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Patterson-White Five-For Puts Seal on Nottinghamshire Win
Nottinghamshire needed only until 1.17pm on the final afternoon to complete their second victory of the Rothesay County Championship season, defeating neighbours Leicestershire by 10 wickets at Uptonsteel Grace Road.
After the pace of Olly Stone wreaked havoc for last season’s Division Two champions in the first innings, it was left-arm spinner Liam Patterson-White taking centre stage this time, picking up the last five Leicestershire wickets for figures of five for 53 after bowling 36 overs unchanged.
Key Performances
Patterson-White, who combines stamina with good attacking skills with the ability to build scoreboard pressure, revealed much potential early in career, taking 41 first-class wickets in 2022. His progress has followed a flatter trajectory since, but he made a 26-wicket contribution to Nottinghamshire’s title-winning season and already has 15 to his name in the first four matches of the current campaign.
Stone finished with match figures of eight for 109, challenging opener Slater’s 178 as Nottinghamshire’s performance of the match. Leicestershire all-rounder Ben Green’s wholehearted efforts with the ball were rewarded with a career-best seven for 112, while Stephen Eskinazi’s first-innings century prevented a more rapid demise, but Ian Holland’s side were generally outplayed.
Match Summary
Nottinghamshire, the defending Division One champions, with a target of just 73 to wrap up a 23-point victory, before waiting to discover if Somerset could stop them moving top of the new season’s table by beating Yorkshire at Taunton.
Ben Slater completed the task by hammering left-arm quick Josh Hull over cover for six to finish on 52 not out, with skipper Haseeb Hameed unbeaten on 22. Slater was dropped behind the stumps on 15 off Ian Holland, the Leicestershire captain, in the only fleeting moment of encouragement for the home side.
Upcoming Fixtures
Nottinghamshire will face a somewhat stiffer task in the next round when Surrey visit Trent Bridge hoping to avenge the defeat suffered in what was effectively the title-decider at the Kia Oval last September. Leicestershire, meanwhile, travel to Hove to take on Sussex, to whom they have already lost this season.
