Ben Duckett ton helps Nottinghamshire wriggle out of Glamorgan clutches

Opener Ben Duckett, a potential candidate for an England recall this summer, posted his first century since May last year as Nottinghamshire were bowled out for 302 on the opening day of their LV= Insurance County Championship match against Glamorgan at Trent Bridge.

Duckett was dropped on 29, needed treatment after being struck on the hand and took a blow on the helmet batting on what proved at times to be a testing pitch.

He made Glamorgan pay heavily for giving him a life, hitting 12 boundaries before he was out for 122, his wicket falling to Australia's world number one Test batsman, Marnus Labuschagne, making his first appearance of the season for the Welsh county and taking 2 for 11 bowling seam rather than his more usual legbreaks.

Skipper Steven Mullaney provided the most significant support for Duckett, scoring 44 as the pair added 116 for the fifth wicket, but Glamorgan fought back against the Division Two favourites to claim the last six Nottinghamshire wickets for 44 runs in the final session, Michael Neser taking 3 for 56.

Presented with a pitch with more than a tinge of green, Glamorgan skipper David Lloyd chose to bowl on winning the toss. Nottinghamshire reached lunch two down for 108.

Haseeb Hameed suffered an unlucky dismissal, run out on 34 as Glamorgan seamer James Weighell stuck out a leg in an attempt to stop a drive back down the pitch by Duckett and diverted the ball on to the stumps at the non-striker's end.

Yet Hameed had given an early chance off Australian quick Neser, which evaded Sam Northeast at second slip. It was Northeast - who spent the latter part of the 2021 season on loan at Trent Bridge - who dropped Duckett on 29 just before lunch off Lloyd's medium pace.

Northeast held one morning chance, giving Neser the wicket of opener Ben Slater for 17 via a straightforward slip catch.

Joe Clarke, who pulled Lloyd for six, maintained an aggressive Nottinghamshire mindset. On 35, however, surprised by a ball from Timm van der Gugten that found some extra bounce, he gloved it on to his stumps.

It was a breakthrough that brought a second for van der Gugten in his next over, when he saw Joey Evison dropped at second slip - Northeast again - but then had him leg before pushing forward for a duck, having last week made his maiden first-class century against Sussex.

Almost all of the Glamorgan bowlers at times gave away easy boundaries. Mullaney, who made a career-best 192 at Hove, picked up where he left off but was out 10 overs into the final session for 44, caught by Northeast - this time at cover - as he drove Michael Hogan.

His departure sparking something of a collapse as Labuschagne had Tom Moores nicking behind before Liam Patterson-White played across the line against Hogan and Labuschagne struck again with a ball that Duckett miscued to give him a simple return catch, Nottinghamshire losing four wickets for 12 runs to be 270 for 8.

Neser bowled Brett Hutton to claim the third bowling point for Glamorgan with the second new ball before last-wicket pair James Pattinson and Dane Paterson somehow secured Nottinghamshire secured a third batting point, the Australian former Test fast bowler starting his third stint with a valuable 20 runs before Neser dismissed him via a steepling caught-and-bowled.

Glamorgan openers Lloyd and Andrew Salter began the reply brightly, despite Lloyd being caught at second slip off a no-ball in Pattinson's opening over, adding 33 in five overs before the close.