Warwickshire Rothesay County Championship Div 1 Win 22 pts Report

 

26/09

CHAMPIONSHIP SEALED WITH A WIN

Notts completed their championship winning season with a comprehensive 10 wicket victory over visitors Warwickshire at Trent Bridge this afternoon.

The Bears commenced on a cool and very cloudy day on 7-3. With the floodlights on throughout, the day had a very autumnal feel. Abbas and Hutton shared the bowling first thing and Young and Hain made a circumspect start. In the 6^th over, Hain on drove Hutton for 4. With the score on 20-3, Pennington replaced Hutton for the 12th over – Hain finding the mid-wicket boundary in his opening over. In the 15th over, Young (9) was caught at square leg by James off Abbas, 29 for 4. Any hope of an early victory was crushed as Notts’ nemesis Sam Hain with Malik as his partner added an unbroken stand of 50 in the remaining 17 overs before lunch. The scoring though was pedestrian  apart from the 20^th over bowled by Pennington which went for 17 - including a boundary for Hain and three consecutive fours for Malik (including one edged through slip). Hutton replaced the magnificent Abbas (10 4 12  3) from the Pavilion End for the 21st over. James replaced Pennington for the 24th over. Warwickshire 79 for 4 off 32 overs with Hain on 40 and Malik on 20 at lunch.

Pennington and James were bowling straight after lunch with Hain and Malik taking the fifth wicket partnership to 62. There was still life in the pitch as top scorer Hain (42) discovered as he edged a moving delivery from James to Verreynne; 91 for 5 in the 36th over. Malik and Barnard were just surviving as the run scoring ground to a virtual halt. Pennington then took three wickets in five balls in the 43rd over. First, Malik (32) was lbw (103 for 6) Two balls later,. A lifting delivery from Pennington shot up and found Barnard's (9) glove, Verreynne taking another catch (104 for 7). Another two deliveries later Booth played on via his pad, the ball slowly trickling onto his stumps (104 for 8). Abbas replaced James for the 46th over with the Bears taking the lead. But he bowled a sole over from the Radcliffe Road End before being replaced by Hutton and with his sixth delivery he had Ali (12) lbw (121 for 9) after 48 overs. Mousley (7*) and last Gilchrist survived six overs with Abbas changing ends. Gilchrist (10) then shouldered arms to a delivery from Hutton that moved back in alarmingly and was bowled. Warwickshire 133 all out off 54 overs. Another magical bowling performance by Notts seam quartet - Abbas (3-18), Hutton (3-30), Pennington (3-52) and James (1-27). With Patterson-White never utilised Notts lost one point for a slow over rate for the second game in succession.

Tea was taken between the innings and the light deteriorated during the 20 minute interval. However with Notts needing 18 to win and perhaps more importantly Slater needing 15 for his thousand – the show had to go on! Slater, unusually took first ball and hit Booth (Radcliffe Road End) for consecutive fours off the fifth and sixth balls of the opening over. Hameed took a single off Gilchrist. Slater  then hit Gilchrist for four through backward point. Two balls later, Slater took a single and Hameed played back the final two balls of the over. One run came from over number 3 bowled by Booth. A single off the first ball of over number four saw Slater run another single and as a result reached the four figure milestone. Two balls later at 15:29, Hameed cover drove Gilchrist to the ropes. Notts 20-0 off 3.4 overs with Slater on 15 and Hameed on 5. Notts had won for the seventh time this season and the third match on the bounce. Whatever happened to those Mick Newell Septembers?

A large crowd gathered in the Hound Road Stand to see the players receive their medals and Hameed receive the Championship trophy. It was then time to celebrate!

See you all next season. MAG

25/09

Day 2

JOB DONE

Notts cement the two required, plus another bonus bonus point to win the County Championship for the first time in fifteen years

At 16:54 today a huge six towards mid-wicket from Kyle Verreynne off Nathan Gilchrist clinched the 2025 Rothesay County Championship title for Notts. It was their seventh title in modern times following triumphs in 1907, 1929, 1981, 1987, 2005 and 2010 and the first obtained on home turf in 44 years. On a magnificent day for the Green and Gold they closed Day 2 with a lead of 109 runs with Warwickshire having seven second innings wickets still standing.

