Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club played their cricket in 2005 in Division One of both the County Championship and the totesport League. They started the season at 7–1 to win the title, and with a new captain, New Zealand's Stephen Fleming.
The first first-class game of the season was against Loughborough UCCE, a draw which merely provided batting practice to Notts. The first Sunday League game was a disappointing rain-affected loss against Middlesex. They then drew against the same team in the County Championship, before scoring their first win over four days against Sussex County Cricket Club. They then lost by the narrowest of margins on the Sunday to Lancashire, and then by just 4 runs to Glamorgan the next day.
On 4 May Nottinghamshire eased past Wales Minor Counties into the Second Round of the C&G Trophy. They then routed Surrey by an innings in their home ground The Oval before failing to chase a low target in the Sunday League against Worcestershire. On 18 May they lost to Sussex in the Second Round of the C&G Trophy, before losing to Kent and beating Gloucestershire in the Championship.
However, Nottinghamshire weren't to take part in that fight. They lost to Durham, Leicestershire and Derbyshire in quick succession, and not even a win over Yorkshire helped as they finished with six losses and two wins, and finished bottom of the North Division. That poor form did not carry through into the Championship, however, as Nottinghamshire quietly sneaked into second place with a win over Glamorgan, and they also recorded a rare one-day victory thanks to a century from captain Stephen Fleming against Hampshire. They enjoyed two further games without a loss, beating Warwickshire by ten wickets in the Championship, and playing a no-result with Northamptonshire in the National League.
In the last week of July, Nottinghamshire drew a match against Surrey, failing to push home the advantage after gaining a 90-run lead on first innings. August began with a week off, but on the 9th of that month, they bowled Gloucestershire out for 87 to take an eight-wicket win in the National League. A rain-ravaged Championship match at Trent Bridge with Middlesex ended in a draw, but their title hopes were dented after only scoring seven points after being bowled out for 181 in the first innings. However, an innings victory over Warwickshire gave them a temporary lead in Division One. Rain cancelled the match at Chelmsford against Essex, as Nottinghamshire suffered their third no-result of the season. Six days later, they lost to Northamptonshire, cementing their last place in the National League. In the County Championship, however, fortunes were reversed, as they beat Glamorgan comfortably to go top of the Championship yet again. They extended their lead with a two-day victory over Gloucestershire, and also beat Gloucestershire in the National League, in a low-scoring match where 233 runs were scored in total, for the loss of 19 wickets.
The return of captain Stephen Fleming following international commitments boosted Nottinghamshire, as they beat Worcestershire by five wickets in the National League to give themselves more hope of avoiding relegation in that competition. Then, Nottinghamshire secured the County Championship title with a 204-run win over Kent. However, Hampshire criticised the Kent captain for "ridiculous" tactics , which robbed his team of any chance of the Championship title, and Hampshire got their revenge as Nottinghamshire lost by an innings and 188 runs at the Rose Bowl. Nottinghamshire eventually finished 2.5 points ahead of Hampshire in the final table, but got revenge in the National League, recording a 37-run victory that sent Hampshire down into Division Two.
Players David Hussey David Alleyne Darren Bicknell Gareth Clough Mark Ealham Mark Footitt Paul Franks Jason Gallian Andrew Harris Richard Hodgkinson Paul McMahon Samit Patel Chris Read Ryan Sidebottom Anurag Singh Greg Smith Will Smith Graeme Swann Russell Warren Jason Gallian Tables
Championship
+ 2005 County Championship – Division One Pos Team Pld W D L Pen BP Pts 1 Nottinghamshire 16 9 4 3 0 94 236 2 Hampshire 16 9 4 3 0.5 92 233.5 3 Sussex 16 7 6 3 0 102 224 4 Warwickshire 16 8 3 5 0.5 86 209.5 5 Kent 16 6 7 3 8.5 99 202.5 6 Middlesex 16 4 7 5 0.5 98 181.5 7 Surrey 16 4 9 3 8.5 97 180.5 8 Gloucestershire 16 1 5 10 2 72 104 9 Glamorgan 16 1 1 14 0 71 88.5
totesport League
+ 2005 totesport League – Division One Pos Team Pld W L NR Pts 1 Essex Eagles 16 13 1 2 56 2 Middlesex Crusaders 16 10 5 1 42 3 Northamptonshire Steelbacks 16 7 7 2 32 4 Glamorgan Dragons 16 6 6 4 32 5 Nottinghamshire Outlaws 16 6 7 3 30 6 Lancashire Lightning 16 6 9 1 26 7 Gloucestershire Gladiators 16 6 9 1 26 8 Worcestershire Royals 16 5 10 1 22 9 Hampshire Hawks 16 5 10 1 22
Match details
Nottinghamshire v Loughborough UCCE (13–15 April)
Match drawn
At Trent Bridge Loughborough UCCE won the toss and elected to bat. This allowed Nottinghamshire's Greg Smith to show off his left arm fast-medium bowling that Loughborough's inexperienced students could not cope with. Smith took 5 for 19 as Loughborough UCCE made only 164 to be bowled out before tea. After tea, Darren Bicknell and Jason Gallian scored at a steady 3 runs an over to leave Notts 67 without loss at close on the first day.
The Nottinghamshire innings continued and took up all the second day, and the batsmen got useful match practice before their Championship season started. The highlight was Anurag Singh's 131 from 176 balls with 23 fours and a six. Three other batsmen made half-centuries, including Darren Bicknell, whose 91 took up five minutes short of five hours. The pick of the bowling came from Loughborough UCCE's left-arm spinner David Wainwright. Nottinghamshire were 467 for 8 at close on the second day.
