Nottinghamshire 2019 Handbook - another extract to enjoy

Another extract from the 2019. Nottinghamshire Handbook, available from the club shop online or in person at Trent Bridge, price £5

FIRST-CLASS 2018 REVIEW

Having won both white-ball trophies and gained promotion back into the top flight of the Specsavers County Championship in 2017, Notts started 2018 with great optimism. However it was a team very much in transition. Following the very unfortunate sudden retirement of James Taylor in 2016, Notts lost the following players who had played their part in 2017: Chris Read, Michael Lumb, Brendan Taylor, Brett Hutton, Greg Smith and the hugely influential James Pattinson. In came the vastly experienced 34 year old right hander Chris Nash from Sussex, along with the highly rated Paul Coughlin, the 25 year old all rounder from Durham. The overseas slot for the first half of the season was taken by Ross Taylor, the 34 year old Kiwi, and a player with vast international experience.

Notts were dealt a blow before a ball was bowled when Coughlin badly injured his shoulder diving in the field during the England Lions' final match of their One-Day series against the West Indies A in mid March, ruling him out for at least the first four months of the season. Earlier, Alex Hales had announced his intention to play white-ball cricket only in 2018, so ruling himself out of Championship action. He subsequently signed for Sunrisers Hyderabad of the IPL. As a result Notts started the season with a first-team squad numbering just 16 professionals.

Notts’ first-class seasonal opener at Fenner’s due to be played in the first three days of April was abandoned without a ball being bowled because of persistent rain. With Tom Moores nursing a foot injury, 19 year old Lincolnshire born wicket keeper Tom Keast was due to make his first-class debut in this fixture. This was the first time a Notts first-class fixture had been completely abandoned since Durham at The Riverside in August 2008.

Notts managed two days of practice at Grace Road on the 5th and 6th April but it was a rusty Notts team that commenced their championship programme in Manchester. The opening day on Friday the 13th was washed out, but play commenced on time on the Saturday. Ross Taylor and Chris Nash made their Notts debuts. Notts four pronged face attack bowled Lancashire out for 158 after an uncontested toss with the outstanding Jake Ball leading the way with 5 for 43 on a slow low seamer. In reply Notts made 222 all out. The last day proved the glorious uncertainty of cricket; in one of the most bizarre sessions of cricket ever witnessed, twelve wickets fell for the addition of 25 runs. The pitch which had helped the seamers throughout seemed to gather more pace and bounce overnight and the wicket was now a complete bowler’s delight. The end result though was a very satisfying six wicket win for Notts. Jake Ball after a difficult winter away with England had match figures of 9 for 57. Harry Gurney took a career best 6 for 25 in the Lancashire second innings, Harry got the ball to move both ways throughout the game. Lancashire 73 all out, lost 10 wickets for 24 and 8 for 15 in the morning. Notts required 10 runs for victory, but made heavy work of it losing 4 wickets in 5 manic overs. 

Four days later, an unchanged Notts headed to Leeds. Another uncontested toss resulted in The Tykes being bowled out for 256 in bright sunshine, Hodd top scoring with 62, Fletcher 4 for 47. Notts were well placed in mid afternoon but let Yorkshire off the hook as they added 101 runs for the last three wickets. A devastating new ball burst from Brooks and Coad had Notts reeling on 6 for 3, Notts eventually got to 188 all out. Ben Coad took 4 wickets. Yorkshire made the game safe by adding 106 runs for their last two second innings wickets. Skipper Ballance hit 82, and Bresnan was left undefeated on 68; 334 all out. Needing 403 to win, Notts had little answer to the rampant Yorkshire attack being bowled out for 238. Ben Coad finished with 6 for 81; with match figures of ten for 130.

The opening two days at New Road were washed out but an outstanding Notts bowling performance saw The Pears destroyed in five sessions of play by an innings and 41 runs. Stuart Broad came in for his first game of 2018. Play got under way in grey and bitterly cold conditions as Worcester were bowled out for 110 in the morning session with a career best 5 for 27 for Luke Fletcher who looked fitter than he had ever been. Notts led by 94 runs at the close which included an excellent 50 by Ross Taylor.  On the last day, Notts gleefully fed on the diet of poor bowling  served up by Worcester bowling in the first hour (300 for 9 declared) and then tore into the Worcester line up bowling them out in 38.2 overs for a meagre 149. Leading the way was Jake Ball who took 5 for 59 and seven in the match. He bowled with pace and aggression throughout. The pitch offered the bowlers plenty of encouragement and Notts capitalised and topped the table after three rounds.

