Maddy helps to keep Bears in hunt

LV CC Division One, Trent Bridge

Close, day two: Warwickshire 298 & 271, Nottinghamshire 359

Nottinghamshire 7 pts, Warwickshire 5 pts

Warwickshire veteran Darren Maddy defied the pain barrier at Trent Bridge to keep alive the county champions' slim hopes of retaining their title.

Batting with a runner, the 39-year-old made a gritty 65 as the Bears batted all day against Nottinghamshire.

Warwickshire started this game with 139 points, while Nottinghamshire were on 113 points, but with a game in hand. Victory for the Bears would just about keep them in the title hunt, thanks to Yorkshire's wobbles and plunge Notts into real danger. A Notts victory would end the Bears' hopes of retaining their title. Backed by 63 from in-form Laurie Evans and, at one time partnered by teenager Peter McKay, who was also batting with a runner, Maddy saw the Bears to 271.

That set Notts 211 to win on the final day to ease their relegation fears.

Judging by the weather forecast for Friday, the expected day of rain looks favourite to have the final word in this contest.

But, if Trent Bridge were to escape the forecast deluge and Notts were to enjoy a successful run chase, that would then drag Dougie Brown's injury-ravaged Bears into the relegation picture.

Luke Fletcher was the pick of the Notts attack, taking a career-best 5-52, while wicketkeeper Chris Read's 746th first-class catch saw him break Thomas Oates' 88-year-old county record.

At the other end of the age scale, 18-year-old Warwickshire wicketkeeper McKay has also had a game to remember.

Chris Read's seven catches in the match have taken the 35-year-old former England keeper past Thomas Oates' Nottinghamshire record of 745 - set in 1925. Having also claimed his 900th career victim in this game, Read now has the chance to become only the 25th wicket-keeper in first-class history to go past 1,000 dismissals. On his first-class debut on Tuesday, as stand-in for the injured Tim Ambrose, he turned his ankle, had to bat with a runner (making an impressive 33) and has so far been unable to keep wicket, making way for two temporary replacements.

But, when he came in to bat with the Bears eight down in their second innings, he joined Maddy, who had also been forced to bat with a runner after sustaining a calf injury on Wednesday.

With four batsmen out in the middle, the pair put on 30 before Maddy, making probably his final first-class appearance, became the second of the two LBW decisions with which Fletcher wound up the Warwickshire innings.

Evans continued his fine recent run of scores before fending Harry Gurney off into the hands of James Taylor and Steffan Piolet made his highest first-class score of 30 before holing out off Fletcher.

BBC Radio Nottingham's Dave Bracegirdle:

"Another absorbing day saw Chris Read deservedly enter the county's record books as holder of the most catches for Notts - and also saw another career step taken by Luke Fletcher.

"The 6ft 6in fast bowler, nicknamed the 'Bulwell Bomber' by home supporters, claimed his best innings and best match figures as he picked up his second consecutive five-wicket haul.,

"If the gloomy weather forecast for the final day has been grossly exaggerated, we could be in for a thrilling conclusion to this contest."

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Heard It On The Street: Does Bears camp pay? No one can say for sure

The Chicago Bears just completed their 12th training camp at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais and made a commitment for another nine summers.

While the contract extension was greeted with sighs of relief and smiles, the question that still remains unanswered is what exactly — in terms of dollars and cents — does the camp and the 100,000 or so fans it annually attracts mean to the region.

The answer could lie in an in-depth economic impact study — something that has yet to be completed.

"I think it's a valid question," said Bourbonnais village administrator Gregg Spathis, "but any impact study would need to be countywide, rather than just the village."

Agreed.

The cost of such a study would also have to be shared among the many jurisdictions and civic organizations that annually welcome the Bears with open arms.

"We need to know where we fall short, if we fall short and what do we do well," Spathis said.

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Camp ends, questions don't for Bears

After 20 days in Bourbonnais, the Chicago Bears held their 14th and final training camp practice of 2013 on Tuesday at Olivet Nazarene University.

Coach Marc Trestman and company will head north today after a final team walk-through this morning. The Bears will get a chance to see how much progress has been made with a preseason matchup Thursday against the San Diego Chargers.

Hopefully, that will paint a clearer picture because even quarterback Jay Cutler isn't sure how far along the Bears are in Trestman's first year.

"We're moving along. I don't think I can pinpoint where we're at, but we're getting better each and every day," he said. "There's ups and downs. We're looking at the negatives and trying to fix them as quick as possible. We continue to find more positives each and every day."

The Bears leave Bourbonnais with just as many questions on offense as when they arrived.

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