County Championship     15th (W3, D19, L6)

Captain    William Sime

This was the most unsuccessful season since 1895, when the club was bracketed last but one in the championship table. Only three matches were won and only two counties were below us. The lack of bowling is not sufficient excuse to account for this state of affairs, but the bowling certainly needs strengthening. We have enough; however, to enable the team to occupy a far higher position provided it is backed up by resolute fielding and a capacity to hold catches. The batting strength was again evident, but at times uncertain. R. T. Simpson scored over 2,000 runs and had a very fine season; out best wishes are with him in Australia. J. Hardstaff again had a successful season. The evergreen Charlie Harris and Winrow did well. Walter Keeton, owing to ill-health, failed to attain the great success of late years. Of the younger batsmen Martin showed promise, but Poole from who so much was expected went back. A satisfactory feature was the fine form shown by Harold Butler. Although now in the veteran stage he is by general consensus of opinion the best bowler with the new ball in the country. He took 95 wickets with an average of 22.53. Of the rest of the bowling there is little that can be said, but we feel that Harvey is capable of doing much better and Stocks will also improve. Meads again kept wicket with consistent skill. 
W. A. Sime captained the side with an enthusiasm and ability which deserved success. He has been unfortunate in assuming the responsibility of captaincy in a lean period of our history. One cannot win matches without bowlers, but he employed our resources to the best advantage. Better fielding would have resulted in more wins and in that respect Mr. Sime set a fine example. R. T. Simpson and C. J. Poole were also brilliant. Mr. Sime now feels that owing to the demand of his profession he must relinquish the captaincy. He undertook the task at the request of the Committee at a difficult time. He has occupied the position for four years at considerable personal sacrifice and the Committee wish to place on record their thanks for the services which he has rendered to the club.
R. T. Simpson has been invited to captain the XI during the coming season.
The Committee have explored the possibilities of strengthening the team from outside the county. With the friendly assistance of Yorkshire they have engaged K. Smales, a useful all-round cricketer. This is subject to the M.C.C. granting a special registration. The Committee do not favour the policy of seeking cricketers outside our county on a large scale. They regard this engagement as a temporary expedient to assist us in our present difficulty. 
We sadly record the deaths during the year of S. J. Staples, one of the best spin bowlers if his time; we could do with his like today. Also of Ben Lilley who was a fine wicket-keeper and a useful bat and frequently captained the side in the absence of the regular captain. He was man of sterling character and his influence was always for good. 
The first Test Match against South Africa takes place at Trent Bridged on 7, 8, 9, 11 and 12 June.
The 2nd XI again played in the Minor Counties Championship and was captained by Bill Voce, the club coach. They played ten matches of which one was won, two lost, five drawn and two abandoned. A notable achievement was the defeat of Lancashire 2nd XI at Trent Bridge. Oscroft, Stinchcombe, Kelly and Rowe are young players of distinct possibilities and should develop under the guidance of their coach. Rowe who kept wicket against West Indies conceded only one bye out of an innings of 500 runs. A. K. Armitage, H. R. Cox, J. Bates, B. Notley, G. Richardson, J. H. Newsome, J. S. Hodgkins and D. Hammond all appeared for the 2nd XI on occasions and the Committee wish to thank them for their services.
Courses for coaches are being continued at Trent Bridge. Increasing numbers of young cricketers have received coaching and inter county junior matches were played last year against Yorkshire, Leicestershire and Derbyshire and will be continued in the coming season. Our scheme of coaching has received special recognition in the M.C.C. Cricket Enquiry Report.
As you will see from the Balance Sheet we finished the year with a credit balance of £182 8s. 5. This, in view of the fact that we received £4,423 as our share of the Test Match gates and £602 entrance fees (last year nil), also £732 B.B.C. Fees against £5 5s. last year, may seem disappointing. But we have had to spend no less than £7,567 in repairs and improvements to the ground, all of which were absolutely necessary. This large sum is due to an accumulation of repairs during the war. There is also a sad falling of £1,100 in county match receipts. We have had to transfer £4,400 from our reserve, leaving us with £500 in had for repairs. There is still a certain amount of work to be done at Trent Bridge but the expense will be substantially less than last years. Owing to the fact that we have a Test Match at Trent Bridge this year we may hope that subscriptions will keep up to the level of last year and we must also hope for an improvement in our match receipts. 
Harold Butler’s benefit realised £2,670 11s. 11d. net which is most disappointing, the only bright spot being the Sunday match receipts. In connection with this we should like to mention in particular the generous work done by Mr. Hedley C. Wright. At Sutton-in-Ashfield £250 18s. 9d. was realised largely to his efforts. We should like to express our thanks to those other local clubs who have so generously support the Benefit by arranging matches. 
The Committee has been urged to forbid the county players to take part in Sunday benefit matches. As such a consider part of the benefit money is a result of local matches the Committee do not feel that they can adopt this course. Local matches are played in a light hearted spirit and do not involve much strain. In order to reduce this to a minimum not more than six of the first team at a time are permitted to take part. 
Arthur Jepson takes his benefit in 1951 and it is hoped that the public will recognise the fine work which this great hearted cricketer has accomplished. 