Notts elected to bat in the next game against Hampshire played in sweltering conditions throughout. On a good wicket with an electric outfield, Notts were bowled out for 302 and would have been disappointed they did not make more. Too many batsmen gave their wickets away. The best batting of the opening day was seen when Ross Taylor (47) and top scorer Samit Patel (73) added 95 for the fourth wicket. Notts had a superb second day as they closed on 136 for 0 a lead of 215; a position of dominance. A very good team bowling performance led to Hampshire being dismissed for 223. The key dismissal being that of Amla (69), whom in trying to hit Patel over the top was caught at mid off. Then having to bat 36 overs in the warm post tea sunshine, openers Mullaney and Libby shared a very welcome unbroken partnership to set up the ideal platform for a victory. The good work continued on the Sunday as Notts reached 389 for 9 declared. The opening partnership added 155 runs as Mullaney top scored with 130. Taylor and Patel’s fourth wicket stand had added 96 for the fourth wicket in 14.4 overs. Ross Taylor eventually played on to Wheal for a fine 83. Hampshire required 469 to win. Amla (112) proved very difficult to remove on an easing wicket with some variable bounce. He was last man out as Hampshire batted 30 minutes into the last session, Ball removing the ex Notts man after he topped edged a pull shot as Ross Taylor took the catch in the covers. Hampshire 265 all out losing by 203 runs. There were three wickets each for Broad, Gurney and Ball as Notts were rewarded for an outstanding bowling effort and fully deserved this 22 point victory, and led the table by 17 points. At this stage Notts fast bowling cartel had been outstanding with Ball leading the way with 25 wickets @15.76 and backed up by Gurney 20 wickets @17.25 and Fletcher 16 wickets @15.25.

Lancashire visited Nottingham the following week, but a poor batting performance by Notts on a sporty wicket saw them trounced by an innings one hour into the third day.  Another uncontested toss, Notts were shot out for 133 with Onions and Bailey taking three wickets apiece.  Notts had been hoping to sign Keaton Jennings the previous year but he opted for Lancashire and he made a superb 126 but Broad (4-41) apart the Notts attack had rare off day. Notts needed 206 to avoid the innings defeat. Anderson and Onions had Notts in deep trouble at 24 for 4 as the top order flopped once more. Notts were all out for 138. Notts were in first place as championship cricket was put on hold for a month to make way for the 50 over Royal London Cup.

Notts resumed action at Taunton, a ground where they have failed to secure a championship win since 1985. Bowling resources were now stretched. Ball was away with the England One-Day squad, Broad was unavailable and Gurney was injured. In came Plumtree’s right arm seamer Matt Milnes who had been bowling well all season for the Seconds and Matt Carter who had a 10 wicket debut at Taunton three years previously. Notts put in a wholehearted bowling performance and were unlucky not to obtain more wickets in the opening session but Aussie import Renshaw in particular rode his luck and got to 106, Somerset 392 all out. Another poor batting performance followed. Ross Taylor played a lone hand with 74 but Somerset took full advantage of heavy cloud cover which hung around just before and after lunch on Day 2, four wickets for Craig Overton. Notts following on batted for 146.1 overs in the second innings spread over three days with the highlight being a maiden first-class ton for Moores who had been consistently scoring runs. He was out just before the close on Day 3. Next day Notts got to 505 all out, another 10 overs batting might have put pressure on Somerset. In the event a target of 248 runs off a minimum of 78 overs did not really challenge the Cidermen who strolled home by 6 wickets with 70 minutes to spare. The highlight bowling wise for Notts was the eight wicket match haul for Carter.

