140 years ago today – on 10 July 1879 – Notts achieved their best-ever first class bowling achievement by skittling out Derbyshire for a mere 16 runs at Trent Bridge.

Notts’ captain Richard Daft had won the toss and the home county managed a seemingly-modest 159 in their first innings, John Selby top-scoring with 53 runs.

Derbyshire’s reply lasted only 86 balls as Fred Morley and Alfred Shaw ran through the visitors’ batting line up with ease, Morley taking seven wickets while only conceding seven runs. 

Thomas Foster top-scored with seven runs, but seven batsmen were dismissed without scoring and no extras were conceded.

Derbyshire followed on, and by the end of the first day’s play they had lost another two wickets without adding to their score.

Not surprisingly the second day of the match was something of an anti-climax, with the Nottingham Evening Post reporting that “Very few persons turned up to witness the continuation of this match, which, for the visitors, came to a most lame and impotent conclusion after little over an hour’s play.  The state of things at the drawing of stumps on the first day was such as to take away all interest in the contest – if so one-sided a game could be dignified by such an appellation.”

Second time around the visitors were all out for 44, leaving Notts victorious by an innings and 99 runs. 

Foster once again top-scored for the visitors, his 19 runs being the only time in the match that a Derbyshire batsman reached double figures.

Meanwhile six of his team mates failed to trouble the scorers in the second innings, and – once again – no extras were conceded.

Shaw and Morley shared five second innings wickets apiece and were the only two Notts bowlers used in the match, with Morley’s third success in the second innings marking his 800th first class wicket.

Alfred Shaw – who became known as ‘the Emperor of Bowlers’ – and Fred Morley remain two of Notts’ greatest bowlers, taking 2,027 and 1,274 career first-class wickets respectively. 

These men were also the only two bowlers used the following July when Surrey matched Derbyshire’s ‘achievement’ by losing all ten first-innings wickets for 16 runs.

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A Notts Outlaws squad brimming with international talent will commence their T20 Vitality Blast campaign against Worcestershire Rapids at Trent Bridge on Thursday 18 July, with adult tickets priced at £10. Secure your seats…