County Championship 17th (W1, D16, L11)
Captain Reg Simpson
In reviewing this season, one can do no more than quote the opening sentences of the Committee Report: "The season of 1951 was the most disastrous in the history of the club when only one match was won and the club occupied last place in the championship for the first time.
"Even with Butler and Jepson fit the bowling is inadequate. We have no fears for the future in respect of batting. Four of the team scored over 1,000 runs and the veteran Keeton only failed to make a fifth by a very narrow margin."
"The standard of bowling in the county is so low that it has become necessary to seek players from outside, resulting in the he engagement of Tom Birtle, Jack Gregory, Gamini Goonesena and Bruce Dooland."
Neither Goonasena, who would become the first non-white cricketer to play for the Notts first team, nor Australian spinner Dooland, then playing in the Lancashire League, were available until the season of 1953. Birtle, a fast medium from Durham was specially registered to be available from 1952 but he played only seven First-Class matches. Gregory, from Cheshire, played half a dozen games for Notts Seconds but never made a First XI appearance.
Unusually, this review of the matches for 1951 will start in July - for the only win of the summer. Hampshire were the visitors and took a healthy first innings lead, making 300, Neil McCorkell and Neville Rogers both making hundreds in an opening stand of 193 in reply to Nottinghamshire's 279. Batting again, Notts made 309-7 dec, setting Hampshire 289 to win. Peter Harvey, 5-68 lead the bowling effort and Notts won by 80 runs. Charlie Harris, whose career with Notts had started back in 1928, played the last of his 362 First-Class matches in this game and retired with 18,823 runs at 35.05 and a career best of 239no; he also took 196 wickets at 42.82 with best figures of 8.80.
Ken Smales, signed at the end of the previous season as Notts eased their policy of only picking locally-born players, made his debut in the opening game against Kent at Gillingham, a match in which the great England and Kent keeper Les Ames made his final Championship appearance. The game was a rain-affected draw.
In a season of starts and finished, Harry Winrow made his last appearance for Notts in the home defeat versus Surrey. He played 113 First-Class games for Notts, finishing with 4,769 runs at 29.80 and a top score of 204, and 95 wickets at 42.20, best figures 6-65. In the match, Freddie Stocks's 104 could not prevent a comfortable ten-wicket win for the visitors.
That Hampshire provided the least dangerous opposition was underlined by their narrow, 16 run, victory at Dean Park with Vic Cannings taking ten wickets in the match. Rain again shortened the match with Somerset after Cyril Poole and Joe Hardstaff had each made centuries in Notts's first innings.
At home to Essex, the weather rescued Notts as they were skittled for just 93, Ray Smith 6-39, and Esex had reached 243-6 when the weather intervened. The next two drawn games were not Championship matches.
The South African tourists visited Trent Bridge and 151 from Joe Hardstaff was the highlight of the match. Against Oxford University at The Parks, heavy scoring was the feature. The students batted first and made 428, Alan Dowding 105, and Notts replied with 578-7, Reg Simpson 201 and Ron Giles 137.
Back on the Champioship trail, the home game with Leicestershire was yet another weather affected draw, in which Freddie Stocks's 106 and Les Berry's 131 for the visitors were the highlights. In a low scoring game - neither side bettered 185 - Sussex won at Horsham by five wickets.
Away again at Edgbaston, Notts lost to Warwickshire by 83 runs and then went to Grace Road, Leicester where the spoils were shared. Peter Harvey made his highest innings, 150, and passed 200 First-Class wickets when he had Vic Jackson caught by Stocks.
Two declarations set up a finish at Trent Bridge against Warwickshire; Reg Simpson made 148no before declaring Notts first innings at 239-5 and visiting skipper Tom Dollery responded with 172-3 declared; Notts were never quite up with the chase of 320 and Ray Weeks's 7-70 gave the visitors a 95-run win.
A century apiece from Cyril Poole and Tom Graveney could not help to find a result as the weather yet again brought play to a premature end at Trent Bridge. With the first innings not completed, the rules of the competition mneant that neither Notts nor Gloucestershire were awarded any points.
A certain Fred Trueman was the principal factor in Yorkshire winning by an innings and 33 at Bramhall Lane, Fred taking 8-68 in Notts second innings.
Notts then drew home and away against Northamptonshire. The home game saw four centuries, Jock Livingston and Freddie Jakeman for the visitors more than matched by Hardstaff (247) and Stocks (151); at Northampton, Dennis Brookes for the home side was the only century maker.
In between those two matches, Notts entertained Glamorgan for another draw. Although the home side had to follow on, they avoided defeat comfortably with Cyril Poole making 135, in the course of which he passed 1,000 runs for the season and 3,000 career runs.
After the win over Hampshire, four heavy defeats followed. John Clay made his first century, 112, in the first innings versus Somerset but Notts subsided to 180 all out in the second innings to lose by 51 runs. It was that man Trueman again, with eight wickets in an innings for the second time in the season (8-53), ably backed up by Eddie Leadbetter who took 7-131 as Yorkshire eased home by nine wickets.
Worcestershire won by the same margin at Worcester, with Reg Perks 7-111 in the first innings being the crucial factor. The heaviest defeat of the season - an innings and 114 runs - was inflicted by Derbyshire at Ilkeston. Guy Willatt, who had played 22 First-Class games for Notts before leaving to join Derbyshire, scored 111 and Alan Revill made 123; Notts failed in both innings, being bowled out for 158 and 155.
A run of six consecutive draws followed. Arthur Fagg, 221, and Walter Keeton (142) and Reg Simpson (164) were the successful batters in the draw with Kent, which was followed by another interrupted game at The Oval. Similarly, the home game with Sussex ended with only two of the four innings possible.
And for the third game in a row, weather meant a draw with Derbyshire at Trent Bridge. George Heane, one of three past players to return to first team action as Notts sought a competitive line up (the others were Harry Cox and Bryan Farr) played his final game for the county.
A further draw against Lanceshire and another versus Essex at Clacton followed. In the Essex game, Simpson made another double hundred, 212, and Stocks exactly 100 as Notts posted 576-9 dec but centuries from Paul Gibb and Dick Horsfall enabled the home side to match that with 593-7.
In the penultimate game of the season, Notts returned to their losing ways, going down by 45 runs to Middlesex at Lord's; not for the first time, Dennis Compton made the most telling contribution - but on this occasion with the ball. His slow left-arm spin accounting for 4-95 as Notts fell short of their target.
Lancashire were the visitors for the final game of the 1951 season and Winston Place - who had a remarkable record of centuries against Notts (seven in all) - scored 163 and Alan Wharton 102 as Lancs made 377-6 dec. Notts had limped to 21-2 when rain brought a merciful end to such a disappointing season.
January 2026
Scorecards and stats can be seen here