dropped at slip on 28 off Lyndon James, went on to make a 67-ball half-century earlier than he was stumped off Patterson-White.
His departure adopted that of Sean Abbott, overwhelmed for tempo by Olly Stone, at which level Pope did emerge.
Patterson-White eliminated Dan Worrall lbw sweeping earlier than Topley, the concussion substitute, top-edged him to huge lengthy off, the place Stone took a fantastic catch on the run.
It left Nottinghamshire to face 24 overs earlier than the shut. They misplaced skipper Haseeb Hameed, bowled by a ball from Abbott that straightened and saved a tad low to strike his off stump, however Duckett, nonetheless seeking to cap a productive begin to his season with a century, hit half a dozen fours and seemed in fantastic fettle once more. Ben Slater, one other Nottinghamshire batter in good type, is 42 not out.
