BIRMINGHAM: Pakistani pacer Muhammad Abbas will play for Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club in this year’s county championship.
Abbas 34, will play for Nottinghamshire in six county championship matches in division one. He is set to join Notts in May as part of their red ball squad. The pacer will return to Trent Bridge, home of the Nottinghamshire CCC, in September for the closing stage of the championship.
Abbas who made his debut for Pakistan in 2017, has so far played 27 test matches claiming 100 wickets. In December 2024 he was recalled to the national squad for the tour of South Africa after a gap of three years. In the two-match series, he grabbed 10 wickets including 6/54 in the first test.
Despite being sidelined from the national squad for many years, the pacer has proved himself in the county championship and enjoyed the seeming conditions of England.
In 2018-2019 he played for Leicestershire County Cricket Club for his first stint in the county championship. During his stay at Leicestershire, he grabbed 79 wickets in two seasons.
At the end of the county season in 2019, Abbas signed for Nottinghamshire CCC for the 2020 season but due to the COVID pandemic, he was unable to play for the team and the following year, with the COVID restrictions eased, Hampshire CCC snapped him. In a statement released by the club, Abbas said that he’s happy to make it to Trent Bridge finally.
“Trent Bridge is a special place to play cricket, so it will be great to call the ground home this summer – especially after not being able to come over and play for Notts five years ago”.
“I’ve really enjoyed my time in the English game, and the squad at Notts is in an exciting place. I’m looking forward to contributing in any way that I can to their success”, he added further.
Abbas joined Hampshire in 2021 and immediately made an impact. In his first game for Hampshire against Middlesex, he claimed six wickets including a hat-trick. In total, Abbas played 47 county championship matches for Hampshire CCC in four years claiming 180 wickets at an amazing average of just 19.26 with a strike rate of 48.13.
Paying the tributes to the pacer for his services, Giles White, Director of Men’s Cricket at Hampshire CCC said that the pacer will be missed by everyone at the club.
“Muhammad has consistently been one of the top performers in the County Championship and has unfailingly produced his very best for Hampshire time and time again. His character will be sorely missed in the dressing room and on the pitch, and everyone at the Club wishes him the very best in his career”.
In a message shared on X, Abbas thanked the fans and management at Hampshire CCC saying that he loved every minute of his stay at the Utilita Bowl.
“Loved every minute of the 4 years I had at Hampshire CCC. Thank you to all the members, fans, players and staff members for making me feel so welcome. Going to miss you all but excited for the new challenge ahead”.
Meanwhile, in a statement, Peter Moores, the head coach of Nottinghamshire, said that he’s really excited about signing Muhammad Abbas as players of his experience and track record don’t come around all that often.
“His control and his ability to find a way of getting wickets on any sort of surface make him extremely valuable; he’s certainly been a tough opponent for us to face over the years.
“We’ve already got an exciting group of bowlers at our disposal for the summer, and the addition of Mo’s craft and subtlety will add a different style of bowling to the rest of our attack.”