Notts resources were further stretched as Mullaney was selected as captain for the England Lions in their triangular One-Day series against the A teams of India and West Indies and would miss the championship games against Essex and Worcester. Chris Nash struggling for runs took charge and did an excellent job. At Chelmsford, Gurney returned and Ross Taylor scored the highest individual championship score in the season for a Notts batsman with a sublime 146, Notts 380 all out. Carter and Fletcher both bagged four victims as Essex were bowled out for 206. Notts waived the follow on and a ballistic 87 from Moores who played on one leg due to an ankle injury saw Notts to 266. Milnes picked up a career best 4 for 44, memorably removing Alastair Cook leg before. Essex 139 all out, 15 minutes before lunch on Day 4. The 2017 champions had fallen to a resounding 301 run defeat.

Two days later, Notts swopped red for pink balls as the relentless hot weather continued. The floodlight experiment flopped once more with crowds drifting away after 6.00pm and the pink balls rarely deviating off a straight line. Notts could count themselves unfortunate not to defeat Worcester in a high scoring affair. Crucially Broad had to leave the field with an ankle injury early doors on Day 4 and Notts ended up two wickets short with Fletcher, Gurney and Milnes virtually running on empty in the very warm conditions. Standing between Notts and victory was Joe Clarke who batted for 214 balls for his 177 not out. He was to sign for Notts on a 4 year contract in September. Also in the match, Jake Libby scored his lone championship ton of the season with 100 not out in the second innings. After a mediocre start to his Notts career, Nash followed half centuries at Taunton and Chelmsford with 139 in the first innings. Ironically he badly damaged his shoulder the following week and his season was all but over apart from an ill advised return at Southampton in August.

The day after the Worcester match it was announced that South Africa batsman/keeper Quinton de Kock had agreed to join Notts for the climax of the season. The left-hander was to have been available for four of the club's last five Division One fixtures in August and September. However on the 8th August it was announced that de Kock had withdrawn from his proposed stint at the request of Cricket South Africa.

The first seven weeks of July/August were almost exclusively devoted to the T20 jamboree; there was one round of championship played commencing on 22nd July. It coincided with Jake Ball’s sole championship appearance after mid May and a rare outing for Stuart Broad. Ball had lost his rhythm through weeks of inactivity with England and Broad had played no cricket since the floodlit championship match a month earlier. The end result was a very undercooked Notts bowling line up taken for 592, as visitors Surrey took advantage of a ridiculously short boundary on the Bridgford Road side of the ground. Leading the way was skipper Rory Burns with 153 aided by Rikki Clarke who made 111. Notts had been asked to bat in sticky cloudy conditions making 210, top scorer was Gurney with 29 not out as Notts put on 45 for the 10th wicket. Notts fared worse in the second innings being shot out for 199 with Kolpak signing Morne Morkel having match figures of 9 for 120, Surrey winning by an innings and 183 runs. The match saw the sole championship appearance of former Durham MCCU batsman Will Fraine batting at three. The Huddersfield born batsman showed plenty of grit in facing the most balls in both of the Notts innings but in the autumn he turned down a one year contract with Notts before taking up a three year deal with his native county.

A month later championship cricket returned as Notts headed to the Rose Bowl. Kraigg Brathwaite the 25 year old West Indian had been signed as de Kock’s replacement; Nash returned clearly still being inhibited by his shoulder injury and Mark Footitt after good form in the Seconds made his first appearance of the season. Initially Notts did well, Hampshire 137 for 7, but Notts without Ball, Gurney and Broad lacked a cutting edge as Hampshire rallied to 277 all out. Notts replied with a paltry 166 avoiding the follow on via the long handle of Fletcher’s bat. Once more, the pace of Fidel Edwards was too much for the Notts top order with Edwards finishing with six wickets. Hampshire then scored 399 for seven declared with Vince adding 147 to his first innings 74. Notts set a nominal 511 to win could only muster 240, Brathwaite showed plenty of resilience batting for nearly three hours; Mullaney and Wessels had a fifth partnership of 88 but after Mullaney’s dismissal the rest fell quickly; Dawson and Abbott taking four wickets apiece.

