Whilst cricket supporters the world over waited for their sport to return from its slumbers earlier this year, there was no better time to wallow in the wealth of history the game has to offer.
With nigh-on 200 years of records, achievements and oddities to pick through, the Trent Bridge heritage team have had plenty to occupy their time throughout the first half of 2020.
The result is a revamped history section at trentbridge.co.uk/history – including tales of no fewer than 678 men who have represented Nottinghamshire over the years.
And alongside title-winners, record-breakers and international stars are a host of characters with rather unusual backstories.
John Collis Snaith
An eccentric, reclusive man, Snaith found his greatest success as a writer and novelist – producing in excess of 40 books throughout his life.
His career gave him licence to appear for the Artists, in a bowling attack which included PG Wodehouse and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle – an arsenal short on First-Class wickets but long on literary flair.
Gordon Beves
The extravagantly-moustachioed Beves was Brighton-born, at a time when players from outside the county required a residential qualification to play for the club.
With this secured thanks to work as a soilitor on Wheeler Gate, Beves played in three First-Class fixtures for Notts before emigrating to South Africa and ascending to the role of Chairman of the South African Cricket Association.
Beves was also a notable rugby player, referee and a World War I Brigadier-General with an unfavourable record in battle.
Gordon Beves
Sandford Robinson
With a name reminiscent of a Cotswolds market town, Sandford Robinson made a limited impact for Nottinghamshire, but his family’s impact is still felt around Arnold and Daybrook.
His father John, founder of the Home Brewery, has a road named in his honour near the beermaker’s historic premises, whilst a stained glass window at St Mary’s Church in Arnold provides an enduring tribute after Sandford’s untimely passing at the age of 30.
Hon Mervyn Herbert
A mere glance at Herbert’s career statistics (112 runs at 14.00 from six fixtures) suggests his time in the First-Class game warrants no further consideration.
As a son of the Earl of Caernarvon, however, the batsman moved in rarified circles.
Born in the castle which would host 'Downton Abbey' in the ITV series, Herbert was educated at Eton and Oxford, and enjoyed a diplomatic career which took him to the historic capitals of Rome, Lisbon, Cairo and Madrid.
Mat Wright
Wright’s sole First-Class appearance failed to yield a wicket, but he gave two decades’ sterling service to Buckinghamshire in the Minor Counties Championship.
His was a life full of intrigue from beginning to end - he made a notable impression on Prime Minister-to-be Lord Home whilst an Eton schoolboy, and was in his 70s by the time his first child was born.