County Championship: Nottinghamshire draw with Warwickshire

With all potential relegation permutations off the agenda at last, Warwickshire calmly settled down to avoid defeat against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge on the final day of the 2024 County Championship.

Saving the follow-on with five wickets down effectively saved the game for the visitors.

The draw duly arrived with ease as Nottinghamshire took 14 points to Warwickshire’s 13.

Sam Hain signed off the season with an unbeaten 153 and his overnight partner Ed Barnard made 81 before Michael Burgess struck 56 from 71 balls in an eventual 373-7 after the resumption on 143-4.

The fifth-wicket partners were finally separated when off-spinner Farhan Ahmed switched to bowling over the wicket for the first time and Barnard, who had passed 5,000 first-class runs on the way, top-edged a sweep to the deep.

The catch was well-judged by substitute Sam King, with Brett Hutton briefly off the field.

But only 84 more runs were needed at that point to avoid the follow-on, reduced to 58 by the time Hutton returned to take the new ball five overs later.

Hain had completed a heartening second hundred of the season from 202 balls just before lunch.

The follow-on target of 333 was passed with 43 overs remaining. Burgess entertained with four sixes in all until he swiped at Lyndon James and failed to clear mid-on.

A second substitute, James Hayes, then took a gentle catch at cover off Rob Lord as a loose cut undid Danny Briggs without score.

Nottinghamshire brought Ahmed back on but he found no further success and bad light ended play at 15:50 BST.

Report supplied by ECB Reporters’ Network.