Director of Cricket Mick Newell’s signing spree continued when Derbyshire left hander Ben Slater signed on a three year deal. The 27 year old Chesterfield born player opened the innings with Brathwaite in the following game at The Oval. With Mullaney nursing a bad back and Carter on the sick list, a much changed Notts were no match for Surrey as they were beaten by an innings and 125 runs shortly after lunch on Day 3. Samit Patel captained the team. It was a familiar tale the weakened Notts bowlers did as well as expected with Surrey all out for 375, Mark Stoneman anchoring the innings with 144. The batting though remained somewhat of a shambles, Notts being bowled out for 101 and 149. Surrey's tall seam attack of Morkel, Tom Curran, McKerr and Clarke getting considerably more life out of the wicket; Surrey were deserved champions at the end of the season. The announcement of the signing of Ben Duckett from Northants on a three year deal was made public within hours of the Surrey victory.

Duckett took his place in the Notts line up the following Tuesday as Notts were hoping for a turn of fortune with the remaining three games all at Trent Bridge. Mullaney returned to the eleven. All three recent signings made important contributions against visitors Yorkshire after Notts were put in following an uncontested toss. Brathwaite (71) and Slater survived a testing opening hour and then made hay adding 182 for the opening partnership; Slater reached his first century for the County before being dismissed for 109. Duckett added a typically aggressive 80 as Notts got to 448. The pitch was now as flat as a pancake and Yorkshire replied with 498 with centuries for Ballance and Kohler-Cadmore. Notts batted for 31 overs in the second innings but long before then the match had become comatose. Both teams gained 12 points.

In the following game, improving Essex galloped to an eight wicket victory but there was an impressive bowling debut for Worksop born, beanpole all rounder, Lyndon James who picked up three wickets in the first innings. Notts beset by injuries and non-availability elected to bat first but regretted the decision falling for 177. Essex were five down overnight but eventually got a lead of 56.  Brathwaite and Slater added another century opening partnership, both scoring half centuries. Simon Harmer the Essex off spinner bowled very impressively taking 6 for 87 as Notts lost their last 5 wickets for 47. Essex needed 281 to win but Notts could not make incisions into the Essex top order as Indian Test opener Murali Vijay and Westley added 204 for the 2nd wicket before Vijay was out immediately after reaching his century with Tom Westley unbeaten on 110. Notts losing on the stroke of lunch on Day 4; Brathwaite left Notts after the game to link up with the West Indies in preparation for their tour to India, he had an impressive record of 296 runs @ 42.29 in his four matches. Earlier in the day Notts had signed Leicestershire all-rounder Zak Chappell on a three-year deal. The day before that Matt Milnes signed for Kent on a three year contract, the 23 year old having played six championship games in 2018 taking 11 wickets @ 47.91.

Notts missed the penultimate round of championship of fixtures and they entered the last match against Somerset with relegation fears still hovering over them. The signings continued as on the 22nd September the club announced the signature of England Lions batsman Joe Clarke on a four-year deal - just a week on from playing for Worcestershire in their first T20 triumph at Edgbaston, a team featuring on loan Notts left arm seamer Luke Wood.

Somerset dominated the opening day of Game 14 closing on 353 for seven on an easy paced pitch. James Hildreth once again took a liking to the Notts attack plundering 137 in a day of near continuous sunshine, the right hander having been badly dropped by Mullaney when he had 30. The next day was very much squeaky bum time for all Notts supporters.  The first hour on day two saw Somerset add a further 110 runs in just an hour before they were all out for 463. Gurney’s six wickets gained Notts two vital bowling points. Notts then collapsed spectacularly to 73 for 5 to Craig Overton and that left them seemingly needing to score at least another 127 to remain safe. However Notts nemesis Fidel Edwards suddenly took wickets with the second new ball in Southampton to remove the Lancashire tail and ensure the vital third Lancashire batting point was not attained. Cue huge cheers from the large Trent Bridge crowd when the news came through at 14:00 hours that Notts were now safe, retaining their Division One status by the skin of their teeth. Notts though showed a distinct lack of fight, despite the good news, being bowled out for 133 and 184; the game was over before lunch on Day 3, Somerset winning by innings and 146 runs. Two Somerset bowlers Tom Abell and Craig Overton took hat tricks. Notts had failed to obtain a batting point for the seventh time in 2018. After such a promising start, five of the last six games resulted in heavy defeats; Notts avoiding relegation by virtue of having one more win than Lancashire, both teams finishing with 133 points. However with a much changing line up, a fair proportion of fans had been predicting relegation before a ball was bowled, so a sixth place finish was not as bad as could have been envisaged. The primary objective of the season had been attained.

