County Championship - 5th (W8, D6, L8)
Benson & Hedges Cup - Quarter final
NatWest Trophy - Second round
Refuge Assurance League - 17th (last)
Captain - Tim Robinson
Following the Double in 1987 was always going to be difficult - especially without the services of the influential Clive Rice and Richard Hadlee - but fifth place felt below par, even though Notts won just one game less than the previous year.
Individual honours must go to Franklyn Stephenson. To become only the second player since 1967 to complete “The Double” of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets was remarkable - to do it in his first full season in county cricket was nothing short of incredible.
Stephenson was a tremendous addition to the staff, bowling with great determination and guile throughout the season to claim 125 wickets. With the bat, it took him a while to get going but the way he applied himself to the task of scoring more than 200 runs in the final match to complete “The Double”.
It was a phenomenal performance and he richly deserved the honour of being crowned Britannic Assurance “Cricketer of the Year”.
Injuries were a constant problem throughout the season and virtually every senior player was affected, many of them for long periods. The consolation, however, was that it created opportunities for the younger players to show their capabilities.
For example, when a finger operation caused Bruce French to miss all but the start and finish of the season, Chris Scott relished the chance of an extended run in the first-team and again showed himself to be a fine wicketkeeper.
In the bowling department, Stephenson shared the honours with Kevin Cooper who, although still recovering from a broken leg at the start of the season, reached new heights by becoming the only Englishman to claim 100 wickets.
The season began poorly, the defending champions losing six of the first seven matches. The lone victory, by 67 runs, came in a low-scoring game against Sussex at Trent Bridge. Thereafter, they lost only two more championship fixtures.
A rare achievement marked the county game against the West Indian tourists. South African born Dave Callaghan played his one game for Nottinghamshire and with his first ball bowled Keith Arthurton.
Callaghan became just the fifth bowler to take a wicket with his first ball for Notts and finsihed that match with figures of 1-59, so nveer took another wicket for the county.
In the summer's opening Test Match, a battling 146 from Graham Gooch, who shared a 161 stand for the third wicket with David Gower (88no) saw England to the safety of a draw.
In limited overs cricket, Notts had a disappoiting season. They won just three of the sixteen Refuge Assurance matches, to finish bottom of the table; in the NatWest Trophy they made the second round and in Benson & Hedges Cup, the Quarter final.
November 2026
Scorecards and stats can be seen here