Warwickshire all-rounders Ed Barnard and Chris Woakes combined to deny Nottinghamshire’s attempt to take early charge on day one of their County Championship match at Trent Bridge.
England pace bowler Josh Tongue has 5-91 but Barnard ended the day 134 not out after he and former England stalwart Woakes (64) had shared a seventh-wicket partnership of 116.
They enabled Warwickshire to fight back from 179-6 to close on 375-8 against the defending champions.
It is Tongue’s fourth five-wicket haul in only eight first-class appearances for Nottinghamshire. The visitors looked in a perilous position at 97-4 just after lunch, but thanks to Barnard’s resolve and enterprise, Warwickshire can feel well pleased with their day’s work, especially having been asked to bat first.
Tongue’s two morning wickets had swung the opening session in Nottinghamshire’s favour. After losing Alex Davies, caught at backward point off a leading edge as Brett Hutton struck in the third over of the morning, Dan Mousley’s profitable counter-attack quickly seized the initiative as he and Rob Yates added 62 in rapid time before Tongue removed both in consecutive overs.
Used sparingly and in short bursts in his season-opener against Glamorgan here two weeks ago, Tongue was allowed off the leash for longer this time and it paid off in the sixth and seventh overs of an eight-over first spell.
Yates, who had done well to survive a rapid yorker from Tongue’s first ball, had no answer to a delivery that climbed and took the edge to give first slip an easy catch. Mousley picked up nine boundaries in a run-a-ball 49, yet like Davies was caught off a leading edge, this time at extra cover.
Warwickshire, one of the counties considered potential title contenders this year, suffered another blow two balls after lunch as Tom Hain, no stranger to big scores on this ground, was pinned leg before by Lyndon James, leaving Warwickshire four down for 97.
James, a last-day injury substitute for Fergus O’Neill against Glamorgan, had kept his place, the Australian yet to recover from a rib injury.
As Nottinghamshire continued to set attacking fields, Barnard and Beau Webster countered aggressively, Barnard pulling James for six before he and the Australian batter took turns to find the boundary.
Webster became a third victim for Tongue at the start of the England man’s second spell, chopping a loose drive into his stumps. Barnard completed his first half-century of the season but lost another partner as Hutton induced another leading edge to see off Zen Malik, caught at point.
By tea, though, the picture was beginning to look more balanced as the pooled experience of Barnard and Woakes brought some order to Warwickshire’s progress, the pair adding 65 in the 18 overs that remained of a long session, in which ultimately the visitors added 148 for the loss of three wickets.
With 15 fours and a six in an innings that had been carefully judged, Barnard completed his first century of the season off 121 balls, Woakes passing fifty for the second time this season following his international retirement. Woakes missed last week’s win over Essex but has returned this week with fellow veteran Keith Barker rested.
Woakes, now 37, last made a first-class hundred for Warwickshire 10 years ago – on this ground – but any thoughts of getting close to three figures again here were dashed when Tongue, in his third spell of the day, induced an error that saw him bowled off a bottom edge.
Tongue, now with new ball in hand, claimed Jordan Thompson as his fifth wicket via a sharp catch at second slip, pouched by England colleague Ben Duckett.
Report by ECB Reporters’ Network, supported by Rothesay.
