Nottinghamshire 43 for 0 trail Leicestershire 222 (Taylor 57, Mike 51*, Trego 3-46) by 174 runs

Half-centuries from allrounders Tom Taylor and Ben Mike helped Leicestershire recover from 54 for 5 to reach a total which kept the Foxes in the game on the first day of their Bob Willis Trophy match against Nottinghamshire at the Fischer County Ground.

A greenish pitch, heavy cloud and a strong wind meant it was a good toss for Steven Mullaney to win, and the Notts' skipper cannot have thought long before putting the home team in to bat. The ball swung and seamed from the start, and though Leicestershire opener Sam Evans had an early reprieve when he was badly dropped at second slip by Mullaney in Zak Chappell's first over, he did not last much longer, flicking indeterminately at a widish delivery from Peter Trego to give Lyndon James catching practice at third slip.

Harry Dearden also left the field berating himself after clipping a Trego inswinger into the leg side without keeping the ball down and seeing Samit Patel take a good low catch at midwicket, reducing the home side to 15 for 2.

In-form Leicestershire captain Colin Ackermann had scored only 4 when he received a delivery from Trego that pitched in line and swung sharply away to take the edge, Mullaney making up for his earlier miss by holding the catch in the slips.

Hassan Azad had also made just 4, off 40 balls, when he sliced an attempted drive at James and Ben Slater held the catch at backward point.

Chappell also picked up the first man dismissed after lunch, bowling a fine delivery which straightened to take the edge of George Rhodes' bat, wicketkeeper Tom Moores taking a straightforward catch behind the stumps to leave Leicestershire five down and in trouble, but Taylor joined Harry Swindells in wresting the initiative back from the bowling side.

He was fortunate to be dropped on 6, at mid-off off Chappell, and twice fortunate not to be run out on 47, but hit six fours and a huge straight six in reaching his half-century off just 60 balls.

A partnership of 81 was broken when left-arm spinner Patel found enough turn to trap Swindells leg before wicket for 33, and only two more runs had been added when Taylor ran out of luck, cutting left-arm seamer Tom Barber high to third man, where Chappell held the catch.

Mike played beautifully, however, and found good support from James Weighell, the Durham loanee on Leicestershire debut. He too hit six fours and went to his fifty by hooking Barber for a huge six over long leg, the ball disappearing out of the ground.

Leicestershire should have picked up at least one wicket of their own before the close, but Rhodes put Slater down, a two-handed chest-high chance at third slip, when the left-hander was on 3. Haseeb Hameed played fluently in going to 34 as Notts finished the day trailing by 174 with all ten first-innings wickets intact.