It seemed either reckless or bold first thing that Notts should unveil an emerald green pitch against an attack led by Abbott, one of the most successful overseas seamers ever to grace the circuit. Within eight overs, put in, they were 20-3. Abbott removed Haseeb and Freddie McCann before Ben Slater skied a pull off Scott Currie, each going for single figures.
Slater had earlier taken a withering blow to the arm when defending himself against a chest-high full toss from Eddie Jack only to fall, after a long stoppage, four overs later. At that point neither new batter had faced and indeed Clarke took 22 balls to get off the mark.
Haynes, however, feasted on Jack, wayward on the eve of his 21st birthday, and at one point took two sixes and a four in four balls from debutant seamer Manny Lumsden, so impressive for England Under-19 in their victory over Pakistan in the youth Test last week but sorely punished here.
After 64 had been plundered in eight overs, Abbott, now in his fortieth year, returned to undo Haynes for 48 from 46 balls as lunch came at 106-4. He should have claimed another when Hay, on 29, was missed at second slip in the afternoon.
For all his repute as a white-ball dasher, the New Zealander was impressively content to bed in, supporting Clarke until cutting at a lifting ball from Jack and edging behind 25 minutes from tea.
Clarke, then 99, completed his century from 159 balls next over but, driving at Currie, he gave wicketkeeper Ben Brown his fifth catch. A first batting point had just been secured by the interval on 262-6.
Hay’s Canterbury team-mate back home, Fraser Sheat, out for five, soon brought Abbott’s next success on resumption but Patterson-White, fresh from a not-out hundred in his last innings five days earlier, added 44 with Olly Stone who provided Lumsden with his maiden wicket in finding Brown’s gloves yet again.
The third delivery with the new ball, taken immediately, denied Abbott his five-wicket bag when Dillon Pennington escaped on four.
The reprieve was costly: the ninth wicket added another 39 (47 from seven overs) before Pennington fell swiping at Currie who took the running catch at cover off his own bowling as Patterson-White’s skier, with nine men on the boundary, finally ended his carnage.
He had overseen 112 runs from the last three wickets against a wilting attack, though Currie at least had the slightly flattering consolation of 4-61.
ECB Reporters’ Network supported by Rothesay.