TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY’S TWIN TITLES
Time for a Third?
As this season’s title race enters the last dramatic days, it is a good time to reflect on Nottinghamshire’s two most recent Championships, separated as they are by two days (and five years).
Fans will be hoping for a similar outcome in 2025 as there was in 2005 and 2010 with perhaps rather less tension than on the latter.
The title in 2005 came in Stephen Fleming’s first season as captain and marked a topsy-turvy few years, with a Championship win, relegation to Division Two, immediate promotion back to the top flight, and then a second place – all in four seasons!
Victory over Kent at Canterbury clinched the title and Mike Goulder, a loyal Notts member, was one of those to make trip South to watch the denouement.
“The last day (17 September) was a Saturday and the game was heading for a draw. It was an easy paced pitch. At the close on day three, the match situation was Notts 486 all out, Kent 237-5 still in their first innings, trailing Notts by 249 runs.
“Notts captain, Stephen Fleming, held all the aces and negotiated with Kent skipper Dave Fulton. Kent declared overnight and Notts batted for 24 overs facing donkey drops before declaring on 170-3. Fleming knew Kent had to win to have any chance of the championship title so he was prepared to offer them 420 to win in 70 overs.”
Led by AJ Harris in one of his finest bowling performances (6-76), Notts dismissed the home side for just 205 to win by 214 runs.
Mike Goulder commented, “Fittingly the winning catch was by former Kent man Mark Ealham, catching Niall O’Brien in the gully off hero of the day Harris. The celebrating Notts fans got a soaking of champagne from Darren Bicknell!”
Bicknell and his opening partner Jason Gallian each passed 1,000 championship runs for the season during the game and both Greg Smith and Ryan Sidebottom took their 50th First-Class wicket in Kent’s second innings.
Hampshire were challenging for the title and their skipper – the ever-competitive Shane Warne – was less than impressed by the collusion between Fleming and Fulton.
He and his team got a measure of revenge in the last fixture of 2005 – scoring a record 714-5 (John Crawley 311, thus becoming the only player to score 300+ against Notts twice) and thrashing the county champions by an innings and 188 runs.
At Old Trafford five years later, the weather seemed to have put a damper on Notts's aspirations as they, Somerset and Yorkshire vied for the title.
As Mike Goulder recalled: “The weather was horrid in Manchester – a lot of light drizzle. Only 28 overs were possible over the first two days and none at all on the third day. Notts 89-2 after 28 overs the game seemingly going nowhere.
“I returned to Nottingham after day three but with a better forecast on the last day (a Thursday) came back, somewhat I thought foolhardily, on Day 4. Nobody expected Notts to be champions.”
With skippers unable to agree on setting targets, it remained for Nottinghamshire to pursue as many bonus points as possible, in the hopes of matching, or bettering, points gained elsewhere.
After yet another weather delay, Notts batted on – briskly but not rashly – with vital contributions from Adam Voges and Samit Patel until Sidebottom, playing his last game for Notts (he was to rejoin Yorkshire in the close season) and Pattinson saw Notts safely to the last batting point. The final 10 runs scored amid great tension in 5.1 overs. Notts 400-9 declared.
With Yorkshire losing and the Somerset match with Durham looking like a draw, three bowling points would be enough to bring the Championship back to Trent Bridge.
Mike Goulder watched on – “Fifteen overs remained officially but with Lancashire having resorted to spin three extra overs were possible. Sidebottom opened from the Warwick Road but was switched to the Stretford end after one over. Off the 21st ball of the innings, Karl Brown edged to first slip where Hales took a fine catch.
“Andre Adams had replaced Sidebottom and the championship’s leading wicket-taker was in no mood to throw away all the hard work, Chilton edged an unplayable delivery to Read as the tension further increased as a brief shower threatened to halt proceeding.
“The division’s best batsman Shiv Chanderpaul had come down the steps but he lasted only three balls as he edged Adams to third slip where Patel took the catch and at 16:52 Notts were champions of England – equal on points with Somerset but with one more win.”
In his annual report on the season, Mick Newell also looked back on that dramatic day. “I was half watching the game and half watching the television and only when Samit threw the ball away did I realise what had happened. I heard the screams and saw the lads setting off around the field so I ran out through the balcony door and joined in the celebrations.”
With the 2025 season going even deeper into September, it is more than possible that the weather will again influence the dramas as it did fifteen years ago and ten years ago. Notts fans won’t mind that if the outcome is the same!
September 2025