Lancashire wobble after Sam Northeast, Joe Clarke help Notts stave off September nibble

Saqib Mahmood to be assessed after leaving field with apparent side problem

Lancashire28 for 2 trail Nottinghamshire 272 (Northeast 65, Duckett 59, Clarke 54, Bailey 4-48, Lamb 4-60) by 244 runs

When he opened Nottingham’s Arboretum in 1852, the city’s mayor, William Felkin, decided to get his front leg out of the way and clear the rope. “All society around them can mix together in harmony, good feeling, self-respect and respect to others,” said the wealthy lace manufacturer about the trees, some of which had been imported from the Empire’s outposts. No doubt the 30,000 folk in the crowd applauded warmly although within a decade it was clear that respect stretched no further than the Channel. The Arboretum’s Chinese tower commemorates the capture of a bell from Canton during the Opium Wars and is flanked by two cannon seized at Sebastopol during the Crimean contretemps.

As it happened, Mahmood was having one of his less impressive days. Rather than stick to a steady line and length to allow his pace to earn its rewards on a wicket offering bounce and carry, he had bowled either too full or too wide. Both Duckett and Northeast had tucked in, the opener pulling and clipping Mahmood to the rope in the eighth over before the ex-Kent batter milked him for six of the nine fours in his fifty. This is Northeast’s third county this season and his fourth in all, albeit he barely stayed long enough with Yorkshire to open a building society account. But having fallen out with Hampshire – absolutely ‘non-speakers’ at the moment apparently – he finds himself an itinerant bat for hire and Nottinghamshire, ever eager to bolster their resources, have signed him up. One saw the wisdom of that decision during Northeast’s innings. Haseeb Hameed will be with England until the final round of games and Nottinghamshire have had one or two collapses in them this season.

So much was made clear before and after tea this afternoon. Lyndon James had stroked five pleasing fours in his 21 runs before a ball of full length from Bailey gave him the chance to notch a sixth, only for his cover drive to go straight and low to Josh Bohannon. As James departed regretting another lost opportunity, the scones and cream arrived at Trent Bridge. No reports were received on the state of play at Grantchester but it had become that sort of afternoon.

And the relatively conventional pattern of the day did not lessen our enjoyment in the least. Across the country batters were coming and going like hapless game show contestants – 102 in the eight County Championship matches by the end of play – but at Trent Bridge Luke Fletcher’s 27 ensured Nottinghamshire reached a competitive score and we surely have three more days of this stuff ahead of us.

For those of us who watched two Bob Willis Trophy games here last August, when cricket was played against the background a white unpeopled vastness this day was rich beyond easy words. That ripe Nottinghamshire accent was heard again on the packed middle deck of the Radcliffe Road stand, the ball ran off the face of the bat and the fields towards Eastwood stretched away as perhaps they did in DH Lawrence’s day. At least, it was easy to think so.