Bears vs: Notts in Midlands top of the table clash over Easter weekend

Bears are looking to capitalise on their momentum as thye welcome follow table toppers and East Midlands club Nottinghamshire to Edgbaston over the Easter weekend.

joshstacey

2025-04-17T08:40:09.000Z

Bears are looking to capitalise on their momentum as they welcome fellow table toppers and East Midlands club Nottinghamshire to Edgbaston over the Easter weekend.

Notts come into the game off the back of a comprehensive victory over Durham in the first round, followed by a sound performance over regular title contenders Essex to secure a comfortable draw.

These results have left them joint top of the table alongside newly promoted Sussex and the Bears.

On Monday, Jack Haynes scored his first century since joining Notts from Worcestershire in 2024 and is their leading run scorer with 195 runs in three innings.

Overseas, Fergus O’Neill is the Division’s leading wicket taker with 11 wickets in his 2 outings, including best bowling of 5/81.

O’Neill is backed up by the return to action of England Test bowler Josh Tongue, who is playing professional domestic cricket for the first time since 2023, and marked his comeback with 7 wickets against Durham, including his 10th First-Class 5fer (5/66).

2024

Notts had a difficult time in the top division last year and found themselves in a relegation battle right up until the last game of the season, where they drew against Warwickshire with both sides securing safety.

They managed victories over Kent and Lancashire on the way to safety, the two sides to be relegated.

Their batting was led by captain Haseeb Hameed, who scored 1,091 runs in the Championship, the 3rd time he has achieved this in his career.

He was ably supported by opening partner Ben Slater (949 runs) and Joe Clarke (917).

On the bowling front, Dillon Pennington impressed during his first season at Notts with 31 wickets at 23.80.

Yet, he was slightly overshadowed by the late emergence of the young and impressive Farhan Ahmed (17), who took 22 wickets in six innings at 23.22 a piece, including an incredible 7/140 on debut to spin out future champions, Surrey.

Bears vs: Notts in Midlands top of the table clash over Easter weekend - Image 2

Signings

Fergus O’Neill has made a splash since touching down on English shores.

The 6-foot-4 Australian looks well suited to English conditions and is following on from a strong Sheffield Shield, where he finished the 2nd top wicket taker in the Division with 40 wickets at 21.07, the second year in a row he’s taken 40 wickets.

Kyle Verreyne has also returned to the East Midlands after a successful period with Notts last season, where has scored 248 runs in four innings, including three not-outs, which gave him an average of 248.

The South African international has hit the ground running on his return, posting a century against Essex in round two. Coming in at 78-4, Verreyne repelled one of the most highly rated attacks in England, scoring 128* to anchor the Notts first innings and ultimately set up the draw.

On the domestic front, they have bought in Conor McKerr from Surrey. McKerr has been consistently loaned out by Surrey over the last four years and was released in the off-season before being signed by Notts on a three-year deal.

Luke Fletcher and Alex Hales have both been released, whilst Fateh Singh and Jacob Duffy have moved across the Midlands to Worcestershire, and Dane Paterson has dropped a Division to play for Middlesex.