Akand Gangotra and Josh Beer have been added to Nottinghamshire Academy to make a nine-strong cohort at the pinnacle of the talent pathway.
Each member of the group - which includes England U19's Farhan Ahmed - collected Second XI caps in 2023 and are looking to follow in the footsteps of Freddie McCann who signed his first professional deal over the winter.
“Everyone in this group has worked incredibly hard and shown immense dedication to their own development,” said Nottinghamshire’s Elite Pathway Manager, Matt Wood.
“We’ve got a real mixture of experience amongst the group, ranging from ages 15 to 18, and I’m really looking forward to working alongside them this year.
"All our Academy players deserve their place through performances and ability, and we aim to give them exposure to the professional game at the right time to support their individual development. We give them time to fulfil their potential at this level whilst giving them a taste of Second XI cricket when appropriate, which will hopefully help them flourish.
“We pride ourselves on developing local talent and finding the best our county has to offer. The numbers show that we perform favourably in this department compared to the average First Class County and we aspire to continue doing so for the years to come.
“We were very pleased to see Freddie McCann earn a contract last year due to his performances in both age group and Second XI cricket,” Wood added, “He - and the likes of Fateh Singh, Sammy King and Ben Martindalde recently - have shown what is possible through the pathway and we’re hopeful that more Academy lads will be knocking on the door for professional deals over the next few seasons.”
Find out more about the Class of 2024 below.
Travis Holland
Age: 18
Team role: Batting all-rounder
Bats: Right-hand
Bowls: Right-arm seam
Academy year: 4
Club side: West Bridgfordians CC
An imposing opener with an aggressive style of play, Travis Holland capped off his summer of 2023 by donning the Three Lions on three occasions for England U19s, falling one run shy of an impressive hundred against the Australia in an invitational fixture, before featuring in two of a three-match YODI series against Ireland, scoring 78 runs across both innings.
Holland excelled for the U18s in 2023, smashing a 43-ball hundred in the second U18 County T20 Cup fixture against Leicestershire before capping off the season with a magnificent quick-fire 119 against Lancashire to rescue a draw.
Farhan Ahmed
Age: 15
Team role: Bowler
Bats: Right-hand
Bowls: Right-arm off-break
Academy year: 3
Club side: Cavaliers and Carrington CC
Off-spinner Farhan Ahmed made his Second XI debut last year - aged 14 - and earned his first England U19 call-up in 2023 to face Australia in a seven-match multi-format series, his best spell being in the first Test where he took 2/104 in a lengthy 25-over spell. He then also featured against Ireland in a YODI, taking 2/48.
The 15-year-old made featured in the ICC U19 World Cup in South Africa in January, following in the footsteps of brother Rehan, who competed in the same competition two years ago and went on to be England's youngest Men's Test player.
Sam Seecharan
Age: 17
Team role: Batting all-rounder
Bats: Right-hand
Bowls: Right-arm seam
Academy year: 4
Club side: Sevenoaks Vine CC
Seecharan - the joint-most experienced player of the Academy cohort alongside Travis Holland - is an all-rounder who plays with pace, and particularly shone with the bat over the summer of 2023. A red-ball century versus Durham in the Second Eleven Championship was a particular highlight of his Second XI summer, whilst his best performance of the year was an unbeaten 200 against Derbyshire in the Under-18s County Championship.
Tom Giles
Age: 17
Team role: Bowler
Bats: Right-hand
Bowls: Right-arm seam
Academy year: 3
Club side: Scunthorpe Town CC
On his third year on the Academy scene, some of Tom Giles’ best work of 2023 came in the Second XI T20 competition, taking a mean 3/17 against Durham to help the Outlaws to a 100-run win.
Lincolnshire-born Giles, who came through the ranks at Scunthorpe Town, earned a call-up to play in the invitational white-ball fixture versus Australia and took a three-wicket haul despite eventual defeat, before also playing his part in the Young Lions’ 131-run series-clinching win over Ireland in a YODI.
Toby Lambert
Age: 15
Team role: Wicketkeeper-batter
Bats: Right-hand
Academy year: 2
Club side: Farnsfield CC
The multi-faceted wicket keeper made his entrance to the Academy last year, taking a catch on his Second XI debut against Parsee Gymkhana Mumbai at Lady Bay, whilst also representing the Midlands in a regional festival at Bunbury. Lambert came agonisingly close to a memorable century over Derbyshire in a 50-over match, but finished undefeated on a 99.
Josh Beer
Age: 15
Team role: Batting all-rounder
Bats: Right-hand
Bowls: Right-arm leg-spin
Academy year: 1
Club side: Plumtree CC
The newest recruit of the Academy group, alongside bowler Akand Gangotra, Josh Beer cemented his place in the cohort having scored 1,000 runs in age group cricket for Nottinghamshire in 2023. Beer even had the chance to taste Second Eleven Championship cricket, coming on as a substitute batter in a red-ball fixture against Worcestershire. Attending the Bunbury regional festival with the age group above his own, Beer was the leading run scorer for the Midlands in an impressive tournament.
Saif Ali
Age: 17
Team role: Bowler
Bats: Right-hand
Bowls: Right-arm seam
Academy year: 2
Club side: Cavaliers and Carrington CC
The young seamer claimed 37 wickets in age group cricket in 2023, a four-fer against a Lincolnshire development XI for the Under 18s being a particular highlight of the year. Ali also made his Second XI debut, taking a wicket in each innings of a friendly match against the South Asian Cricket Academy.
Byron Hatton-Lowe
Age: 17
Team role: Bowling all-rounder
Bats: Right-hand
Bowls: Right-arm seam
Academy year: 2
Club side: Papplewick & Linby CC
Hatton-Lowe enjoyed a stellar 2023 with both ball and bat, taking 34 wickets and tallying five fifties in age-group matches for Notts. His best spell with the ball that year came in the U16 County Cup, taking a brutal 3/13 in a two-wicket victory against Northamptonshire. The all-rounder was regularly involved in the Second Eleven Championship last summer, but saw his best Second XI figures in the friendly victory over the South Asian Cricket Academy, in which he took 3/50 in the first innings.
Akand Gangotra
Age: 16
Team role: Bowler
Bats: Right-hand
Bowls: Right-arm seam
Academy year: 1
Club side: Clifton CC
Gangotra is the newest member of the Academy alongside Josh Beer having enjoyed a 40-wicket season for Nottinghamshire’s various age group sides - the leading age-group wicket-taker for 2023. The seamer made his second team bow towards the close of the 2023 campaign, bowling four overs in the Second Eleven Championship draw with Northamptonshire.