Nottinghamshire 119 for 5 (Hameed 57*) trail Lancashire 214 (Bohannon 68, Hutton 5-66) by 95 runs
Hutton might work a different sort of seam from the miners in what was once Nottinghamshire coal country, but there is an honesty of purpose in all he does, a sense that satisfaction comes from manual labour and a job well done. Born in Doncaster and a former scholarship boy at Worksop College, he is rooted in the landscape.
For much of the past decade, Hutton might as well have operated underground for all the attention he gained on the surface from cricket’s chattering classes. It has taken him 12 years to achieve his 50th first-class match for Nottinghamshire, and he needed three seasons at Northants to get his career properly on track.
This “enkindled Spring”, as Lawrence had it, this “leaping combustion”, will always toss aside a batter’s spirits (one suspects Lawrence would have opted for “batsman”, an altogether manlier style), and this was another day where the odds were stacked in the bowlers’ favour. Hutton was not the only bowler to prosper as 15 wickets fell, with Lancashire ultimately having the better of it, still 95 runs to the good with only five Nottinghamshire wickets to get.
For Lancashire, Hameed had become a dilemma, their belief that he was a player of huge talent in conflict with an endless run of batting failures. But even there was no sense of rejection, the incentive for Hameed to restate his talent against his former county, to assuage the hurt, was self-evident. This was only his second first-class innings against them (the first came in the Bob Willis Trophy during the Covid pandemic) and he batted as if he intended it to last until every bad memory had been expunged. There is no sense that England are looking – his more flamboyant opening partner, Ben Duckett, is currently much more fashionable – but he played with great purpose.
In keeping with recent seasons, Lancashire have been much touted as potential Championship winners, but they have begun the season with three draws and, if they are to justify their billing an opening victory cannot be too long delayed. Thundery showers could disrupt Friday, so they will be relieved that the match is so far advanced.
Hutton now has 17 Championship wickets at 14.4. Given the new ball, he claimed Luke Wells in his third over, Wells flirting with one that moved away a shade. Lancashire, largely through Bohannon, escaped to 109 for 2 as they took advantage of some inconsistent seam bowling. George Balderson also stood in as opener for the injured captain, Keaton Jennings, to good effect until Luke Fletcher, shirt riding halfway up his back with the effort (somebody should have a word with the laundry about potential shrinkage) had him caught at first slip.
That advantage disappeared as they lost six for 46 in 13 overs. Hutton was again at the heart of it, having Dane Vilas, back as captain again, caught at first slip for a first-ball duck, a routine delivery this; adding George Bell on the strike of lunch with one that shaped away; and, the over after Bohannon’s departure, seeing Tom Hartley fall obligingly on the pull to one of three leg-side boundary riders – a fine catch by Ben Slater.
Tom Bailey then sallied forth with an unbeaten 48 from 29 balls, making room to leg, even before Olly Stone struck him a painful blow on the shoulder, with what could prove to be a vital late-order intervention.
“It’s good form, good luck, a few things going my way,” Hutton said. “We weren’t as consistent with the ball as we would have liked, but we got the job done for what seems to be a respectable score.”
It only looks respectable because of Hameed. The prolific Duckett lost his middle stump to a full-length ball from Bailey, who also forced Slater to chip airily to midwicket. Balderson’s medium pace brought further joy: Matt Montgomery was unlucky; Joe Clarke appeared to think he was, but it had not been the first ball to seam a little and it won’t be the last.
David Hopps writes on county cricket for ESPNcricinfo @davidkhopps
Source: ESPN Crickinfo