Bob Willis Trophy: Haseeb Hameed and Ben Slater help Notts move close to parity at Leicester

Haseeb Hameed (87) and Ben Slater (86) put on 200 for the first wicket for Notts at Leicester

Openers Ben Slater and Haseeb Hameed shared a club record partnership of 200 as Nottinghamshire laid the foundations for a formidable first-innings lead against Leicestershire at the Fischer County Ground.

Their stand was Nottinghamshire's highest for the first wicket against Leicestershire, beating the 159 compiled by George Gunn and Garnet Lee at Trent Bridge in 1919, as the visitors finished on 221-2 - just one run shy of the home side's first-innings effort.

Notts had resumed on 48 without loss, with Hameed on 34 and Slater on 12, and neither batsman gave a chance during the morning session as the Leicestershire seamers struggled to bowl a consistent line and length on an unrewarding pitch.

Tom Taylor came closest to making a breakthrough, beating both batsmen withdeliveries that swung late, but edges were rare, and when they came fell short of the waiting slips.

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Hameed, after picking up two boundaries in the first over of the day, played circumspectly, reaching his half-century off 80 deliveries.

Partner Slater - who earlier this season had spent two weeks on loan at Leicestershire - mixed steady accumulation with the occasional flowing cover drive, reaching his 50 off 103 balls.

Rain meant only 5.1 overs were possible in the afternoon and the evening session saw Leicestershire bowling a better line.

Even so, both batsmen looked odds-on to reach a century until Hameed, on 87, left a delivery from Alex Evans that swung back in and hit his back leg to be leg before.

Ten runs later Slater - who had passed the landmark of 5,000 first-class runs earlier in his innings - was also dismissed, in his case on 86, edging the persevering Taylor to second slip where Colin Ackermann held a sharp chance at the second attempt.

Bad light saw play end when 10.5 overs remained to be bowled, but with better weather forecast to come over the final two days, Nottinghamshire are in a strong position to end their run of 24 first-class matches without victory.

Match report supplied by PA Media.