Vitality County Championship Division One, Edgbaston (day three)
Nottinghamshire 400: Duckett 218, Haynes 74, Slater 65; Hannon-Dalby 5-78
Warwickshire 175-5: Barnard 69; Pennington 3-40
Warwickshire (3 pts) trail Notts (5 pts) by 225 runs
Warwickshire progressed to 175-5 in reply to Nottinghamshire’s 400 all out on a rain-hit third day as another County Championship draw beckons at Edgbaston.
In the 35 overs that were possible on Sunday after rain wiped out the first two sessions, Ed Barnard compiled a studious 69 to deny Nottinghamshire the clatter of wickets they need to force the game forward.
As in the first two games of the season at Edgbaston, a combination of placid pitch and weather interference has pushed the contest towards a draw.
Ben Duckett’s brilliant double-century gave Nottinghamshire a platform from which to press for victory, but the excellent bowling conditions of the stormy second afternoon, when Warwickshire dipped to 26-3, were not replicated on the third.
The cloud was high and the pitch well-behaved as Warwickshire, having resumed on 71-3, advanced towards the follow-on figure of 251.
When play belatedly began at 16:00 BST, Barnard and Dan Mousley (30) took their fourth-wicket partnership to 59 in 20 overs before the latter misjudged an attempted flick to leg and fell lbw to Dane Paterson.
At 84-4, Warwickshire still had plenty of work to do but Barnard was implacable. The former Worcestershire player reached 50 in 100 balls and was supplied with staunch support by Jacob Bethell.
The 20-year-old ended the day unbeaten on 38, having helped Barnard add 84 in 25 overs for the fifth wicket before, late in the day, Barnard edged a superb delivery from Dillon Pennington to wicketkeeper Joe Clarke.
That was fully deserved reward for Pennington (3-30) and kept alive Nottinghamshire’s glimmer of hope of turning their domination of this match into victory.
