NOTTINGHAMSHIRE still believe they can beat Northamptonshire despite being yet to complete their first innings with just one day left.
Riki Wessels and James Taylor both made 78 with Notts closing on 259 for five, a lead of only 11, with Wessels still at the crease.
Despite having three sessions remaining at Trent Bridge, Wessels, who was dropped on 22, is not ruling out victory against his former club.
He said: "They are the side that has come up from Division Two so you have to try and beat them twice.
"That's unfortunate as Northants gave me my first chance of professional cricket so they hold a special place in my heart.
"Let's see where we are in the morning and then hopefully we can have two sessions to try and push on."
Both Wessels and Taylor cashed in on some poor bowling as the day went on, Wessels in particular making the most of wayward stuff from Steven Crook.
He will hope for more quick runs tomorrow to push on to his first century of the summer before the bowlers look to get at a Northants battling line-up which has already proved brittle.
Notts needed only 3.1 overs to end Northants' first innings as they added seven to their overnight tally, all out for 248.
Andy Carter took both wickets, first comprehensively bowling Maurice Chambers for nine as he looked to play a less than judicious shot, attempting to play an outrageous drive through the covers. Azharullah followed for a seven-ball duck as he was lbw.
Notts' innings got off to a stumbling start, as they lost Alex Hales on 15. He had scored all 15 of the runs from 17 balls, but could only edge Azharullah to David Sales at second slip.
Phil Jaques followed for a duck with the score 21 three overs later as he mistimed a pull and gloved the ball to Sales, giving Chambers a wicket.
Notts were in trouble at 30 for three when Michael Lumb went for ten. He had been troubled by an Andrew Hall delivery that rose sharply and caught him on the glove.
He survived that one, but the veteran medium pacer got his man from the next ball as, with David Murphy standing up, some sharp glove work saw Lumb stumped.
Taylor had taken a while to get going as he sought to play himself in but when he cut loose with a series of drives off the front and back foot, making the most of any bad balls.
He and Samit Patel guided Notts through to lunch at 71 for three. The first over after the interval saw Patel living a charmed life.
Hall's first ball almost brought a wicket, but Patel managed to squeeze it into the leg side for one.
The fourth ball looked to be edged just short of the slips and the next one hit the back of the bat as he tried to work it into leg, looped up to Ben Duckett and he put a tough chance down, diving away to his left as he got a hand on it.
Play soon settled down though and Taylor hooked Crook away for four to bring up the hundred with his excellent 50 following straight after.
The pair had put on 91 when Patel went for 30. He will be disappointed with his dismissal as he drove Chambers off the back foot straight to Rob Newton in the covers.
Newton fumbled it at head height but gathered in at the second attempt – 121 for four.
Wessels came to the middle and made 12 before a heavy shower saw play delayed by 80 minutes with eight overs lost.
A further two overs went when the players were only able to come back on for one ball, a short delay needed as standing water was cleared from the outfield.
Wessels had looked good on his way to 22 but he had a huge let off when dropped by Hall at first slip.
The batsman got a big edge to Azharullah and Hall went down in installments to spill a simple chance as time seemed to stand still.
Wessels made the most of his reprieve in Crook's eighth over. The Northants seamer had already struggled for line and length, but he looked laboured as Wessels struck him for four fours from five balls to take him rapidly to his 50.
Taylor must have been watching from the other end with envy, but he would have been fuming when he went in the next over, lbw for the sixth time this season as he succumbed to James Middlebrook's spin.
Wessels and Chris Read looked to accelerate the scoring as Wessels swept Hall for six, but then another heavy shower came, cutting the day short with Read 17 not out.
