It was a welcome return to red ball action for Nottinghamshire as they dismantled Derbyshire inside three days to win convincingly their Group One County Championship game at Trent Bridge following a month of playing T20 Blast and the white ball edition quite well indeed.

Notts even had to retire Ben Duckett during game, given an England call up following an outbreak of covid in the national team camp, Duckett was 69 not out in his innings before being replaced by Zimbabwean youngster Dane Schadendorf.

It all started Sunday, stop start it was as the rain kicked in, Notts facing a Derbyshire team that they beat in April to record their first victory of the season, their first county championship win in three years.

Most recently the two teams tied in the T20 Blast late June after Notts had earlier in the month beat the Phantoms by four wickets, this time, like the first red ball encounter between the two teams this year, it was very much one sided in the favour of our own.

91/5 and trudging along adequately but not brilliantly, was all was up on Sunday night in between showers, Notts bowled over Derbyshire for just 149 by early Monday afternoon with three wickets for Luke Fletcher, two each for Brett Hutton, Dane Paterson and Joey Evison with one for Lyndon James completing a rounded attack of brutal bowling in under 80 overs.

In reply Notts went to work midst the odd rumble and rain fall dropping and finished 256/6 overnight with a 57 for Haseeb Hameed and that 69 from Ben Duckett, by the time the team were all out this morning they had reached 307 from less than nine overs more than their opponents played, but nobody expected such a collapse in response.

Prior to lunch Fletch took the first of a five for as Wood was caught Compton for three and 13/1 became 35/2 post sarnies following Hutton having Guest caught by Schadendorf keeping wicket.

Paterson then bowled Du Plooy for just one before seeing off Reece two overs later and Derbyshires chase was beginning to look lost cause.

Small hope as Critchley and Reece dug in to reach a hundred but no sooner were the three figures applauded by the sparse Trent Bridge crowd, was Critchley caught behind off the bowling of Evison for 31.

100/4 became 122 all out within no time at all. Fletcher seeing off Hudson-Prentice and Thomson before Paterson got Cohen LBW. The Bulwell Bomber touché on Hosein before Scrimshaw edged to Schadendorf two balls later without scoring. A tenth five wicket haul in his county career, Fletcher finishing with 5/28 as Notts take 22 points to go 17 clear at the top of the table.

Next up Vitality Blast action again and a top of the table clash at home to Yorkshire on Friday night, meanwhile Luke Fletcher sits on 46 wickets at an average of 12.43. No player has more wickets I the county championship this season, in the country.

*Main image @TrentBridge Ben Duckett’s fabulous form earned him an England call up.