Dillon Pennington shines for Notts as draw beckons

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Seamer impresses amid the gloom with Warwickshire still 76 behind the follow on target

Pennington dismissed former Worcestershire teammate Ed Barnard for an accomplished 69  •  Getty Images

Warwickshire 175 for 5 (Barnard 69, Pennington 3-40, Paterson 2-52) trail Nottinghamshire 400 (Duckett 218, Haynes 74, Slater 65, Hannon-Dalby 5-78) by 225 runs

Another Vitality Championship draw is beckoning at Edgbaston after rain wiped out the first two sessions of the third day of the match between Warwickshire and Nottinghamshire.

In the 35 overs that were possible, Warwickshire took their first innings to 175 for 5 in reply to the visitors’ 400 all out, Ed Barnard building a studious 69 (142 balls) to deny Nottinghamshire the clatter they need to force the game forward.

As in the first two games of the season at Edgbaston, a combination of placid pitch and weather interference has shunted the contest inexorably towards a draw. Ben Duckett’s brilliant double-century gave Nottinghamshire a platform from which to press for victory, but the excellent bowling conditions of the stormy second afternoon, when Warwickshire dipped to 26 for 3, were not replicated on the third.

The cloud was high and the pitch well-behaved as Warwickshire, having resumed on 71 for 3, advanced towards the follow on figure of 251. If they reach that on the final morning, a draw, always highly likely, will become a certainty.

When play belatedly began at 4pm, Barnard and Dan Mousley took their fourth-wicket partnership to 59 in 20 overs before the latter misjudged an attempted flick to leg and fell lbw to Dane Paterson. At 84 for 4, Warwickshire still had plenty of work to do to reach that follow on figure, but Barnard was implacable. The former Worcestershire player reached 50 in 100 balls and was supplied with staunch support by Jake Bethell.

Bethell’s natural ability demands a much higher first class batting average than 20.37 and he showed a patience and selectivity of stroke which suggest he is determined to improve it. The 20-year-old (38 not out) helped Barnard to add 84 in 25 overs for the fifth wicket before, late in the day, Barnard edged a superb delivery from Dillon Pennington to wicketkeeper Joe Clarke.

That was fully deserved reward for Pennington whose figures (3 for 40 from 18 overs) on a good batting pitch accurately portray his excellence. The late wicket, taken just as the cat was about to be put out, also kept alive Nottinghamshire’s glimmer of hope of turning their domination of this match into victory. If their seamers have a productive first hour tomorrow, they could yet put the home side under serious pressure.