TRENT BRIDGE

(Day two of four: Notts won the toss)

Nottinghamshire 211 all out (56.1 overs) in reply to Hampshire's 203 all out (88.4 overs)

Lunch

After an uncertain start, Nottinghamshire went to lunch trailing by just 89 thanks largely to an unbeaten 54 run partnership between Samit Patel (37) and Ashwell Prince (16).

Three wickets fell in the morning, two to Dimitri Mascarenhas and one to the country’s leading wicket-taker, James Tomlinson, all lbw.

Mascarenhas, in particular, caused problems for all the Nottinghamshire batsmen with his combination of cutters and slower balls and his ability to bowl straight. It was the introduction of the leg-spinner Imran Tahir that broke the shackles, his first three overs going for 26 runs.ends.

Tea

Nottinghamshire’s title aspirations were hanging in the balance after a mid-afternoon collapse that saw them lose their last seven wickets for 39 runs. At 172-3, with Ashwell Prince and Samit Patel constructing a 116-run partnership, they appeared to be well placed to take a significant first innings lead.

But after Patel holed out at mid-off for a fine 70, Imran Tahir polished off Graeme Swann, Mark Ealham, Andre Adams and Darren Pattinson in quick succession, the last three named for ducks. Prince, dropped on 21 and 43, and caught off a no-ball on 25, finally holed out for 57. Nottinghamshire’s lead is a slender eight runs.