2014 has been a year to remember for everyone at Nottinghamshire CCC. We've had some astonishing Twenty20 matches, some excellent LV= County Championship victories and some scintillating performances in the Royal London One-Day Cup.
It's not all domestic prowess either, with Nottinghamshire representatives excelling for England across the world. Here are just a few of the moments that we'll remember fondly from this year:
Friday 28 February: Michael Lumb scores a century on ODI debut for England against the West Indies.
While many touted that match to see Alex Hales make his ODI debut, an injury instead saw Michael Lumb make his first appearance in England’s 50-over country.
Keen to make the most of his chance, Lumb went on to become only the second ever Englishman to score a century on his ODI debut, playing assuredly in making 106 from 117 balls. Especially strong on the drive and on the off side, Lumb’s exploits propelled England to a total of 254-6, just behind the West Indies’ total.
Thursday 27 March: Alex Hales becomes the first Englishman to score an International T20 century.
While England’s ICC World T20 campaign was ultimately fated to an exit at the group stages, the competition provided a marked high for Nottinghamshire’s Alex Hales against the tournament’s hosts and eventual winners.
After witnessing two wickets fall in the first over from the non-striker’s end, England required their highest-ever run chase to catch Sri Lanka’s 189-4 in Chittagong. At 0-2, they required something truly special and Hales obliged.
After pushing England back into contention with a flurry of boundaries against the Sri Lankan seamers, he allowed Eoin Morgan to continue the good progress. Not that he was a passenger, targeting Ajantha Mendis and taking 24 from a single over.
After pushing England into favourites for the match, he ended the contest with a pair of huge sixes off Nuwan Kulasekara, before landing Angelo Mathews in the stands to seal a huge victory for his country.
Tuesday 15 July: Harry Gurney takes four before beating Lancashire with the bat.
Through June and July, Nottinghamshire enjoyed a stunning run of results in all formats. They arrived at Aigburth CC, Lancashire’s picturesque Merseyside outground, in excellent form.
Andre Adams dominated in the first innings on a lively wicket, before Glen Chapple’s riposte proved his pedigree with the ball.
At the start of day three the match was finely poised, the hosts 55-2, leading by 19 runs. Luke Fletcher, Andre Adams and Peter Siddle impressed through that second innings, the latter on his final appearance for Nottinghamshire before returning to Australia, but it was Gurney’s four which ripped through the Lancashire middle-order and took the fight out of the hosts.
In removing Usman Khawaja, Ashwell Prince, Stephen Croft and Tom Smith, Gurney’s efforts left Notts requiring 170 in the match’s final innings.
Notts lost wickets regularly, only for Luke Fletcher and Chris Read to forge an attritional, effective eighth-wicket partnership worth 44 to take the Outlaws to within seven runs of victory. When Andre Adams was caught on the boundary for six, Notts had one wicket left, requiring one run.
Gurney was on strike, facing Chapple, who had already accounted for Alex Hales, Samit Patel and Peter Siddle in that innings. Normally very much a number 11, Gurney showed excellent technique in driving Chapple down the ground to take Notts over the line, sparking jubilant scenes on the balcony, and this smile on Chris Read’s face.
Summer 2014: Luke Fletcher dismantles Yorkshire and Leicestershire in the NatWest T20 Blast.
After beginning the tournament out of the side, Fletcher was called up to the Outlaws team after injuries to Jake Ball & Andy Carter left a space begging.
All of a sudden, it became apparent that Fletcher offered something different. His unerring abilities to bowl Yorkers at the death established him as a powerful weapon in the Outlaws’ arsenal, as typified by their victories over Yorkshire Vikings and Leicestershire Foxes at Trent Bridge.
With the visiting Vikings eyeing victory in the eye of Sky TV after restricting the Outlaws to 143-9, they were pegged back almost immediately when Fletcher had Aaron Finch, the destructive Australian opener, caught nicely by Harry Gurney.
He conceded just 21 runs from his four overs, taking the sting out of Yorkshire’s late resistance by claiming Adil Rashid and Oliver Robinson’s wickets on the way.
The fan favourite impressed further still against Leicestershire, again at Trent Bridge.
This time the much favoured Josh Cobb and Greg Smith – now Fletcher’s team mate – fell under the spell of the Bulwell Bomber, and when he ended the Foxes innings by seeing off Atif Sheikh, he had finished imperiously with figures of 3-11, and had drawn the plaudits from across the cricketing world.
Tuesday June 17: Riki Wessels flays Middlesex as Notts chase mammoth total.
In an excellent season which saw him named Nottinghamshire’s Player of the Year, Riki Wessels came into his own once more. In June, he provided an exhibition of powerful hitting when Nottinghamshire hosted Middlesex in the LV= County Championship instead.
Set a target of 385 to win, after conceding 500 in the first innings, Nottinghamshire’s top order showed their enviable pedigree. Alex Hales and Phil Jaques shared a partnership of 156. Michael Lumb and James Taylor weighed in with 68 and 56* respectively, but it was Wessels who stole the show, blitzing a 48-ball 76 to seal victory.
That he guided Notts home was noteworthy in itself, but Wessels’ fluency and ability to clear the ropes was astonishing. His innings boasted five fours and five sixes, and the ease with which he landed balls high over midwicket into the Fox Road stand which provided the icing on the cake.
Tuesday 16 September: Jake Libby scores a century on his debut for Nottinghamshire.
In June, Jake Libby wasn’t a name at all familiar with Nottinghamshire fans.
Brought to Trent Bridge from Cardiff MCCU by Academy Director Chris Tolley to work with the Academy and Second XI through the second half of the season, he announced himself with a bang.
Opening the batting for the seconds against Warwickshire at Edgbaston, Libby scored an astonishing unbeaten double century and was instrumental in taking the side on to beat their hosts.
He continued to impress through the latter stages, before being rewarded with a professional contract with the county and his debut against Sussex. Faced with Steve Magoffin, Lewis Hatchett and Chris Jordan, the young debutant showed excellent technique and temperament in making a century and earning huge plaudits in the process.
Sunday 7 December: James Taylor’s 90 re-establishes his place in England’s future.
James Taylor has spent two years in the international wilderness. Desperate to prove himself on the international stage, he had been forced to truly prove himself with Nottinghamshire in a hope of pushing his way into the selectors’ thoughts.
A stunning season in 50-over cricket, capped with a series of impressive innings on television saw his name become more prominent, and he was named in England’s squad for their ODI tour of Sri Lanka in November.
He was still made to wait though, before finally being given an opportunity in the fourth ODI. He impressed too, scoring 90 in a top order struggling for runs, pacing his innings nicely to keep England ticking on. His redemption came in defeat though, as the hosts took a 3-1 lead in the series.
