County Championship - 17th (W1, L9, D7)
Axa Equity & Law League - 2nd
Benson & Hedges Cup - Group Stage
NatWest Trophy - Group Stage
Captain - Paul Johnson
With just a single victory, the county had a very disappointing Championship campaign. Not since 1977 had the team had to settle for one win. In 1995 five victories had been gained and the county finished the summer in 11th place; all that can be said for 1996 is that Notts avoided the wooden spoon.
The averages reveal the immediate cause of the decline. The principal seam bowlers of 1995, Cairns and Pick, both showed a dramatic drop in their records. The latter missed many matches through injury and his seven wickets cost 69 runs each, compared with 45 wickets at 34 runs a piece in 1995.
In the continued absence of Pick, Cairns shared the new ball with Evans, Pennett, Mike and Bowen, Evans was economical, but his victims cost 40 runs each. He did take five wickets in an innings twice as did Mark Bowen. The former Northants bowler gained a regular place in the Championship side during the course of the season and proved a useful acquisition.
Of the spinners, Andy Afford regained his rhythm and his confidence. He appeared in every match, finished at the top of the bowling table, with his wickets costing 20 runs each less than the 1995 summer. Against Lancashire at Trent Bridge he took nine wickets, including six for 51 in the second innings; he also took six in an innings against Derbyshire.
Overall the batting figures were almost a repeat of 1995. The first three in the averages remain the same. Robinson, the veteran of the side, seems as assured as ever. He was the only batter to reach 1,000 runs. An injury meant that Archer missed several games and just missed 1,000 runs, though his average remained 40.
Cairns, in third place, was as destructive as ever. Metcalfe missed the final three matches through injury. He hit his first hundred for the county, coming in at No 4, but he also opened the innings on occasion. Dowman played a brilliant innings against Surrey in mid-August, having spent much of the summer in the seconds: he was retained in the senior side for the last four matches.
Johnson, in his first year as captain, began with 90 against Sussex; after 63 and 88 v Lancashire, he hit 103 against Northants. From mid-June his form dipped, but he managed to score a century in the final fixture.
The season began with the Sussex fixture. Notts might have gained a win, but for the weather – Johnson declared behind on first innings in order to try for a definite result, but in vain.
Although Somerset and especially Rose, had all the best of the second game, Notts were unlucky not to beat Lancashire in the third match, when an obstinate ninth wicket stand allowed the visitors to escape.
If the games with Sussex and Lancashire had turned out to be victories, the whole pattern of the rest of the campaign might well have been different. As it was, the single win came at the expense of Gloucestershire, when a first innings lead of 270 put Notts overwhelmingly in command. Evans took five for 30 in the second innings as the county of the Graces followed on.
The Anglo-Australian Andrew Symonds played well for Gloucester, scoring 57 and 117 and showing why both countries were interested in his future.
There followed five successive defeats, the run only ending when rain ruined the Surrey game at Trent Bridge. More defeats followed, though the campaign did end in a high scoring draw at Southampton.
In the Sunday League, it was a very different story. Notts finished second to Surrey with the same number of points and playing record (12 wins, four defeats and one abandoned game) but were pipped for top spot on net run rate.
The Trent Bridge Test saw centuries from both India and England. For the tourists, Sourav Ganguly (136) and Sachin Tendulkar (177) shared a 255 run stand for the third wicket at India racked up 521all out. They were all but matched by Mike Atherton (160) and Nasser Hussain (107) who added 236 for England's third wicket as the home side replied with 564.
India made 211 in their second innings but there was no time for England to start their reply and the game was drawn.
October 2026
Scorecards and stats can be seen here