Rain halts Nottinghamshire hopes

Essex 329 and 152 for 2 v Nottinghamshire 217
Scorecard

Persistent rain rescued County Championship title challengers Nottinghamshire from the possibility of a second straight defeat as their clash with Essex was abandoned as a draw.

Even with the fast-drying Trent Bridge outfield, the weather never allowed the Notts groundstaff to remove the covers and the two captains agreed to a draw shortly before 4pm. The result would have been frustrating for visitors Essex, who were in a decent position overnight to push for their first win since their opening game of the season after finishing day three on 152 for 2, a lead of 264.

Instead they picked up nine points to move to sixth in Division One, while Notts claimed seven - enough to move them back to the top of the table, level on 103 points with Yorkshire having played two games less.

Notts skipper Chris Read said: "It wasn't a great game as far as we were concerned, and we felt we were outplayed in most departments. But a key indicator of a strong team is how they bounce back, and we go to Tunbridge Wells to play Kent on Friday knowing that a good performance will leave us top ahead of the break for the Twenty 20.

"It's important that we finish the 'first half' of the Championship season on a high, and being able to turn to Twenty20 knowing we were top of the table would be a fantastic boost.''