Aussie signs for brief stint with Notts

Fergus O’Neill will play for Notts during the first month of the season.

Australian fast-bowling all-rounder Fergus O’Neill has signed for the first 28 days of Nottinghamshire’s Rothesay County Championship campaign.

The 23-year-old averages 21.50 with the ball in First-Class Cricket having played 24 matches for Victoria. Last season, he claimed 40 Sheffield Shield wickets at 17.25 to win the club’s First-Class player of the season title.

In Victoria's victory over South Australia that year, he took five wickets in each innings, including a career-best 5/28 in the first innings, to secure his first ten-wicket haul.

“The opportunity to play in England is really exciting, and one I’m looking forward to,” O’Neill said.

“That it’ll be for Nottinghamshire with Trent Bridge as home is extra special - it’s somewhere that, as an Australian, has a real aura, and I can’t wait to step out there.

“Hopefully I’ve got attributes with the ball which suit the conditions, and, coming off the back of an Australian summer, I’ll be heading into the Championship with games under my belt which always helps.”

In addition to his state recognition for his breakthrough season in 2023/24, O’Neill was awarded the Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year at the Australian Cricket Awards.

He will be available for Nottinghamshire’s home fixtures against Durham, Essex and Sussex, in addition to the away trip to Edgbaston.

“It’s really exciting to get Fergus on board as a player who has enjoyed real success over the last couple of seasons for Victoria and I hope this is just the start of the Notts’ relationship with him,” said Head Coach Peter Moores.

“Whilst we can only secure his services on a short-term basis due to visa restrictions, it looks like he's improving all the time and I think his style of bowling will work well in the early season conditions in England.

“His strengths are his consistency and lateral movement, which are ideal skills to complement the rest of our bowling unit. He is more than capable with the bat, too, and will bolster our lower middle-order, from which runs are crucial - especially early in the season.

“He will, in effect, replace Dane Paterson, who won’t be with us for the start of the season and our desire to strengthen our batting means we have opted for a slightly different style of player.”