Worcestershire and Nottinghamshire are scrapping to achieve different goals in this match and, to paraphrase the last line of John Arlott’s famous poem about watching cricket at New Road, the bar has stayed open all day.
However, neither the licensing hours nor the struggle should come as a revelation. A national brewery hired the hospitality marquee on the ground to entertain their landlords and 200 of their guests on Tuesday. Reports suggest that their bar bill was spectacular, but they may not rival the celebrations at Trent Bridge should Nottinghamshire pip Surrey and win their first County Championship title for 15 years.
That, of course, may hinge on the outcome of next week’s game between the top two sides in Division One at the Oval — and it should be noted that Somerset and Warwickshire are not out of things either. But while Surrey were establishing a substantial advantage in their home game against Warwickshire, Nottinghamshire spent the evening ripping out Worcestershire’s top order and building a match-winning position at New Road.
Certainly, Haseeb Hameed’s side have done all they could over the past two days to set up next week’s game. Having battled their way towards a 25-run first-innings lead against the hosts’ fine attack, Nottinghamshire’s combination of ruthlessness and skill was gloriously in evidence during a dramatic evening session. In little more than an hour, Nottinghamshire’s fast bowlers took five wickets, three of them falling to Josh Tongue, whose deliciously nasty nine-over spell illustrated why he will surely be on the plane to Australia for the Ashes in a couple of months’ time.
Tongue made the first breakthrough when he nipped one back off the seam to have Rehaan Edavalath, 21, leg-before for nine. That dismissal, though, was merely an overture. Four overs later, he bowled a vicious snorter to Jake Libby that lifted from just short of a length, and the opener could do nothing but glove it to Freddie McCann at second slip.
Then, after McCann had taken a brilliant slip catch off Lyndon James to get rid of 19-year-old Dan Lategan, Tongue ripped one past Kashif Ali’s outside edge and knocked out his off stump. By the time Brett D’Oliveira had been bowled by James for six, Worcestershire were 68 for five — giving them a lead of only 43 — and the game might well have ended on Tuesday evening had not the light closed in and Hameed been forced to use his spinners.
Instead, Gareth Roderick and Ethan Brookes put on an unbroken 25 for the sixth wicket, but it will be remarkable if Nottinghamshire are denied now, even with the indifferent weather forecast over the next two days.
Pope finished the day unbeaten on 56 at the Oval to help Surrey to a 179-run lead over Warwickshire
JOHN WALTON/PA
On the other hand, Surrey and Warwickshire may need a lot of good weather if either side are to win their match at the Oval. Nevertheless, the second day’s play offered plenty of evidence that the champions have not slaked their thirst for titles.
Gus Atkinson, who will surely also be on the plane to Australia this winter, took three for 53 and Tom Lawes four for 42 to dismiss Warwickshire for 248 — limiting the away side’s lead to only two runs — before Rory Burns, Dom Sibley and Ollie Pope all made fifties to leave their side on 181 for one at the close of play.
Back at New Road, the umpires brought a close to proceedings at 6.20pm. The publicans and their guests in the marquee sat quietly and enjoyed a final drink or two. Perhaps they realised that in Tongue’s spell they had seen something very special and they wanted to savour it.