Image source,
Mark Dunn/England and Wales Cricket Board
Image caption,
Josh Tongue’s pace kept the Surrey batters on their toes as he warmed up for Test duty with England
Rothesay County Championship, Division One, Trent Bridge (day two)
Nottinghamshire 415: Clarke 129, Haynes 82; Worrall 6-73, Abbott 3-84
Surrey 211-4: Sibley 77, Lawrence 52*; Tongue 2-38
Surrey (3pts) trail Notts (4pts) by 204 runs with six wickets standing
Dom Sibley continued his strong start to the season, grinding out a gritty 77 in this high-stakes battle between last season’s top two in the County Championship. However, his dismissal in the final half-hour of day two at Trent Bridge felt like a crucial blow for the defending champions.
Sibley, whose form has sparked talk of a potential Test recall as England reassess after the winter Ashes disappointment, batted for over four hours against a top-notch Nottinghamshire attack. Surrey finished on 211-4 in reply to the home side’s first-innings total of 415.
The 30-year-old opener, who last played a Test in August 2021, fell short of a third century in as many matches, but his innings proved vital in countering the threat posed by England pacemen Josh Tongue (2-38) and Olly Stone. He was eventually caught behind off left-arm spinner Liam Patterson-White, shortly after Dan Lawrence survived a tough chance on 43, ending the day unbeaten on 52.
Nottinghamshire, resuming on 317-7, added 98 runs for their final two wickets after Joe Clarke fell to the second ball he faced, without adding to his 129. Sean Abbott claimed the wicket via a thin edge to Jamie Smith, who is keeping in place of the injured Ben Foakes. Stone joined Fergus O’Neill to add 24 for the ninth wicket, before he and Tongue plundered another 74 for the 10th, frustrating Surrey’s morning.
What Nottinghamshire truly wanted from Stone, Tongue, and O’Neill was a meaningful cluster of wickets to pile more pressure on the visitors. Yet only one wicket fell in the 37 overs Surrey faced between lunch and tea.
On the field together for the first time as Nottinghamshire teammates, Stone and Tongue gave their captain the chance to trouble Surrey with express pace from both ends. Encouraged by his form rediscovered against Leicestershire last week, Stone removed Rory Burns to provide an early boost. Looking to pull, the Surrey captain could only send the ball skyward off a top edge, with Stone tracking its path before steadying himself to take the catch.
Smith arrived to join Sibley, and what followed was the kind of attritional yet absorbing contest you’d expect when these teams meet, especially after the epic encounter at the Kia Oval last year. Reaching tea at 119-1, Surrey’s second-wicket pair could be satisfied with their work, but Tongue, back for his second spell after the break, hatched a plan that quickly saw Smith caught by Ben Duckett at leg slip, fending the ball away in front of his visor.
A couple of overs later, another short delivery saw Ryan Patel snapped up at short leg. Having been 131-1, Surrey slipped to 137-3. Lawrence went on the attack as he and Sibley eased that moment of crisis, but after Patterson-White failed to hold a tough chance off Stone when Lawrence was on 43, he produced an excellent delivery to hand his side a late advantage.
Report by ECB Reporters’ Network, supported by Rothesay.