Bamber (Pavilion End) and Gilchrist opened the bowling in the early morning sunshine. Hameed and Slater made a slow start standing at 22 for 0 off 10 overs when Barnard replaced Bamber from the Pavilion End. Booth replaced Gilchrist for the following over. The 50 partnership came up in the 19th over. Slater (22) flashed at a delivery from Booth and was caught behind, 56 for 1 in the 20th over. Slater’s 2025 first-class aggregate currently stands at 985. Bamber returned for the 21st over and with his fifth delivery of his new spell removed McCann's (1) off stump, 57 for 2. Gilchrist returned for the 24th over. In the 27^th over, Hameed was dropped on 45 by Yates at second slip off Bamber. Hameed got to his 50 off 98 balls. Leg-spinner Tazeem Ali came on for the 31st over. Rob Yates came on for the last over before lunch, a single for Hameed taking Notts to three figures. Notts 100 for 2 off 34 overs with Hameed on 54 and Clarke on 17. Notts a third of their way to the magic target of 300 and the second batting point which would clinch the championship. It had been a difficult morning for Notts, the ball nibbling around with the Warwickshire bowlers putting the ball in the right areas.

Booth and Barnard bowled after lunch and batting became much easier with Hameed and Clarke taking their third wicket stand to 122 in 32 overs. Ali returned for the 44^th over and conceded 11 in the 50^th over with Clarke reaching his 50 off 78 balls with a single off Ali. Clarke (52 off 85 balls, 6x4) lost his concentration and was caught behind by Davies off Bamber; 179 for 3 in the 53rd over. Haynes departed for a two ball duck also caught behind by Davies off Bamber; 179 for 4. Verreynne made a very nervous and slow start. Hameed got to his 100 off 181 balls in the 55^th over with a desperate dive  towards the non-strikers stumps. He had played a ball from Bamber to Ali at mid-wicket who through the ball towards the stumps but luckily he missed with the skipper short of his ground. Meanwhile, Verreynne was slow taking off and could have been run out himself. Notts reached 200 in the 64th over with a single by Hameed off Booth. Hameed hit Yates for six over long on in the 66th over. Three balls later he was dropped on 121 by Hain at slip off the off-spinner. Next over, a tired Hameed (122 off 211 balls, 17x4, 1x6) was bowled middle stump by Gilchrist. Tea was immediately taken. Notts 218 for 5 off 66.3 overs with Verreynne on 13. Hameed had played a true captain’s innings and he has led from the front all season having scored 1,253 runs @65.94 including four tons in 14 championship appearances.

The post-tea session was memorable and remarkable 163 runs scored, 8 wickets taken in 34.1 overs and a championship gained!

It started relatively slowly Verreynne and James adding 30 in 8.2 overs. Barnard got a delivery to jump up and James edged him into Davies' gloves, 248 for 6 in the 75th over. A single for Verreynne off Yates took Notts to 250 in the 76th over. In the 78th over, Verreynne, now finding his mojo, levelled the scores hitting Yates for six over square leg. A single for Verreynne next ball put Notts in the lead. With Notts 268 for 6 off 80 overs Bamber and Gilchrist took the new ball. Verreynne and Patterson-White attacked it with relish adding 99 in 14.5 overs against it.

A single came off the 81^st over bowled by Bamber. Gilchrist went for 17 in the next over, Patterson-White hitting three successive boundaries. The next ball Patterson-White ran a single. A dot ball followed. Verreynne hit the last ball for an offside boundary. Bamber went for a single in the 83^rd over. Gilchrist then went for 15 in the 84^th over. Patterson-White on drove him for four. Then Verreynne hit him for four through the covers to reach his 50 off 95 balls. At 16:54 a massive six over  mid-wicket by Verreynne off Gilchrist took Notts passed 300 and confirmed them as 2025 County Champions. Notts 302 for 6 off 84 overs. The game was temporarily stopped as the 2,000 strong crowd and the players celebrated.