Nottinghamshire continued their innings on the third and final day, allowing Graeme Swann to make his half-century, finishing with 63 off 59 balls. They were finally all out for 532 off 130 overs. Wainwright finished on 4 for 109. This did not leave enough time for Loughborough UCCE to be dismissed a second time. They only needed to survive 47 overs. That seemed in doubt when they tumbled to 38 for 3, before the ship was steadied, and they scored 185 for 4 to claim the draw. Wicket-keeper Paul Harrison scored 54. (Cricinfo scorecard)
Nottinghamshire v Middlesex (17 April)
Middlesex (4pts) beat Nottinghamshire (0pts) by 35 runs (D/L method)
At Trent Bridge, Chad Keegan took career best figures of 6 for 33 as Nottinghamshire Outlaws were bowled out for 173. By the time Keegan had finished they were 75 for 6, but the tail wagged. Middlesex Crusaders scored 91 for 0 off 21.3 overs, thanks to a half-century from Paul Weekes, when rain brought an end to the match. Middlesex were comfortable winners on the Duckworth-Lewis method. (BBC scorecard)
Middlesex v Nottinghamshire (20–23 April)
Middlesex (9pts) drew with Nottinghamshire (12pts)
The first day at Lord's saw Nottinghamshire, who were put in to bat, progress to 399 for 6, thanks to 117 not out from Australian David Hussey. Alan Richardson starred for Middlesex, taking 5 wickets on his county debut.
Nottinghamshire batted on to 546 all out on the second day, despite losing Hussey for just one more added run. Paul Franks scored a century, and Richardson increased his tally to 7 for 113. In response to this, Middlesex fared poorly, whilst fast-medium bowler Greg Smith removed the top order. The home side finished on 167 for 6, but were rescued on the third day when Irishman Ed Joyce took his score up to 192. Middlesex finished on 345, 201 behind. Stephen Fleming chose not to enforce the follow-on, and amassed a lead of 413 when they declared on 212 for 5. Maybe the Notts bowlers were tired, but it seemed like negative play with rain predicted for the fourth day.
And the rain did come, with only 57 overs possible. Middlesex had progressed to 158 for 2 before play was abandoned, which suggested Notts might have struggled to win anyway. (Cricinfo scorecard)
Nottinghamshire v Sussex (27–30 April)
Nottinghamshire (22pts) beat Sussex (6pts) by ten wickets
Only 36.3 overs were possible on the first day at Trent Bridge. Sussex batted first and, despite losing 2 early wickets, were 116 for 2 at close, with Michael Yardy (38) and Murray Goodwin (33) the not out batsmen. Yardy went on to make a half-century, as did wicket-keeper Matt Prior and Robin Martin-Jenkins, but no-one went further than 66 on the second day, as Sussex were dismissed for 379. Nottinghamshire progressed slowly, and were 32 for no loss off 15 overs at close.
The third day was all Nottinghamshire's. Jason Gallian made his highest score for the county, 199, while Stephen Fleming, who took over as captain from Gallian this season, made 111. Both were run out by precise throws from Ian Ward and Mushtaq Ahmed respectively. David Hussey (89) and Chris Read (45 not out) gave good support as Notts reached 488 for 6 at close.
On the fourth day, Nottinghamshire declared after 5.5 overs on 509 for 8, a lead of 130. If they were to win, they'd have to dismiss Sussex quickly. This they did. Ryan Sidebottom took 4 for 15 as Sussex were dismissed for 159, despite a two-hour 49 from Martin-Jenkins. Darren Bicknell and Jason Gallian only needed 5.5 overs to knock off the 30 runs needed to win. (Cricinfo scorecard)
Lancashire v Nottinghamshire (1 May)
Lancashire (4pts) beat Nottinghamshire (0pts) by 1 run (D/L method)
Lancashire Lightning held on to win by 1 run after Nottinghamshire Outlaws needed 7 to win off the last over. Earlier new Englishman Stuart Law made 52 as the Lightning got to 178 for 8 off their 43 overs. England fans would have been pleased to see James Anderson take 3 for 18 from his 8 overs in reply as the Outlaws went to 170 for 6 with 12 balls to go, needing 9 to win. But Sajid Mahmood (who only conceded 2 from the penultimate over) and Dominic Cork saw Lancashire win a nailbiter. (BBC scorecard)
Nottinghamshire v Glamorgan (2 May)
Glamorgan (4pts) beat Nottinghamshire (0pts) by 4 runs (D/L method)
Glamorgan finally managed to record a win at Trent Bridge after two "no results". In an innings that turned out to be restricted to 38 overs, they scored 204 for 4, which by the Duckworth-Lewis method was converted into a target of 222 for the Nottinghamshire Outlaws. In reply the Outlaws were 52 for 4 before rearguard actions by David Hussey (68) and Chris Read (47) lifted them to a challenge. Despite two sixes from Samit Patel in his 40, Nottinghamshire fell 4 runs short of par to end on 217 for 8. (BBC scorecard)
Wales Minor Counties v Nottinghamshire (4 May)
Nottinghamshire beat Wales Minor Counties by 6 wickets to progress to Round Two of the C&G Trophy
After a four-and-a-half hour rain delay, Wales Minor Counties batted first at Swansea, and fared poorly. The only score of any note came from Willy Bragg, an 18-year-old left-hander, currently in the middle of his A-Level exams. He made an undefeated 41 runs, as Wales Minor Counties were dismissed for 119. Mark Ealham took 4 for 28 and Andrew Harris 3 for 31. Nottinghamshire were never really threatened, but did lose 4 wickets in making 121 off 26.2 overs. (Cricinfo scorecard)
Surrey v Nottinghamshire (6–9 May)
Nottinghamshire (22pts) beat Surrey (3pts) by an innings and 71 runs