County Championship 7th (W9, D11, L3)
Captain Arthur Carr
With hindsight, the most notable thing about Notts in 1924 was the first appearance of a young quick bowler from the mining village of Nuncargate…Harold Larwood.
Larwood had played one match in 1923 for the Club and Ground (against Oakham School) and in 1924 played most of the season for the Second Eleven that had just re-joined the Minor Counties Championship.
He made his First-Class debut against Northamptonshire at Trent Bridge in August and had a modest start. Match figures of 1-71 and one catch were not enough to earn him a place in the final three games of the season and ‘Lol’ had to wait a year to really make his mark.
The bowling honours in 1924 were taken b y Len Richmond who again passed 100 wickets for the season, finishing with 113 at 20.52, with seven five-wicket hauls and ten in the match on two occasions. Fred Barratt and Sam Staples, who each passed 80 wickets, were the main support to Richmond.
For the batters, ‘Dodge’ Whysall led the way with 1,852 runs at 47.48 and six centuries – four in consecutive matches. Arthur Carr, with five, George Gunn, John Gunn and Bill Flint, who made his career-best score of 103, were the other century makers. Carr, George Gunn, Wilf Payton and Whysall made more than 1000 runs in the season.
It was a very wet summer – reflected in the high number of drawn games – typified by the first fixture of the season. With Sussex the visitors, there was only sufficient play for one completed innings and one half-completed across the three days.
And even that was better than the game away at Edgbaston when not a ball was bowled.
The visiting South Africans were next at Trent Bridge, with Notts emerging winners by three wickets, Dave Nourse making 147 in a losing cause for the tourists.
Notts then travelled to the Aylestone Road ground and played out another interrupted draw with Leicestershire. Alec Skelding took 8-44 (his best ever figures) as Notts were 174 all out; Leicester replied with 349 (Len Richmond six wickets) and Notts were 109-6 and thus a long way from parity when the match ended.
Arthur Carr made Notts’s first hundred of the season (111) and Richmond took ten wickets as Glamorgan were comfortably beaten by an innings and 57 runs, having followed on after a first innings of just 84.
A low scoring game at Bradford ended with Yorkshire victors by three wickets. Notts made 147 and 92, Rhodes with five wickets, and the home side responded with 161 and 79-7, Sam Staples taking 5-22.
The next four fixtures – Essex at Leyton, Middlesex at Lord’s, Surrey at home and Sussex at Hove were all drawn. Only the Essex game had most of three-day’s play, the others were all rain affected.
A full match was played out against Hampshire, with Whysall’s second innings 150 setting Notts up for a 124-run home win.
Despite being bowled out for under a hundred for the second time in the season – 96 with five wickets for William Wells – Notts managed to overcome Northamptonshire by three wickets, making 211-7 (Whysall 138) in their second innings. Richmond again took ten wickets in the match.
Back home at Trent Bridge, Nottinghamshire beat Kent and then Worcestershire by the same margin – eight wickets.
Kent made a healthy 349, built around Wally Hardinge’s 125, but Whysall, with his third ton in a row at 151, steered Notts to a substantial lead, closing on 469. Kent in reply made just 162 but Notts lost two wickets in pursuit of the 43 runs needed.
The Worcester game was rather different. The visitors batted first and subsided to 66 all out to which Notts replied with 341-4 declared – Whysall making the fourth of his ‘four in a row’ with 131. Batting again, Worcester rallied to 331 but that still left Notts with a straightforward task of making 58 runs.
The away fixture at Old Trafford was drawn with Whysall ‘failing’ by making just 66 in the course of which, he passed 1000 runs for the season.
Essex were entertained at Worksop and that game also ended in a draw. Arthur Carr and Jack Russell for the visitors made centuries.
Lancashire came to Trent Bridge for the return match that was also drawn, though it was a tight finish. Lancs made 267 and 178, Notts replied with 290 and were 141-9 at stumps.
