Sussex 565 (Jordan 147, Burgess 146, Archers 72) Lead Nottinghamshire 477 (Root 132, Root 124, Gurney 42*) 88 runs
Worcestershire’s wicket for Durham Northamptonshire was knocked out 202 times just moments after the first inning of the sixth inning. It wasn’t the flapping wings of a butterfly – it was Worcestershire captain Joe Leach sacking Ryan Pringle – but the impact was felt in Division 2 as the boys from New Road made the cut reflected. At Hove, there were no announcements, but word quickly spread across the ground and the Nottinghamshire dressing room: the Worcester boys were delighted.
A qualifying spot in Worcestershire and Northamptonshire failed Under the circumstances, Notts knew they could take what should have been theirs a long time ago. The first two days, they practiced five in a row on the field, losing to Sussex by 565, and then another hard at the bat.
They crashed at 5 to 65, then dropped to 108, which is Where we started on day three. Nottinghamshire need to hit 200 and then avoid defeat, which is easier said than done. What followed was such a dramatic shift, from a living, breathing, until tomorrow night, playing the Nottinghamshire legend, that it begs the question – “Who wrote the script for Chris Reid? “
Of course not himself: an overly modest man, before today, He may be berating his form, with a top score of 88 in a single game many believe Nottinghamshire’s second season ended in June. But in Reed’s final game, when his team needed him most, possibly his last inning in the county, Reed had his 26th first-class hundred from 116 balls. Pointer, with 13 fours and sixes, which brought him to three. number.
On the other end is a knock of equal quality: Billy Root, The younger brother of Test captain Joe, made his mark on the game with a razor-sharp, naughty teenage champion percentile of 116 balls. (He’s already got first class for the Leeds & Bradford MCCU, which happens to be compared to the Sussex). He saw him start with a putt on Jofra Archer’s helmet last night, making way for some fine shots at the wicket today as 100 runs in the opening 78 minutes. Read and Root ran frantically well past the first batting point, donning 242s to ensure Nottinghamshire could start focusing on the things they control again.
Through the stumps, a first-inning deficit of just 88 meant Northamptonshire’s 17 did not lose in pursuit of a game-winning 197. Nor will try to come back tomorrow and win. “It’s not on my agenda!” Red laughed, fortified by the rain, a threat to the late night. Interestingly, he also didn’t mind if they stayed all day on the fourth day.
“We started this game to win,” he said. “Like we’ve always done. We got off to a good start, got them 107 on 5 and thought we were doing the right thing. Apparently let them slip from 107 5 to 565 yesterday! Then we slipped to our own. Sixty-five out of five. You start to refocus your goals and say, actually, what do we need to do?” Promoted to second place in 2017 when Notts lifted the Royal London Cup and the hugely successful NatWest T20 Blast in 2017 The team will be enough trophies.
Not everyone who leaves the game on their own will not regret it. With 349 first-class matches, 333 single daters and 110 T20s in a career spanning 20 years both internationally and domestically, Read will get some.
Some will stay with him, like 23 innings and 50 innings of the test career. In an interview with Spin magazine in 2009, he was as candid and candid as ever in the 15 Tests: “I had a lot of chances to establish myself in the England team and I had to accept that I didn’t fully accept them.”
But Reid was with a strong Notts team in last season’s relegation personally downgraded. He spoke afterwards of a player being mocked and a man injured. He saw the club he loved fall from where he thought it should be: leading English cricket, keeping the pitch at the top table. He led them to a championship in 2010. Now, in his final act, he delivers on his promise to get them back where they belong.
Waiting for 39 is a job in the “real world”. The way he drives off the ground, especially in the middle, suggests he probably won’t have another year. Given the number of fires he has put out in Nottinghamshire over the years, he would be a good addition to the emergency services. Instead, the position of director of cricket at the Upingham School is pending. Tomorrow he will cry when he finally waves goodbye, just as today he reminds everyone of what they have to lose.
As with Read and Root’s rampage, Nottinghamshire are still behind No. 10 and 11, surpassing the follow-up target. A four-pointer by Harry Gurney from Jofra Archer raised the score to 415, with a nine-pointer needed to ensure Sussex couldn’t ask the visitors to bat again. Singles from Matt Carter to third get cheers from healthy travel support.
Don’t wanna be the guy on your shoulders and tell you how many calories are in a cheesecake – By the way, Read was dropped at midwicket at 70 – and it can’t help but mention how bad the Sussex ball was. Despite starting the day with a 457-point lead, there were only two turnovers for most of the morning as Luke Wells – the substitute captain – opted for a running save instead of a wicket position. His bowlers also didn’t support him, and they couldn’t get away with bowling half-volleys and long jumps. Stuart Whittingham couldn’t spot any of yesterday’s pace.
Otherwise how to explain the 10th wicket stand of 73 saw the 11th bat Baller’s poster boy, Gurney, posted a new 42-time personal best before Carter’s wicket ended on the 33rd. It gave the scorecard a peculiar look, with Nottinghamshire’s one-to-five being the lowest-scoring five of the innings. It wasn’t long before thick fog hung over Hough, and in 1715 BST the day’s race was called off. Thanks to Reid, Nottinghamshire cricket fans have long been covered in a mist too.
Vithushan Ehantharajah is a sports reporter for ESPNcricinfo, Guardian,All Out Cricket and Yahoo Sport
