TRENT BRIDGE

(Day one of four: Notts won the toss)

143 for 6 (64.0 overs)

Lunch

Nottinghamshire picked up one more point on their quest for a second Championship in four years, taking four Hampshire wickets in the first session of play.

Unusually for Notts this season, the early damage was done not by the new-ball pairing of Charlie Shreck and Darren Pattinson, but by the change bowlers, Mark Ealham, who picked up Michael Brown caught behind, and Andre Adams, who sent back Michael Lumb and Chris Benham, both LBW.

Shreck, brought back on the stroke of lunch, did end Michael Carberry’s resistance and Hampshire, having been inserted, went into the break 83-4. The pitch, though, is dry and cracked and showing early signs of wear. A low-scoring encounter looks likely.

Tea

A turgid afternoon saw the game go almost into retreat, with Nottinghamshire unable to add more than two wickets to the four they took in the morning, and Hampshire scoring just 60 runs.

Nic Pothas, averaging close to fifty in the championship before this match, has good claim to being Hampshire’s best batsman and, throughout the afternoon, he looked the only batsman to have come to terms with a two-paced- slow and slower- pitch. Pothas went to tea unbeaten on 42 with Dmitri Mascarenhas on 16.

By tea, Nottinghamshire’s spinners were working in tandem although any turn was slow. The leg-spinner, Imran Tahir, brought back for this match by Hampshire, will hope Pothas and Mascarenhas can add significantly to their tally.ends.