A Change to Billing - Dan Sutton Trophy Final

Following lengthy consultation with all stakeholders during the course of the last 24 hours, we have brought forward the final of the Dan Sutton Trophy to this Sunday, the 13^th September.

The final will therefore be directly after the two semi-finals, scheduled for this Saturday, 12^th September.

We would like to sincerely thank all those involved, especially Hucknall Cricket Club for their flexibility in hosting the event.

Likewise, we have agreement for this course of action from all four clubs competing on Saturday in the semi-finals, continuing the excellent spirit of the competition this year.

This of course means both semi-finals must reach their conclusion on Saturday, and no reserve day is possible.

Saturday 19^th September will now be the reserve date for the final, again at Hucknall Cricket Club.

We apologise if this late change causes inconvenience; I am sure you appreciate this decision has been made only with the very best for Nottinghamshire cricket and the Dan Sutton Trophy in mind.

 

Kind Regards

 

Andy Hunt

Trent Bridge to host Lancashire and Nottinghamshire match

The Bob Willis Trophy match between Lancashire and Nottinghamshire has been moved from Emirates Old Trafford to Trent Bridge.

Lancashire and Nottinghamshire agreed the move to safeguard and protect the bio-security of Emirates Old Trafford as a host for behind-closed-doors international cricket this summer.

Lancashire will remain as the home team for the match, which is due to begin on August 15.

Derbyshire’s pre-season friendly against Lancashire, taking place at Chester Boughton Hall, has been pushed back a day due to potential thunderstorms on Monday.

The two-day red ball fixture, which precedes Derbyshire’s opening Bob Willis Trophy match next weekend, will now start on Tuesday 28 July; 11am.

22/07

Pilot Programme

Warwickshire's upcoming friendly with Worcestershire at Edgbaston will be part of a pilot programme to get spectators back to sporting events.

The Bears say members can apply for a "limited number of complimentary tickets" for day two of the red-ball match on Tuesday, 28 July.

17/07 

Nottinghamshire will host Leicestershire for a two-day behind closed doors friendly on 28 and 29 July at Trent Bridge, as preparations continue for the delayed start to the 2020 season.

The red-ball friendly will provide a second opportunity for Steven Mullaney’s men to tune up ahead of the delayed start to the county season, after travelling to Edgbaston for a similar encounter on 24 and 25 July.

Play on both days is scheduled to commence at 11am, with regular updates to be posted online via trentbridge.co.uk and the club's social media channels.

Work is underway to enhance Trent Bridge’s live stream offering, which is expected to launch in time for the opening First-Class fixture of the season.

The ECB has confirmed that professional cricket will return from 1 August, with four-day and T20 formats played during a truncated campaign.


The fixtures each team will contest are to be confirmed in due course.

Pre-Season Fixtures

July 24-25: Warwickshire v Nottinghamshire, Edgbaston

July 24-25: Yorkshire v Lancashire, Emerald Headingley

July 26-27: Surrey v Middlesex, The Kia Oval

July 27-28: Warwickshire v Worcestershire, TBC

July 27-28: Yorkshire v Durham, Emerald Headingley

July 27-28: Lancashire v Derbyshire, Chester Boughton Hall

July 27-28: Sussex v Hampshire, Hove

July 26 - 27: Somerset v Gloucestershire, Taunton

July  28 - 29: Gloucestershire v Somerset, Bristol

July 28 - 29: Nottinghamshire v Leicestershire, Trent Bridge

BBCSport

All 18 first-class counties will compete in a shortened red-ball tournament named in honour of Bob Willis, the ECB has confirmed.

A majority of counties voted to play both red-ball and white-ball cricket when the season resumes on 1 August.

Some had hoped to play white-ball cricket only, but the ECB says all counties will take part in both.

The truncated T20 Blast will begin on 27 August, although a full fixture schedule is yet to be announced.

Neil Snowball, the ECB's managing director of county cricket, said: "The enforced break due to Covid-19 has provided a challenging period for the county game, during which time the 18 first-class counties have been united with a common goal to get back to our core function of playing cricket.

"The commitment of the chairs and chief executives of the first-class counties to work together to achieve that ambition has been resolute, and we will remain in close discussion as we continue to assess risk factors that need to be mitigated in order to ensure the safety and welfare of their players, coaches and staff.

"We are all delighted that agreement has been reached across the game and we are now in a position to look forward to and prepare for a new men's domestic season starting on 1 August."

'Great gesture'

Before Friday's announcement, Lancashire cricket director Paul Allott had said naming this year's abridged red-ball competition after Willis, who died in December aged 70, would be a fitting tribute to the legendary England fast bowler and former captain.

"What a great gesture it would be," he said. "Bob was always championing a truncated county season with a final involved in it as well.

"It might fit both poignantly and be in the right way he would have wanted."

Allott, who made his England Test debut alongside Botham and Willis during the famous 1981 Ashes series, then worked alongside the pair in his later career as a commentator.

"He may have come across as a bit of a curmudgeon on the TV and he cultivated that persona quite beautifully, actually," said Allott. "But there was nobody more delighted if England did well or if players performed well.

"It would be great and wonderful recognition for Bob, who was a champion of the game in every aspect. He was an attempted reformer of the game.

"He was part of the Cricket Reform Group in the early 2000s. I remember he and I sat on the boundary edge in India 40 years ago trying to devise a method and a structure for county cricket to make it more productive both for players and for England.

"That would be streamlining the County Championship and getting one-day cricket in blocks so that you could concentrate on each format. It never quite came to fruition. But for Bob to have a tournament named after him would be very fitting."

Willis took 325 wickets in 90 Tests between 1971 and 1984.

He made 170 first-class appearances in county cricket for Surrey (1969- 1971) and Warwickshire (1972-1984) and took a total of 449 wickets, including 353 for the Bears, who he captained for four years.

Lancashire hope to play at Liverpool

The decision to play both red-ball and white-ball cricket in the two-month window available when the delayed season starts on 1 August was passed on a majority vote by the 18 English first-class counties on Monday.

A five-day final at Lord's may be played at the end of September to decide the winner of the red-ball tournament.

Allott also revealed that, with Old Trafford in use as a bio-secure venue for England's international matches until mid-September, Lancashire intend to play their red-ball games at Aigburth, Liverpool.

"We are hopeful we can set Liverpool up to be our home venue," said Allott.

Liverpool was a successful home venue for three quarters of the 2011 season when, with Old Trafford under reconstruction, Lancashire won their first outright County Championship for 77 years.

Warm-up at Edgbaston

trentbridge.co.uk

Nottinghamshire will face Warwickshire in a two-day friendly at Edgbaston on 24 and 25 July.

The red-ball clash will be the first match for Steven Mullaney's side since training resumed on 1 July.

The encounter will form part of the Green and Golds’ preparations for a return to competitive action in August, with Notts set to compete in four-day and T20 competitions during a truncated season.

Whilst the fixture is currently scheduled to take place behind closed doors, all the action is set to be streamed live online.

Play will begin at 11am on both days.