Any overseas professional making their first start in county cricket would be extra keen to make an early impression – and Fergus O’Neill did exactly that on day one of the 2025 campaign when he took two wickets in his opening spell and finished the innings with his first ‘five-fer’ in English cricket.
Having only stepped off a flight from Melbourne earlier this week to begin his four-game stint, O’Neill displayed no signs of jet-lag as he vindicated skipper Hameed’s decision to bowl first early on against Durham at Trent Bridge.
Ben McKinney was the 24-year-old’s maiden scalp for Notts, caught behind by Joe Clarke for five, before O’Neill repeated the trick in his next over to see off Emilio Gay for a duck.
Fergus O’Neill had arrived at Trent Bridge with a burgeoning reputation, having been chosen as Player of the Tournament in Australia’s Sheffield Sheild competition.
Although born in Tauranga, New Zealand, (on 27 March 2001) O’Neill is very much a product of cricket in his home state of Victoria.
Aside from his brief stint with Nottinghamshire, all his senior cricket has been played for Melbourne or Victoria teams, with three matches for Australia A his only national representation to date.
He finished that first game against Durham with eight wickets in the match and a splendid catch in the field, making a major contribution to an eight-wicket win that set up Notts’s challenge for the Division One title.
In his four games for Nottinghamshire, he had a top score of 50 – his only half-century – and took 21 wickets at 17.90, with best figures of 5-19, both those season best returns coming against Warwickshire at Edgbaston.
O’Neill returned to Australia with his reputation further enhanced and with Notts fans and members hoping to see more of him in future seasons. In the close season, it was announced that he would be returning to Trent Bridge for the 2026 summer.
September 2025
Nottinghamshire First-Class Number: 679
Fergus O'Neill's career stats (to date) can be seen here