By Mike Beddow at Edgbaston
First day of four: Notts (71-2) trail Warwicks (130) by 59 runs
THIS is a meeting of the under-equipped and recent under-achievers: Warwickshire without seven senior players and Nottinghamshire on a run of six successive defeats in all competitions.
Either side may have struggled on a green, first-day surface and it fell to Warwickshire - with the exception of Michael Powell, who batted throughout for an unbeaten 70 - to go through the trials of a collapse in 3.75 hours.
The vulnerable nature of their batting was not evident in their fifth first-wicket pairing of the season. Lancashire-born Powell became their first player to carry his bat for 10 years and Tony Frost, opening for the first time, stayed until the 15th over.
It required an exceptional catch - Paul Strang diving a long way to his right at second slip - for Nottinghamshire to begin to make anything of the conditions but when David Hemp was lbw to the next ball, they were on their way.
Though Paul Franks was denied a hat-trick against Warwickshire for the second year in a row, chances were soon to be sprayed around, nothing more straightforward than one which Brian Lara directed to Strang.
Andy Oram recovered from a wayward first spell to take three wickets and Mark Bowen, the senior seamer in this side, sustained the attack with four for 22.
Day 2: Powell shows staying power
By Mike Beddow at Edgbaston
Second day of four: Warwicks (130 & 159-2) lead Notts (218) by 71 runs
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE have been unusually receptive to a critical press. ``We have played some poor cricket,'' admitted their captain, Paul Johnson. Plaudits, he recognised, would come only with improved performances.
It seemed that a formula for good news had been established after a day and a half here, but Warwickshire, again bolstered by the sound technique of Michael Powell, are back in contention. Brian Lara reached an imperious half-century from 54 balls and Powell, unbeaten on 52, has yet to be dismissed in the match.
In the first innings, he became the first uncapped Warwickshire player for 49 years to carry his bat and in the second, his partnership with Tony Frost gave his side new belief.
The pitch has been something of a rogue, with successive balls likely to squat or clip fingers. Front-foot play can be hazardous, though not the reason for Wayne Noon's visit to hospital. The little finger on his left hand was fractured by a short delivery.
Johnson, who later kept wicket and took two catches, and Matthew Dowman extended Notts' overnight partnership to 74 before Mo Sheikh took wickets with his first and sixth balls.
Ed Giddins has a heavier workload for his new county: 120.5 overs so far for 18 championship wickets. He bowled for nearly two hours yesterday morning, supplementing his tally with Dowman's hook to long leg, but Notts achieved a significant surplus with the application of their lower order. Paul Franks, an advanced young player from England's recent under-19 squad, continues to impress.
Day 3: Powell continues to take plunder
By Mike Beddow at Edgbaston
Third day of four: Warwickshire v Nottinghamshire
MICHAEL POWELL sends his apologies to three teams who may have to do without their captain for some time: Warwickshire in the Second XI Championship, Coventry and North Warwick in the Birmingham League, and Warwickshire Cricket Board in the MCC Trophy.
If these appointments acknowledged the leadership qualities in one so young, there was also the inference that he would be regularly available for duties outside the county team. Not any more.
After nearly two years out of championship cricket, Powell has established an unshakeable claim to an extended opportunity. This match has turned one way, then another, Powell batting for 8.75 hours - 134.3 overs in total - for scores of 70 not out and 73.
Powell's potential has long been recognised at Edgbaston. Dennis Amiss, the chief executive, said: ``At 23, he has one of the oldest cricketing brains on young shoulders that I have seen. He is also the kind of person you want to succeed.''
Nottinghamshire's first-innings lead of 88 might have become a significant advantage on an uneven surface, but Powell's discipline, and in particular his judgement in leaving the ball, gave Warwickshire a sniff of an improbable win.
The turnaround was achieved in a stand of 116 in which Brian Lara scored 80 from 97 balls. If it was notable for Lara's mastery, it would not have been possible without the younger player's willingness to work for his partner.
It was only Lara's second half-century in his second season in the championship and in terms of breathtaking stroke selection for 13 boundaries, his innings was a world apart from the general run of graft on this pitch.
Nottinghamshire, sustained by 13 wickets in the match for Mark Bowen and Andy Oram, were eventually set 193 to win in a day and a half after Warwickshire's recovery to make 280, the highest total of the match.
Only two wickets fell yesterday morning, Lara miscuing to extra cover and Powell gloving a catch to the stand in wicketkeeper Paul Johnson, but three went for three runs immediately after lunch and in all the last six added only 48.
As this included a partnership of 42 by Graeme Welch and Mo Sheikh, it was a bizarre way to end an innings which had thrived for five hours under Powell's stewardship.
For Neil Smith, there was the indignity of a ``pair'' five weeks after starting the season with a century against Durham.
Day 4: Dowman and Afzaal show the way home
By Mike Beddow at Edgbaston
Notts (218 & 193-4) bt Warwicks (130 & 280) by 6 wkts
IF, AS seems likely, Brian Lara is to restrict himself to two seasons in championship cricket, only one county will have beaten his side, both in the year of his world record score and in his summer as Warwickshire captain.
When Nottinghamshire won by an innings and 43 runs at Edgbaston in August 1994, they were the only side to defeat the champions that season. Yesterday they trotted up again with an ultimately comfortable victory with half a day to spare.
The time lapse between the two games is such that only the older hands, Paul Johnson, and Tim Robinson, and the wicketkeeper, Wayne Noon, appeared in both fixtures.
That Nottinghamshire did not falter in pursuit of 193 was due to a splendidly proficient partnership of 112 in 47 overs by Mathew Dowman and Usman Afzaal, one a championship novice and the other an England under-17 player when Lara and Warwickshire were trampling over most counties four years ago.
The two left-handers are part of the new Nottinghamshire, Dowman the winner of last year's uncapped Whyte and Mackay batting award and Afzaal, already a century-maker this season, now being tested in the crucial No 3 position.
Though the pitch and Warwickshire's bowling appeared to be less threatening on the final day, the batsmen still had to deal with the occasional shooter.
Dowman brought victory into view with a match contribution of 107 in 381 minutes until caught by Lara at first slip, but a spell of renewed menace by Ed Giddins came too late to prevent Warwickshire's first home defeat in any competition since last May. Afzaal made 73 not out in four hours.