Ben Slater's Stellar 96 Leads Nottinghamshire in a Tense First Day Against Yorkshire

Nottinghamshire finished the first day of their County Championship match against Yorkshire at Trent Bridge on 298-6, thanks to a commanding performance by Ben Slater, who scored 96. Captain Haseeb Hameed contributed a solid 52, while new signing Ishan Kishan remained unbeaten on 44.

Yorkshire, despite being next to bottom of Division One with only one win from seven matches, showed resilience. Seamer George Hill and spinner Dan Moriarty each took two wickets, keeping the pressure on Nottinghamshire. However, Yorkshire faced a setback as Pakistan batter Abdullah Shafique was unable to debut due to visa delays.

Ishan Kishan, the India wicketkeeper-batter, had no such issues and began his two-match stint as cover for South African Kyle Verreynne. Nottinghamshire will hope he can extend his innings significantly after several of their batters made starts but failed to build on them.

On a used pitch, Nottinghamshire opted to bat first and were 90 without loss at lunch. The only real chance created by the Yorkshire attack was squandered as Slater drove Moriarty into the covers but was put down by Dom Bess with the score on 47.

Yorkshire bowled tidily, spearheaded by Jack White and Will O'Rourke, but it wasn't until after lunch, delayed by 15 minutes due to rain, that they made their first breakthrough. Hameed, who had just reached fifty before lunch, was caught behind off a bottom edge looking to play White into the leg side.

Five overs later, Freddie McCann followed, abruptly changing the tempo with four quick boundaries but perishing unnecessarily in search of another. Joe Clarke, who had found form in previous matches, fell for 31 before tea after Moriarty and Bess introduced frustration.

Slater moved into the 90s with his 12th four but missed out on a century, tempted by an opportunity to get there in one hit as Moriarty strayed wide, hitting straight to Hill at cover.

Ishan announced himself with a flurry of boundaries, including three in the same over off Hill. However, Yorkshire's leading wicket-taker responded by dismissing Jack Haynes leg before for his 33rd success of the season. Lyndon James was caught at extra cover, and Ishan remained unbeaten on 44 when bad light ended play two overs early.

Report supplied by the ECB Reporters' Network, supported by Rothesay.