Next over, Patterson-White got successive boundaries off Bamber (3-59); nine off the over. Patterson-White was in imperious form suggesting once more that he is much better bat than a county number eight. Booth returned for the 86th over, Patterson-White hitting him for successive boundaries. Verreynne then hit him for six over square leg, 16 off the over. Patterson-White reached his 50 off 52 balls with a four off Booth in the 90th over. In the 92nd over, Patterson-White hit Ali for six over mid-wicket to bring up the Notts 350; 13 off the over. Verreynne hit Ali for six over mid-wicket in the 94th over. 

In the 95th over, Verreynne (83 off 119 balls, 9x4, 4x6) trying to not play the ball got a thin edge and was caught behind by Davies off Barnard, 367 for 7. The 7^th wicket had raised 119 in 20 overs. Two balls later, Patterson-White (70 off 75 balls, 11x1, 1x6) lost his off stump to the returning Gilchrist;  367 for 8. Hutton departed for a four ball duck bowled by Barnard (3-61), 367 for 9 in the 97th over. Abbas (5) was the last man out becoming Davies sixth catch of the innings off Gilchrist (3-79). Notts, who had lost 4 wickets for seven runs in 17 balls, 374 all out off 97.3 overs (Pennington 2 not out). They led by 116 runs.

Warwickshire had four overs to bat but the wickets continued to fall. With the blue skies overhead and the floodlights on we had entered the Twilight Zone. Off the second delivery of the innings a well-pitched up delivery from Abbas saw Yates lbw, 0 for 1. In the third over, Davies (2) became Abbas second lbw victim; 7 for 2. At 18:27, nightwatchman Bamber fell to the first delivery of the 4th over, which turned out to be the last ball of the day. He edged “The Lege” with McCann at second slip who pouched the his 21^st catch of the season and Hutton had grabbed wicket number 36. Warwickshire 7-3 off 3.1 overs Young 0 not out.

A truly memorable day at Trent Bridge that no one who witnessed it will never forget. MAG

24/09

Day 1

NOTTS EDGE CLOSER TO CHAMPIONSHIP

Just two more points needed after end of day Bears collapse.

Notts had a successful opening day in their potential championship winning fixture against Warwickshire. After winning the toss and inserted the Bears they bowled them out for 258 on a rain affected day.

 

With Tongue being pulled out of the fixture by the ECB, Abbas returned to the Eleven. On a wicket on the Fox Road side of the square, Abbas (Pavilion End) conceded a single in the first over. Hutton removed Davies (0) lbw with his fourth delivery, 1 for 1 in the 2nd over. Hutton and Abbas were both unlucky with the new ball beating Yates and Young regularly and finding the edge with the ball eluding the slip cordon. The ball was nipping around under the cloud cover, although the wicket itself was slow, Verreynne already standing up to Hutton. With the score 29 for 1 off 14 overs, James and Pennington replaced Abbas and Hutton. Rain stopped play at 11:38 with Warwickshire 39 for 1 off 16 overs with Yates on 18 and Young on 21.

 

Play recommenced at 11:56. Both batsmen looked settled against James and Pennington. Just before lunch Patterson-White came on for the 25th over. Warwickshire 70 for 1 off 25 overs at the first interval with Yates on 31 and Young on 37. 

 

Rain arrived again at lunchtime and play did not resume until 14:01 with 10 overs lost. Despite the cloud cover not being as heavy now, Notts tore into The Bears with Pennington and Abbas bowling initially after lunch. In the 29th over, Yates (32) was caught at second slip by McCann diving to his right off Abbas, 72 for 2. Young on 35 had a lucky escape against Pennington when he just managed to kick a delivery away from hitting the stumps. Hutton replaced Pennington for the 36th over. In the 38th over, Young (48) edged Hutton (Radcliffe Road) straight to McCann at second slip, 94 for 3. Next over, James came on from the Pavilion End. In the 48th over, Notts nemesis Hain (21) was caught by Verreynne diving to his right off Pennington, 127 for 4. Next over, Malik (20) edged a moving delivery from James and Verreynne took a regulation catch, 127 for 5. Batting then started to get easier against the aging ball and Notts were held up by a sixth wicket partnership of 117 in 30 overs between Barnard and Mousley. Warwickshire got to tea taken at 16:00 on 138 for 5 off 52 overs with Barnard on 8 and Mousley on 1.

