David Hussey’s 20th first-class hundred for Nottinghamshire put the hosts in a strong position against Lancashire as they looked to reclaim top spot in Division One in the LV County Championship.

It was like the 31-year-old Hussey had never been away as he maintained his spectacular record at Trent Bridge, where he has now scored 15 centuries, and dominated the opposition attack from the moment he came to the wicket with Notts in some trouble at 94-3.

While openers Will Jefferson and Bilal Shafayat fell cheaply and Mark Wagh was caught behind after making 40, Hussey hit his third ball to midwicket for four and simply carried on from there, hitting 20 more boundaries and two sixes in a brilliant innings of 126 from 146 balls.

Ali Brown made 54 in a fifth-wicket partnership of 170 with Hussey, while Ryan Sidebottom was unbeaten on 35 as Notts closed on 369-9, a total Director of Cricket Mick Newell was pleased with.

He said: “Getting past 350 makes it a competitive total because there is some swing out there and it is certainly not a flat wicket.”

Commenting on Hussey’s form, he said: “I think he has come back to us an even better player than he was when he was here before.

“He has played a lot of international cricket between now and then and that has only helped him.

“We have high expectations of him, as we have of Adam Voges, and certainly no-one can say that out overseas players are not delivering this year.

“Huss was hitting the ball superbly and looked in very good nick. He has very definite scoring areas and they are ones he regularly hits.

“The partnership between him and Ali Brown was a tremendous one, because batting in the first session of a game here is always difficult.

“If they had failed after lunch we could have made a mess of it but instead they put us in a good position that hopefully we can now capitalise on.”