 

This was the most unsuccessful season since 1895, when the club was bracketed last but one in the championship table; only three matches were won and just two counties were below Nottinghamshire.

As the season closed, William Sime announced that, owing to the demands of his profession, he would relinquish the captaincy. The Committee accepted his resignation and invited Reg Simpson to be captain for the coming season.

Capt Sime undertook the captaincy at the request of the Committee at a difficult time and occupied the position for four years at considerable personal sacrifice. The Committee placed on record their thanks for the services he rendered to the club.

The Committee explored the possibilities of strengthening the team from outside the county, something they had been traditionally reluctant to do.  With the 'friendly assistance' of Yorkshire engaged Ken Smales, who proved to be a more than useful all-round cricketer. The Annual Report included the comment: "...Committee do not favour the policy of seeking cricketers outside our county on a large scale. They regard this engagement as a temporary expedient to assist us in our present difficulty."

There was little sign of the 'present difficulty' in the opening day as Reg Simpson made 230 out of a first innings of 352.  The game petered out to a draw, as did so many in a damp summer, with Glamorgan reaching only 149-5.

After that away start, the next three matches were home games and all were drawn. Against Sussex, the batters were on top - Simpson (153) and Harry Winrow (188) for Notts were matched by Don Smith (206) and John Langridge (103) for the visitors.

There were more centuries in the fixture with Leicestershire as Joe Hardstaff and Freddie Stocks made tons for Notts and Maurice Tompkin added one for Leicester.  Hardstaff made a further 119 against Northamptonshire but the match ran out of time.

Surrey, who were to share the title with Lancashire, were next to visit Trent Bridge and returned South with a nine-wicket win in a game of moderate scores.

Notts were made to follow on at Bristol - Tom Graveney and Jack Crapp contributing 197 and 134 respectively to Gloucestershire's first innings of 518-8 declared - and held on for the draw. The feature of the draw away to Essex at Ilford was a career-best 163 from 'Chick' Cray for the home side; Joe Hardstaff scored his fourth century of the season, making 145.

It was Charlie Harris's turn to record a career best in the next match - he made 239no against Hampshire, who replied with three separate centurions, Neil McCorkell, Neville Rogers, and Johnny Arnold, to ensure yet another draw. The return fixture with Sussex was also a draw as only three of the four innings could be made.

The next match was the visit to Trent Bridge of the West Indies touring side.  The visitors, who had lost the First Test a week earlier, gave notice of their strengths with a comprehensive victory by an innings and 61 runs, built largely around 279 by Everton Weekes.  They were back in Nottingham the following month, having recorded their first historic Test win on English soil at Lord's (made famous in song); on that occasion it had been their spinners that won the match but at Trent Bridge it was again the batting of the 'three Ws' that won the day.

Frank Worrell made 261 - still the highest Test score by a visiting batter at Trent Bridge - and Weekes 129 to give the West Indies another handsome victory by ten wickets.

The season's familar pattern resumed back in the Championship - another draw, at home to Middlesex, and another Joe Hardstaff hundred. This knock, 149, took him past 28,000 First-Class runs.

Only two innings were possible in the draw against Yorkshire at Headingley. Reg Simpson got his second double hundred of the summer against Worcestershire; he made 243no and shared a sixth wicket partnership of 270 with Arthur Jepson whose 130 was his only First-Class hundred.  Jepson had a moderate year by his highest standards with the ball, 46 wickets at 26.56 but will surely have relished this performance with the bat.

