Nottinghamshire return to red ball action this week when they host Yorkshire in the LV= County Championship match which begins on Tuesday 9th September. As with all domestic matches beginning this month, the match will commence at 10.30am each day.
The contest is sure to attract the attention of most cricket followers as it brings together the top two sides in the First Division table.
With only one more match each to play Yorkshire have a 26-point advantage over Notts, with third placed Warwickshire a further 7 points behind.
Victory this week would ensure that Yorkshire become County Champions for the first time since 2001.
Nottinghamshire will need to shrug of the disappointment of their one-day cup semi final loss at Durham and defeat their guests if they are to keep their own title hopes alive.
Head To Head
Nottinghamshire have hosted their northern neighbours on 126 occasions over the 151 years that they have been competing together. Between 1960 and 1991 thirteen of the meetings were played at the Town Ground in Worksop. Otherwise Trent Bridge has been the regular venue, where 22 home victories have been registered, 34 victories have gone to the away side and the remaining 57 clashes were drawn.
Notts’ last three wins in the fixture came in 1993, 1995 and 2008. Yorkshire’s most recent successes were in 1999,2010 and last year, with the last three draws being 2006, 2009 and 2011.
First / Last Meeting
The maiden first class match on Nottinghamshire soil took place 150 years ago, in July 1863.
Having been made to follow-on, Notts turned the tables by bowling Yorkshire out for 94 in the final innings of the match, to claim victory by 6 runs.
Last year’s home County Championship match began on 21st August 2013 and was convincingly won by Yorkshire inside 3 days.
They made 407 runs batting first, with Adam Lyth scoring 95. Luke Fletcher returned figures of 5-93 for the hosts.
Notts were bundled out for just 150 in 35.4 overs and made to follow-on after Steven Patterson took 5-43.
Chris Read scored 58 as the home county made 266 second time around but it left Yorkshire needing only 12 runs to complete a 10-wicket victory.
History
History has brought up a number of remarkable feats in meetings between the two counties. Back in 1901 Nottinghamshire were dismissed for their lowest ever first class score here, as Yorkshire’s Wilfred Rhodes (6-4) and Schofield Haigh (4-8) whipped out their hosts for just 13.
A notable feat belongs to Nottinghamshire’s George Gunn, who scored a century in each innings in the 1913 encounter here – but even that outstanding contribution pales into insignificance compared to Franklyn Stephenson’s ‘career game’ in 1988.
Before him, only another Nottinghamshire player, Richard Hadlee in 1984, had achieved the modern ‘double’ of 1000 runs and 100 wickets in a first class season since the number of games was reduced in 1969.
‘Franky’ went into the final game of his debut season at home to Yorkshire still well short on the number of runs. He reached his landmark by making scores of 111 and 117 and celebrated by taking eleven wickets in the match also. Staggeringly, Notts somehow contrived to lose the contest.
James Shaw has the best figures by a Notts bowler at Trent Bridge against Yorkshire, taking 8-32 in 1865.
No Nottinghamshire bowler has ever taken a hat-trick against Yorkshire yet the feat has been done seven times by Tykes’ bowlers.
Only one of those achievements was recorded at Trent Bridge, by Fred Trueman in 1951. On the opening day of a championship match he helped reduce the home side to 18 for six, by claiming the wickets of Reg Simpson, Alan Armitage and Peter Harvey in successive deliveries on his way to an analysis of 8-53 as the tail wagged to reach 122. Len Hutton scored 194 for the visitors in their nine-wicket success.
Hedley Verity’s 10-10 at Headingley in 1932 is the best figures by anyone against Notts. It surpassed Wilfred Rhodes’ 8-38 in 1899, the previous best by a Yorkshire bowler in Nottingham.
In 1990 Tim Robinson scored an unbeaten 220, the highest by a home batsman v Yorkshire.
Percy Holmes holds the record for Yorkshire’s highest score at Trent Bridge, 285 in 1929. Jonathan Bairstow’s 205, made here three years ago, is the only other double-hundred scored on the ground by a member of the White Rose.
Played for them both
Four members of Nottinghamshire’s 2014 squad represented Yorkshire earlier in their careers.
Phil Jaques, who played in 11 County Championship matches for Notts earlier this season, enjoyed a lengthy relationship with the Headingley-based county, representing them 53 times in first class cricket.
Michael Lumb began his career with Yorkshire, following in the footsteps of his father, former opening batsman Richard Lumb. The left-hander also played for Hampshire before moving to Trent Bridge for the start of the 2012 season.
Ajmal Shahzad became an England international in all three formats during his time with his home county. He then spent much of the 2012 campaign on loan with Lancashire before joining Notts.
Twenty years ago Gary Keedy made his first class debut for Yorkshire at Hove, against Sussex. The match, in September 1994, was rain-affected and the young left-arm spinner didn’t get the opportunity to bowl a single ball in his only appearance for the White Rose county. He did manage to score one run in his only innings though!
Gary made his Nottinghamshire debut in last week’s defeat at Durham, claiming 4 wickets in the second innings and made scores of 0* and 15*.
Stats (for all first class matches between Notts & Yorkshire)
Highest Team Total
Notts: 545-7dec (Headingley 2010)
Yorkshire: 572-8dec (Scarborough 2013)
Highest Individual Score
Notts: 251* DJ Hussey (Headingley 2010)
Yorkshire: 285 P Holmes (TB 1929)
Best Bowling
Notts: 8-32 JC Shaw (TB 1865)
Yorkshire: 10-10 H Verity (Headingley 1932)
2014 Stats
Chris Read with 51 (50 caught one stumped) has taken more dismissals than any other ‘keeper in Division One, one head of Tim Ambrose of Warwickshire, who has played a game fewer.
Adam Lyth of Yorkshire, with 30, has taken more catches than any other fielder in Divison One. Notts’ Riki Wessels is joint-third, alongside Will Porterfield, on 18.
Wessels, with 22, has hit more sixes in the whole County Championship than any other player.
Jack Brooks of Yorkshire has more wickets, 58, than any other Division One bowler.
Adam Lyth 1306 and Riki Wessels 1114 have scored the most runs in the top flight. Chris Rogers, Ashwell Prince and Samit Patel are the only other players to pass 1,000.
Did You Know?
Former Yorkshire fast bowler Fred Trueman is the only man to take three first class hat-tricks against Nottinghamshire. The England international achieved the feat at Trent Bridge in 1951, at Scarborough in 1955 and at Bradford in 1963.
Milestones:
Batsmen approaching milestones are:
Alex Hales - 926 first class runs this season
Riki Wessels has scored 7451 first class runs, Ajmal Shahzad has scored 1940.
Bowling:
Luke Fletcher has taken 194 first class wickets and Harry Gurney has taken 142.
Samit Patel has taken 194 first class wickets for Notts (out of an overall total of 207)
Appearances:
This match will be Riki Wessels’ 50th in first class cricket for Notts.
Innings:
Michael Lumb has played 299 innings in his 178 first class matches. Michael has scored 7 centuries for Notts, having made 8 with Yorkshire (and 4 with Hants).
Catches:
Samit Patel has taken 96 first class catches.
Tickets
For all details relating to ground admission and other matchday information please refer to the official club website www.trentbridge.co.uk
Coverage
The match will be screened each day on Sky Sports 2.
BBC Radio Nottingham will be providing on-line commentary, access via the BBC Sport website. There will also be regular reports on the radio each day.