Pennington pegs back Lancashire at Trent Bridge

Dillon Pennington (second left) moved to Nottinghamshire from Worcestershire ahead of the 2024 season

Vitality County Championship Division One, Trent Bridge (day one)

Lancashire 306-8: Jennings 91, Bruce 73; Pennington 3-46

Nottinghamshire: Yet to bat

Lancashire 2pts, Nottinghamshire 2pts

Match scorecard

Dillon Pennington was Nottinghamshire’s outstanding performer as Lancashire let a strong position slip on day one of their Vitality County Championship match at Trent Bridge.

Skipper Keaton Jennings made 91 and Tom Bruce 73 after Lancashire opted to bat, but they tumbled from 190 for two to close on 306-8.

Pennington (3-46) produced an excellent five-over spell of 3-15 with the second new ball before Dane Paterson (2-64) removed Bruce in the day’s penultimate over.

With Australian spinner Nathan Lyon rested, Lancashire selected England pace bowler Saqib Mahmood for the first time in 12 months following a stress fracture.

They were on top until the half-hour before tea, when Jennings and George Balderson (38) were both out in quick succession after a third-wicket stand worth 107.

Despite a testing opening courtesy of pace bowlers Pennington and the fit-again Olly Stone, Nottinghamshire’s only breakthrough in the first hour came when Paterson had Luke Wells caught at second slip.

Lyndon James dismissed Josh Bohannon immediately before lunch to end a threatening partnership with Jennings, and Nottinghamshire emerged with renewed energy.

But Jennings, having built a 128-ball half-century, upped the tempo as a paddle sweep for four and a straight six off Calvin Harrison’s leg spin had him set for a second hundred of the season.

Nottinghamshire’s bowlers fought back as Jennings top-edged a reverse sweep against Harrison to slip, where Tom Moores took an easy catch, and Balderson was beaten for pace by Stone, hit squarely in front as he tried to flick across the line.

Bruce reached a half-century off 69 balls before Pennington struck twice in nine deliveries, George Bell edging to first slip and Matthew Hurst to third.

He picked up his third scalp when England spinner Tom Hartley found the safe hands of Harrison at second slip and the loss of Bruce, leg before to Paterson, was another big blow.

Play was preceded by a minute’s silence for Josh Baker, the Worcestershire spin bowler who died last week at the age of just 20.

Baker represented his county against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge only last month and Pennington and Jack Haynes were New Road team-mates of his until last season.

Report supplied by the ECB Reporters' Network.