 

The last session was a long one lasting two hours and 20 minutes with Abbas and Pennington bowling straight after the interval. Scoring was initially slow, Warwickshire standing at 148-5 after 59 overs. The skies were now blue and the sun was shining and the scoring rate started to increase. Pennington conceded eight in the 60th over and James in his opening over of a new spell went for nine. Hutton, so impressive earlier, returned for Pennington. Left-hander Mousley in particular was putting bat to ball hitting James for two fours in the 65th over which went for 10. McCann came on for the 67th over for a two over spell which cost eight runs. Mousley found the boundary ropes twice in the 70th over bowled by Hutton.

 

Patterson-White had his second over of the day in the 71st over. Next over James returned, Mousley hit him for six over long off, nine off the over. The 100 partnership came up in the 74th over. Although the sky was virtually cloudless the sun was setting below the top of the Fridge, the floodlights were now taking over but surprisingly Gough and Saggers never consulted, the show carried on.

 

Notts were desperate for a wicket, Barnard (48) was caught and bowled on Patterson-White, gently popping the ball back to the bowler. The batsman surprisingly reluctant to leave the action, the umpires got together and raised their finger. Warwickshire 243 for 6 in the 79th over. The start of a collapse where five wickets fell for 14 runs in 43 balls. 

 

The new ball was taken with Warwickshire 250 for 6 off 80 overs and the impressive and metronomic Abbas picked up wickets with successive deliveries. With his second delivery with the new cherry he had Booth (1) lbw. Bamber was out for a golden duck having his off stump removed by the Pakistani international. Ali (5) lost his off stump playing down the wrong line to Hutton; 257 for 9 in the 84th over. Fourteen balls later and with the time now standing at 18:40, the outstanding Hutton (20.4-3-46-4) removed top scorer Mousley (74 off 96 balls, 7x4, 1x6)  who holed out to the wide long-on ropes where Pennington took the catch low down. Warwickshire 258 all out off 85.4 overs (Gilchrist 0*) with Abbas equally outstanding with bowling analyses of 20-7-33-3. With only 2 balls left of the days ration, there was no time for Notts to bat. Within 20 minutes darkness had well and truly descended.

 

Very much Notts’ day with Surrey failing to pick up a batting point in Southampton. The weather men are predicting a sunny day today. [Thursday]Two batting points will give Notts the championship….. MAG

SURREY WATCH

Surrey drop 5 batting bonus points but bag one bowling point as Hampshire end Day 1 7 runs ahead with 7 wickets in hand.

23/09

Just the 15 names

Haseeb Hameed

Ben Slater

Freddie McCann

Joe Clarke

Jack Haynes

Kyle Verreynne

Lyndon James

Liam Patterson-White

Calvin Harrison

Brett Hutton

Olly Stone

Farhan Ahmed

Dillon Pennington

Mohammad Abbas

Matt Montgomery

Championship Finale

More from NCCC

Presentations

We'll be conducting two on-field presentations during the course of this fixture:

• At the start of the Tea interval on day two (Thursday 25 September), we'll be saying farewell to Chief Executive Lisa Pursehouse, who steps down after 13 years in the role, and 25 years at Trent Bridge, at the end of the season.
• At the start of the Lunch interval on day three (Friday 26 September), we'll be saying thank you to Alex Hales for his achievements in a Nottinghamshire shirt across 18 consecutive summers with the county.

Heritage Showcase

In the Library there is a unique collection of every cricket-themed postage stamp from around the world issued between 1962 and 2009. You will be surprised by how many countries are included in this fascinating collection – including nations not usually associated with cricket, and two whose stamps feature Mickey Mouse as a cricketer!

