2024 was a desperately disappointing season for Nottinghamshire. They only just avoided relegation from Division One of the Vitality County Championship, finished bottom of their group in the Vitality Blast and were mediocre in the Metro Bank One Day Cup.
As some consolation, at the end of the season there were some green shoots of hope as several young players started to come through and deliver results.
Notts were the only team to lose (to Essex) in the first round of Championship matches. Then double centuries in three consecutive games for Joe Clarke, Ben Duckett and captain Haseeb Hameed improved the outlook considerably, especially since Hameed’s effort, during which he was on the field for every ball of the match, helped to defeat Lancashire. However, life in the top flight was a struggle thereafter, the only other win coming in September against Kent. Eighth place meant safety, but only just.
Of those who played regularly, Hameed and Clarke both averaged over 50, with Ben Slater not too far behind. Amongst the bowlers, Dillon Pennington did enough to show why Notts had poached him from Worcestershire before he was called up by England and then got injured. Notts were also unlucky in that Dane Paterson and a fully fit Olly Stone caught the eyes of the South African and England selectors respectively. Ben Hutton only managed six matches because of an Achilles injury.
The Vitality Blast was a total disaster. If they could have done so, the Outlaws would probably have skulked off to Sherwood Forest and disappeared into the trees after they lost their first five matches on the way to finishing bottom of the North Group. No-one impressed greatly with the bat and Olly Stone with 15 was the only bowler with a double wicket haul. The recruitment of New Zealand left armers Ben Lister and Fazalhaq Farooqi was partially successful in that they were economical, but they only took a combined total of 13 wickets in 14 games. Alex Hales hardly won any prizes for loyalty when he decided to go to play in the Sri Lanka Premier League and miss the second half of the competition.
A mid-table result with four wins and four losses in the One Day Cup hardly made up for the failures in the other competitions. Hameed, Slater and Tom Moores carried the batting. As for the bowling, the surprise success was Rob Lord, a 23 year old recruited from the Cheshire Premier League. He took 11 wickets at just 22 runs apiece and won himself a contract.
Results
Vitality County Championship: Eighth in Division One
Vitality Blast: Bottom (ninth) in North Group
Metro Bank One Day Cup: Fourth in Group B
Leading run-scorers
Vitality CC: Haseeb Hameed, 1091 at an average of 51.95
Vitality Blast: Joe Clarke 306 at 25.53; Strike rate 151.48
Metro Bank ODC: Ben Slater 398 at 56.85
Leading wicket-takers
Vitality CC: Dillon Pennington 31 at 23.80
Vitality Blast: Olly Stone 15 at 27.86, Economy rate 9.50
Metro Bank ODC: Rob Lord, 11 at 22.63
Player of the season
For enduring a tough first season as captain in both the Championship and the One Day Cup and scoring more than 1400 runs at an average of over 50, Haseeb Hameed gets the vote as player of the season. Still only aged 27, he has had a career with plenty of highs and lows. If his international career is at an end, he has many years ahead to score runs for Notts.
Breakthrough Player(s)
Here is where we can celebrate those green shoots of promise that were mentioned earlier. For a few years Notts have been noted as a poacher of other counties’ young stars. Now, having waited for so long for them to produce some of their own, along came two home-produced teenagers – Farhan Ahmed and Freddie McCann.
16-year-old off spinner Farhan Ahmed made an extraordinary first-class debut against Surrey at the end of August. He was Notts’ youngest ever first-class debutant and in taking ten wickets in the match, he became the youngest bowler ever to do so in English first-class cricket, beating the record of – wait for it – W.G. Grace.
As for Freddie McCann, the 19-year-old scored 154 in that same match against Surrey, just his second Championship game. In five matches, he averaged over 50.
Both Farham and McCann will go to South Africa this winter with the England Lions, as will Pennington.
Could have done better
The management team must collectively own their 2024 failures and look to do much better. Maybe the move of Steven Mullaney into full time coaching will help. Whilst the struggles in the Championship can be partly put down to injuries and bad luck, there were few excuses for the white ball failures. Never, in List A and T20 cricket, have Notts failed to play a single knock-out tie. It will not have escaped the notice of management that crowd sizes at Blast games diminished as the season progressed.
Need to work on
With the retirement of Mullaney and Luke Fletcher plus the release of Matt Carter, there are the early signs of a clearing of the decks to enable younger players to thrive. How they are managed and developed will determine whether the 2024 season was a blip or whether further hard times lie ahead.
What’s next?
Nottinghamshire have signed 26-year-old 6ft 6 ins pace bowler Conor McKerr from Surrey on a three-year contract
Off the field, there are plans for the partial demolition and extension of the historic Trent Bridge pavilion that has allegedly ‘long failed’ to meet ECB standards. The building’s current structure will be extended from three to six floors, with a new basement level allowing for the facilities needed to accommodate the increasing size of teams and their support staff. The pitch-facing elements, which are the original parts of the building, will be preserved.
Season Rating
2024 was not a season that Notts fans will want to remember. Not quite getting relegated hardly justifies popping the champagne corks.
Mark: 3/10
