It has been a lean few years for Nottinghamshire and you have to go back to 2010 for their last County Championship title. In the interim they have won the T20 Blast twice, but have failed to reach finals day since their last triumph back in 2020. Last summer they were one spot above relegation from Division One and finished bottom of the North Group in the Blast. The Trent Bridge faithful will be looking for a change in fortunes in 2025.
They will be led for the second season by ex-England opener Haseeb Hameed, who scored over 1000 Championship runs last season, while Ben Slater and Joe Clarke both passed the 900-run mark. A new name is Freddie McCann, who at 19 has made an excellent start to his career. He made a half century on his Championship debut and followed it up with 154 in his next game against Surrey. A further century against Warwickshire helped him to 358 runs from five matches at an average of 51.14. These numbers then earned him a call up to the England Lions tour to Australia this winter.
A strong batting line up is boosted by the return of South African keeper/batter Kyle Verreynne for 12 of 14 County Championship games. He played three red-ball games at the end of last season to help Notts secure their Division One status, scoring 248 runs in four innings, with three not outs. The Outlaws will be hoping that more of the same will help them improve on the relatively low number of batting bonus points achieved in 2024.
On the bowling side, they will have to manage without South African pace bowler Dane Paterson, who had been at Nottinghamshire for the last four seasons, taking over 50 wickets in the first three. Appearances last summer were restricted following his call up to the South African side alongside paternity leave and he has now moved to Middlesex. Luke Fletcher has been released, but they have gained the services of Victoria seamer Fergus O’Neill for the first four Championship games. This arrangement had originally been put in place to cover the anticipated absence of Paterson with the South Africa side, before his move was confirmed. O’Neill currently leads the wicket taking in this season’s Sheffield Shield competition with 38 at 19.26. His limited availability is said to be due to visa restrictions and Notts have therefore signed Pakistan seam bowler Mohammad Abbas to cover six of the remaining 10 Championship fixtures, initially in May and then at the end of the season. Abbas has been an exceptional performer for Hampshire over the last four summers, taking 180 wickets at 19.27.
Dillon Pennington moved from Worcestershire prior to last season and rewarded his new county with 31 wickets at 23.80, going on to join McCann on the Lions’ tour. The Notts attack was weakened by an early season injury to Brett Hutton, but with him fit and the options also provided by Lyndon James and Robert Lord, they should be competitive. 23-year-old Lord signed his first professional contract with Notts half way through last season having played age-group cricket for Lancashire.
Notts also have a number of spin options, led by 17-year-old Farhan Ahmed, younger brother of England leg-spinner Rehan. He took 22 Championship wickets in just four matches, while Calvin Harrison took 20 at 39.00 with his leg spin. There is also the slow left arm spin of Liam Patterson-White.
Most of the players from the Outlaws previous successes in the Blast have gone, with Alex Hales departing this season as he has decided to pass on the Blast and play for the Knight Riders franchise in both Major League Cricket and the Caribbean Premier League. They have brought in two seasoned T20 players in Daniel Sams and Moises Henriques, with Joe Clarke captaining the side. Clarke led the run scoring last summer, but 306 was not in the top 30 for the competition as a whole. He and the likes of Jack Haynes will certainly be hoping to score more runs this season and they will counting on a few more appearances from Ben Duckett.
Key player
Brett Hutton was sorely missed for much of last season, suffering an Achilles injury during the game against Somerset in mid April. He did not return until the end of July. He had been the club’s leading Championship wicket taker in 2023 and has now taken 316 first class scalps from 91 games at an average of 26.14. Although born in Doncaster, he went to school at Worksop College and was part of the Notts Academy system, making his first class debut at the age of 18. He moved to Northamptonshire at the start of the 2018 season in order to play more one-day cricket, but returned to Trent Bridge in 2020. At 32, he still has plenty more wickets to take, if he can stay fit.
One to watch
Farhan Ahmed hit the headlines last summer, making his first class debut at the age of 16, for England Lions against Sri Lanka. The young off spinner helped set up a win as he took 3/87 from 29 overs in the Sri Lanka second innings. Prior to that he had played just one List A game for Notts. He then went on to play the last four Championship matches, the first against Surrey. He bowled 50.4 overs in the first innings, taking 7/140, followed by 3/77 in the second. He ended the season with 22 Championship wickets at 23.22 and this winter he has been away with England under 19s in South Africa, scoring 90 and taking nine wickets in the first unofficial Test. Obviously he has a lot to learn, but we expect to see plenty more of him in the coming years.
Ins and Outs
Overseas signings: Kyle Verreynne (South Africa, for Championship), Fergus O’Neill (Australia, until 28 April), Daniel Sams (Australia, for T20), Mohammad Abbas (Pakistan, 9-26 May and 8-27 September), Moises Henriques (Australia, for T20)
Ins: Travis Holland (youth), Sam Seecharan (youth), Tom Giles (youth), Conor McKerr (Surrey)
Outs: Luke Fletcher (released), Tom Loten (retired), Toby Pettman (retired), Fateh Singh (Worcestershire), Jacob Duffy (Worcestershire), Alex Hales (released)
How will they fare
Nottinghamshire’s first target will be to stay in Division One of the Championship. They have some rising stars in their midst and while silverware may be a couple of years away, there are promising signs.
Opening fixture: CC vs Durham on April 4 at Trent Bridge, Nottingham
Likely Championship XI
- Hameed
- Slater
- McCann
- Clarke
- Haynes
- Verreynne (WK)
- James
- Hutton
- Ahmed
- McKerr
- Pennington