In ‘The Clubhouse’ there is a range of displays and various ways you can get involved:

• Sponsor a Scorebook: Some of the Club’s scorebooks have become well worn (and sometimes damaged) over the years, and we have had one re-covered as an example of how these unique record books can be conserved.  The ‘before and after’ covers of the 1935 scorebook will be on display, and we are now inviting supporters to sponsor the restoration of other books, largely from the 1920s.
• Preserving paper: Skilled volunteers from The Arts Society will explain how they clean and care for some of the more delicate (and sometimes dirty) books, letters and other paper items in our collection.
• Identify a tie: Many cricket ties have been donated to the NCCC heritage collection over the past ten years or more – but we can’t identify the Clubs or matches for which many of these ties were produced. Can you help?
• Fascinating photos: We also have a number of historic photographs that have no captions which would tell us ‘who, where or when’. Maybe you can help with some information or ideas?
• Decipher a word or two: The handwriting on some of the historic letters and other documents in the Club’s archives is often hard to read – and if you can decipher any of ‘the missing words’ we’d be most grateful.

22/09

Everyone connected to Notts will be thinking, "this championship is in the bag", but never audibly articulating so for fear of....

... what?

It's not in the bag?

So what can stop us?

1. Warwickshire, who rarely are a push over for Notts over the years. Remember 2021, when Notts were the best performing county but still managed to lose to Warwickshire (twice?) and lost out the Championship because of the way the ECB had structured the scoring of the hopefully never to be repeated conference malarkey.
2. The weather, wiping out a Notts game whilst in a distant Southampton, Surrey mop-up with maximum points - I think not if the Met Office are anywhere close to getting the forecast correct thankfully
3. Player complacency. They [players] are professionals, they are managed by experienced professionals that have seen it all before. So that should not happen. Notts have to remain on top of their game.
4. A points deduction because of a below the required standard pitch. The word from the stands is that everyone wants a strip of tarmac to kill any chance of a result stone dead. The ECB would need to have a complete reversal of policy for that to occur in that case. Again we have an experienced professional guiding preparation of the wicket and I don't foresee a repeat of 1981 where Ron Allsopp prepared a selection of pitches for Clive Rice to chose from. In anycase, we're told that there aren't any spare blades of grass left at Trent Bridge and that the groundstaff are all running on fumes as it is, without any extra preparations.

Before a single ball is bowled on Wednesday, Notts lead Surrey by 14 points, so 10 more points would mean that not even a 24 point maximum haul by Surrey would be enough to top Notts, as Notts will have more wins over the season.

Olly Stone has been prepped to replace Josh Tongue, who is believed to be rested by ECB England [but we can hope].

Mohammad Abbas, if recovered from his back spasm issue, would be in contention to return, but at the expense of who?

Might Farhan return, as there would be a lot of potential overs to bowl if there is a road to navigate towards those 10 points?

The Notts player with the most dismissals this season, Calvin Harrison [4 for Notts, 36 for Northants], you'd expect to return to the squad for this final game if sobered-up, but he'd be 1 of 16, or more names in that squad.

As Jim below mentions:

Ticket information

2025 Nottinghamshire members need only brandish their membership card on arrival to gain entry to this fixture.

Tickets for non-members are priced as follows:

• Adults: £15
• Senior citizens (65+) and under 21s: £10
• Under 16s: £5

Secure your tickets here...

Tickets can also be purchased from the Ticket Office windows on Bridgford Road.

Members can also claim a free ticket for each day's play, for a friend or family member to join them at the fixture. Tickets can be claimed online here...

Seating is unreserved, meaning spectators are welcome to sit anywhere in the ground, with the exception of the exclusive members-only seating in front of the Hound Road Stand.

 

Teatime reductions

If you can’t get here for the start of play, you can pop in after the tea interval to watch the final session at the reduced price of £7 for adults, seniors and under 21s, and £1 for juniors (under 16s).