There then came that rare cricket event of a side winning after being made to follow-on. Notts scored 462 with John Gunn and Arthur making a century apiece and putting on 224 for the third wicket. Middlesex were bowled out for 253 and asked to bat again.
In their second innings, the visitors prospered to make 358, John Guise 100 after which Notts could only muster 122, Gubby Allen 6-31 to give Middlesex an unlikely victory by 27 runs.
Rain again intervened in the match v Yorkshire at Trent Bridge with only the first innings of each side completed.
Notts won for the first time in six matches when Leicestershire came to Trent Bridge. Leicester made 121 and 194, Notts replied with 264 and 54-1 for a nine wicket win.
The match at The Oval was drawn – the highlight for Notts being Bill Flint’s maiden First-Class hundred; he was to make a ton (exactly) twice more but his 103 remained a career-best. Two players with many more centuries to their names featured for Surrey – Jack Hobbs made 105 and his opening partner Andy Sandham 169.
Frank Matthews took eight first innings wickets as Notts beat Kent at Canterbury by ten wickets. The home eleven made 67 to which Notts responded with 242, based on Whysall’s 109. Though Kent improved, their second innings of 229 meant that the visitors needed just 55 to win, which they made without loss.
Derbyshire were the next opponents and were defeated by seven wickets at Trent Bridge. Richmond took six wickets in Derby’s first innings and Bill Flint matched him in the second. John and George Gunn passed 24,000 and 23,000 First-Class runs respectively during this match.
Notts journeyed to Dean Park, Bournemouth where Hampshire extracted some retribution for their earlier defeat by beating Notts by three wickets. Nottinghamshire’s first innings 194 was the highest of the four in the match but Hants got home with 161-7. Len Richmond took his 100th wicket of the season during that innings.
Arthur Carr’s 101 was the most notable thing about another abbreviated game at Derby where the home county were only part way through their second innings when time ran out.
It was a similar story when Northants came to Nottingham – the visitors being 121-3 at stumps. This was Larwood’s First-Class debut and only his second game at Trent Bridge (he had played one Minor Counties match in June).
Larwood was not in the next game but was scarcely missed as Barratt and Staples ran through Warwickshire, dismissing the visitors for 130 and 137, the home bowlers each taking seven in match. Notts had posted 323, Whysall 137, to leave them victors by an innings and 56 runs.
For the match at New Road, Worcester, Notts had another debutant – Arthur Staples, brother of Sam. Arthur had a good cricket career, playing more than 350 First-Class games but is still probably bettered remember in his home city as goalkeeper for Notts Couty.
He was another whose debut did not show the promise he was later to fulfil – he made a duck in Notts’ 324 and was not needed to bat again but did take his first wicket – clean bowling Ronald Holyoake. Worcester made 189 and 281, Notts 324 and 139-3 as the match was drawn.
The home said also had a debutant that day – one John Cavendish Lyttleton, listed on the scorecard as ‘Lord Cobham’, who played the first of his three First-Class games. He had been an MP between 1910-1916 and was later to serve in the wartime Government as a junior minister in the War Office. He also had a year as MCC President between 1935-36.
For the final match of the season, Nottinghamshire visited Cardiff for yet another draw. Despite an early second innings declaration by Glamorgan – at a perilous 21-6 – there was not time for Notts for force a win and they were 59-1 at the close.
Nottinghamshire had a third debut in 1924 – the earlier match against South Africa saw the only appearance for Notts by Herbert Turland, who also played on game (in 1921) for Derbyshire.
John Carlin, who had played for Nottinghamshire between 1887-1901, took over a scorer following the retirement of Harry Coxon, after 52 years’ service.
One match was played at Trent Bridge without Nottinghamshire – the Test Trial between England and The Rest. Arthur Carr was the only home representative and skippered The Rest in a match that England won by three wickets. The England top order was very impressive – Hobbs, Sutcliffe, Woolley, Hendren and Fender.
Scorecards and stats can be seen here