Nottinghamshire cancel Mohammad Abbas's contract for 2020 County Championship

[Abdullah719]

Nottinghamshire have secured the services of Mohammad Abbas as overseas player for the opening nine matches of the 2020 County Championship season.

The 29-year-old has represented his country in 15 Tests since debuting in 2017, taking 66 wickets at 20.37 with four five-wicket hauls.
He joins England international Haseeb Hameed in making the move to Notts ahead of next season.

“He’s a high-calibre player. He came into Test cricket late, but his impact at that level has been fantastic; almost unprecedented actually,” said Nottinghamshire Head Coach Peter Moores, of Abbas.

“We also know from what he’s done with Leicestershire that he can perform in English conditions and can excel within a county schedule that can be quite demanding on quick bowlers.

“He’ll strengthen our bowling considerably, as well as being a mentor for our younger bowlers who can learn a lot from the way he plays the game.”

Abbas has enjoyed two previous summers in county cricket, taking 79 First-Class wickets in 19 matches for Leicestershire, averaging 20.67 and recording a five-wicket haul on five occasions.

The right-armer has also enjoyed success in his native Pakistan, topping the red-ball wicket-taking charts in both the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons.

Overall, Abbas has taken 447 wickets across his First-Class career at 20.89, whilst securing 34 five-wicket and ten 10-wicket hauls.

The fast bowler will be available for nine Championship matches before Pakistan’s Test series with England in August.

“Trent Bridge is a brilliant venue to call home and I can’t wait to join Nottinghamshire next summer,” said Abbas.

“The club is steeped in history and I’m looking forward to giving my all to get them back up into the top division of Championship cricket.

“I’ve really enjoyed my past couple of summers playing in England and I’m excited for the domestic season to start again in April.”

 

[Saj]

He'll be on a lot more money at Notts that's for sure.

Not at his best last season, it'll be interesting to see how he does next season.

 

[minamino]

He'll be on a lot more money at Notts that's for sure.

Not at his best last season, it'll be interesting to see how he does next season.

He seems to have gotten more confident after stints in England. I saw him in the mid-innings break of Pakistan vs Bangladesh at WC and he could speak English.

 

[Abdullah]

Well done to him!!
Go get ready for the England series

 

[MenInG]

Mohammad Abbas will not play for Nottinghamshire this summer, but Dan Christian could yet link up with the club.

Notts are hoping an abbreviated season will get underway on August 1, but Pakistan seamer Abbas will not feature, even if four day cricket takes place given his impending international commitments.

The 30-year-old had signed up to play in the County Championship, but his only taste of cricket in this country this summer looks set to be against England, with a Test series starting on July 30.

"We'll review Abbass again in the future. It's impossible for him to come over. The next cricket he'll play here you would hope is a Test series for Pakistan," director of cricket Mick Newell said.

"We'll watch that keenly and see how he gets on."

Nottinghamshire eye two month season as players come through challenges

Former Australia all-rounder Christian could feature if a form of the Vitality Blast takes place, while Notts had been keen to bring back Pakistan star Imad Wasim, but that deal has not been completed.

Meanwhile, Newell says Notts are not duty bound to give their out of contract players new deals even if the season is heavily curtailed.

Samit Patel, Chris Nash and Harry Gurney lead a group of players coming to the end of their deals. Tom Barber, Jack Blatherwick and Ben Compton are also out of contract this year.

"We're not duty bound over their contracts. We'll talk to players over the next four or five weeks," Newell said.

"It's difficult to make decisions if they aren't playing but it's important to keep them in the loop.

"We want them to be able to show us what they can do before we make a decision. That's why we're holding out for cricket for as long as we can."

Newell admits the pandemic is set to have an impact on the sport, but he is not sure to what degree.

"There's a lot players out of contract nationally. One hundred and thirty has been quoted," he said.

"You have 18 very different clubs and businesses so it's tough to say how Notts will compare to Durham or Leicestershire say.

"It's tough to see how it will fit together. Money will be tighter.

https://www.nottinghampost.com/sport/other-sport/nottinghamshire-make-no-promises-over-4249489

 

[Hasan123]

Doubt there will be any county cricket this summer.

 

[HitWicket]

Doubt there will be any county cricket this summer.

The prospective plans of starting in August are looking quite promising.

 

[Hasan123]

The prospective plans of starting in August are looking quite promising.

How will the travel work? Surely the fixture list can't be as congested.

 

[HitWicket]

How will the travel work? Surely the fixture list can't be as congested.

From what's been said the plan seems to be to have T20 blast starting in Early September and running to the end of the month with 3 regional groups of 6 (giving 10 games each + knockouts) to reduce travel distance, with the hopeful possibility of perhaps being allowed some restricted crowds. Whether players will travel on a coach (they can space out fairly well on a large coach) or drive their own cars I'm not sure. The debate at the moment seems to be whether August will then be some kind of FC competition in the same regional groups with 5 games each and grand final at the end of September/start of October or a one day cup tournament in a similar structure to the T20. Some counties don't seem to be keen on an organised FC tournament given even with regional groups there are only a few games that could be carried out without the need for overnight hotel stays.

 

[Hasan123]

From what's been said the plan seems to be to have T20 blast starting in Early September and running to the end of the month with 3 regional groups of 6 (giving 10 games each + knockouts) to reduce travel distance, with the hopeful possibility of perhaps being allowed some restricted crowds. Whether players will travel on a coach (they can space out fairly well on a large coach) or drive their own cars I'm not sure. The debate at the moment seems to be whether August will then be some kind of FC competition in the same regional groups with 5 games each and grand final at the end of September/start of October or a one day cup tournament in a similar structure to the T20. Some counties don't seem to be keen on an organised FC tournament given even with regional groups there are only a few games that could be carried out without the need for overnight hotel stays.

That T20 tournament would work. But don't see there being a proper first class competition this season.