Liam Patterson-White’s counter-attacking half-century lit up a gloomy final day of Nottinghamshire’s pre-season preparations as a rain-affected friendly with Middlesex ended in a draw at Trent Bridge.

Patterson-White hit six fours and three sixes in a swashbuckling unbeaten 50 from 36 balls as the hosts, replying to the Seaxes’ 187-6, concluded on 191-6.

Joe Clarke contributed 29, while Ben Slater and Jack Haynes both made 25 and Haseeb Hameed added 24 to stand firm against the Middlesex attack, of which seamer Naavya Sharma’s 2/47 was the pick.

With only 21 overs possible on the first day due to rain, and an hour’s delay to the start of day two, the visitors ended up receiving a further 24 overs in a truncated morning session.

Within that, Olly Stone removed Ben Geddes, who was bowled offering no shot for a second-ball duck, but it was Josh de Caires who provided the sternest test, retiring out for 55.

Captain Leus du Plooy and Ryan Higgins each swiftly hit 43, before the latter’s retirement precipitated the end of the Middlesex innings at the lunch break.

The early afternoon was all about Slater and Hameed, who posted a half-century opening stand in the 17th over.

Middlesex did hit back by removing the latter, and Freddie McCann, in quick succession, but Clarke, first alongside Slater and then joined by Haynes, steadied the ship.

He helped to raise the score to 116-3 before he and Haynes both retired, and although Kyle Verreynne’s first innings at Trent Bridge in 2026 lasted only two balls, Patterson-White took up the mantle from there.

Striking smoothly and aggressively, the 27-year-old Academy graduate moved through the gears to record a half-century in just under an hour.

Joined by long-time friend Lyndon James, who added an unbeaten 24, Patterson-White’s fifty became the encore of the day.

Just two balls after the milestone, handshakes happened in the middle to bring the curtain down on Nottinghamshire’s pre-season and tee up an eagerly-anticipated trip to Taunton.