Lancashire 113 & 4-0 Nottinghamshire 202: Pattinson punishes Lancashire

No wonder Jack Simmons, the Lancashire chairman, suggested that Championship matches might revert to a three-day format to make room in the calendar for an English Premier League. His own county scarcely need that long.

Having seen off Durham at home in less than seven sessions last week, Stuart Law's team are on course for another accelerated finish, although the outcome might not be in their favour. Just as 20 wickets fell on the opening day at Old Trafford, two innings were completed here yesterday. As an lbw count of 10 might suggest, the pitch was not blameless, throwing up some vagaries of bounce. Yet there was some undistinguished batting, too.

After choosing to bat first, Law's 55, an innings of 12 boundaries, was the only worthwhile score as Lancashire tumbled to 113 all out against a Nottinghamshire attack without Ryan Sidebottom and Stuart Broad.

Not that they were missed. The man hired as cover, 28-year-old Darren Pattinson, picked up where he had left off on his eight-wicket debut against Kent last month, adding six more.

Pattinson has English parents, one from Grimsby, one from Barnsley, but an Australian accent, having grown up in Melbourne, where he played club cricket and tiled roofs until a year ago, when Victoria picked him against South Australia in the Pura Cup. This is only his seventh first-class match.

Samit Patel then hit 74 off 71 balls, Mark Wagh 55 off 80 as Nottinghamshire established a lead of 89 in reply.

Lancashire, already without four bowlers through injury and another, James Anderson, on Test duty, had to leave out their Pakistan Test batsman, Mohammad Yousuf, who has been told by the Home Office that his current tourist visa must be upgraded to a full visa, although the ECB says there is no eligibility issue.