His bowling partner Harold Butler took 95 wickets at 22.73 with ten five-wicket hauls and the only 'ten-fer' for Notts in the season.  Butler was the beneficiary in 1950 and his benefit recived a boost with the appearance - appropriate in this year when the West Indies were touring - of the legend that was (Sir) Learie Constantine for match at Bulwell CC. Sir Learie returned for a similar fixture in 1951 when Jepson was the beneficiary.

Curiously, the subject of benefit matches came up in the 1950 Committee Report:  "The Committee has been urged to forbid the county players to take part in Sunday benefit matches. As such a considerable part of the benefit money is a result of local matches, the Committee do not feel that they can adopt this course.

"Local matches are played in a light hearted spirit and do not involve much strain. In order to reduce this to a minimum not more than six of the first team at a time are permitted to take part."

Finally, fourteen games into the season, Notts gained their first win - a one wicket victory over Derbyshire at Ilkeston made possible by a sporting declaration from home skipper Pat Vaulkhard.  Vaulkard, who had one season with Notts before WWII, declared their second innings at 94-0, setting Notts 243 to win, which they made with one wicket, and precious little time, to spare.

Alan Richardson's career best figures of 4-24 were the highlight of a draw against Northamptonshire but Notts subsided to their heaviest defeat of the season in the next game, at home to Yorkshire.

Len Hutton and Vic Wilson made centuries for the Tykes and Eddie Leadbetter had match figures of 11-162 with his leg breaks and googlies. The visitors won by an innings and 124 runs.

Notts enforced the follow on at home to Kent, dismissing them for 215 in reply to a first innings of 407, based on centuries from Winrow and Harris.  Kent's two keepers - Les Ames with 114 and Godfrey Evans 98no (Evans kept in this match) - saw the visiting side safely to another draw.

A truncated match at Grace Road finished with Notts and Leicestershire settling for a draw, with the home side claiming the first innings points, 346 v 330.

Lancashire won a low scoring game at Aigburth by 175 runs and the immediate return fixture by nine wickets. Charlie Grove, Warwickshire's medium pacer, was the stand out performer in the drawn game at Trent Bridge, taking seven first innings wickets for 79 runs. 

The next two matches were each lost by nine wickets - to Surrey and to Somerset. Surrey's spin twins of Lock and Laker took 14 wickets between them at The Oval and Laurie Fishlock made 147 for the home side.  Bertie Buse was the bowler to do the damage for Somerset, taking 6-88 and 3-45 to support Mickey Walford's 114.

Nottinghamshire's disapppointing season took something of an uplift at this point (entering August) as they went undefeated in their final six matches, with two wins and four more draws.

The home draw with Derbyshire marked the final First-Class appearance of George Vernon Gunn, the last of the 'Trent Bridge Battery' of cricketing Gunns.  It was unfortunate that he ended his career with a duck, bowled by Dusty Rhodes, but he finished with more than 11,000 runs for the county (11 centuries) and just over 300 wickets.

At Coventry, Notts recorded comfortably their best win of the season, beating Warwickshire by 178 runs, despite making only 118 (Eric Hollies 7-40) in their first innings. Harold Butler, with twelve wickets in the match, took the honours for Nottinghamshire.

Hampshire had to follow on in the game at Dean Park, Bournemouth, but Notts were unable to chase down the required runs and had to settle for the draw.

Freddie Stocks, with 6-37, was the most notable performer in a draw with Somerset but it was the more usual bowling leads - Butler (6-90) and Jepson (6-32) - that won the match against Kent at the Crabbe Ground, Dover. Kent were dismissed for 81 in their second innings, leaving Notts with a 55 run victory.

The final game of the seaosn ended, as did so many, in another draw.  Essex were the visitors but the loss of the whole of day two to rain meant the inevitable conclusion.

 

January 2026

Scorecards and stats can be seen here

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We sadly record the deaths during the year of S. J. Staples, one of the best spin bowlers if his time; we could do with his like today. Also of Ben Lilley who was a fine wicket-keeper and a useful bat and frequently captained the side in the absence of the regular captain. He was man of sterling character and his influence was always for good.