Notts got off to a tremendous start winning three of the first four games. The ongoing Radcliffe Road development meant that they started with three away games. The April wickets were particularly spicy following a cold and wet March and early April, and with the experimental rule of the away team having the option of inserting their opponents still in place, this worked to Notts advantage. Notts strong seam attack of Broad, Ball, Gurney and Fletcher were all fit and raring to go and they all bowled outstandingly through the first tranche of championship fixtures, Notts were sitting on top spot when the 50 over competition commenced in mid May. However the spearhead of the attack Ball was only to play only one further championship game due to England call ups and injuries.

June saw Notts win, lose and draw. The Somerset game was decided by a horrendous first innings batting display, champions Essex were comprehensively beaten and Worcester bravely got a draw in a match that Notts would had probably won if Broad would have stayed fit.

The final six games were a disaster as the small squad was exposed for lacking depth, the seamers were by and large tired out and the batting line up remained suspect despite the arrival of Brathwaite, Slater and Duckett. The September fall off is becoming all too familiar for Notts supporters. Over the period of 2009-2018 inclusive, Notts championship record in September was played 29, won 2, lost 17 and drawn 10. The management could point to 2018 being exceptional i.e. lack of team depth, injuries and hot weather etc, but this trend has carried on for far too long to be coincidental. Most of these 17 defeats were very large in nature. The club over this period has had great strength in seam bowling which is best suited to early season conditions so some imbalance between victories and defeats can be attributed to this. However there appears to be an unexplained problem within the Notts set up which allows this late season slump to continually happen.

At the end of the season awards, wicket-keeper Tom Moores capped off his first full season behind the stumps for the Green and Golds by being awarded both Player of the Season and Uncapped Player of the Season for 2018. His batting was a revelation particularly in the away games at Chelmsford and Taunton and in the white ball encounters. His championship batting tailed away in the last half of the season but he finished with 616 runs @29.33. Behind the stumps, the youngster also claimed 39 dismissals in the County Championship. Deserved winner of the Specsavers County Championship Player of the Season was Luke Fletcher after taking 38 wickets at an average of 25.71 across 13 matches with the red ball. He was particularly effective in the matches up until the end of June where he took 30 wickets @17.83. Fletcher was the beating heart of the team throughout the season; vocal in the field and being the team’s tub thumper. His overall figures would have improved with greater seam bowling support; in the latter stages of the season Fletcher and Gurney (42 wickets @27.07) had simply bowled too many overs and ran out of steam after such a long hot summer. Broad (18 wickets @ 19.56) and Ball (28 wickets @22.25) had the best averages with the ball. Samit Patel disappointed with 19 wickets @47.16 and Mark Footitt was rarely seen, the left armer still possessing pace but now with a low arm action did not have enough accuracy.

The batting was disappointing. Only late comers Brathwaite and Slater (349 runs @43.63) averaged over 35. Ross Taylor who fielded superbly only had one true match winning innings at Chelmsford as he scored 506 @33.73. Having played the opening eight games of the season the Kiwi had been exposed to the most testing batting conditions. Mullaney, Wessels, Libby, Nash and Patel all had poor seasons with the bat. 

After the season Riki Wessels signed a three year for Worcestershire ending his successful eight year association with Notts. Also departing were Matt Milnes, Billy Root and Will Fraine who were heading for Kent, Glamorgan and Yorkshire respectively. Jack Blatherwick signed his full professional contract with Notts.

The 2019 red ball season promises much more, with key men Ball and Broad expected to have much increased availability. These two will be backed up by Gurney and Fletcher, the express pace of Chappell and a fit Coughlin. Carter promises a lot in the spin bowling department. Batting wise Notts now have Clarke, Duckett and Slater at their disposal. Whether Hales returns to red-ball cricket after the World Cup is open to conjecture. With the overseas slot still to be decided, the line up appears to have more strength and a good mix of youth and experience, it still appears to be on the small side and could be stretched by injuries or international calls.