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In recent times it has been the exploits of Kevin Cooper and Phillip Wilkinson that have entertained the back pages of the local press. There is, however, a series of extremely high calibre first class cricketers to have come from the town. The Gunn family have left a powerful legacy on cricket with brothers George and John and uncle William (born St. Anns, Nottingham) all playing test cricket and George's son George Vernon Gunn (born West Bridgford) playing in the same Notts team as his father. Later in his career Bill Voce came and played for Hucknall Cricket Club.

S. W. Widdowson (1851-1927)
Sam Weller Widdowson made his debut for Notts in 1878, playing just one first class match and scoring 15 runs. Sam was also a great sprinter, swimmer and oarsman but was most famously known as a footballer. Sam famously used cut down cricket pads strapped outside his socks as the first ever use of a "shin guard" in 1874. At first he was mocked but later copied and current day footballers still wear the descendant shin pads. As well as playing for England, Widdowson also implemented the tactics of 2-3-5, used as the dominant formation in football for the next seventy years, represented Nottingham Forest at the inaugural meeting of the football league and served as an England selector. Sam also refereed the first game where the ball was put in the back of a "net" at an exhibition game in Nottingham.

Walter Wright (1856-1940)
Walter was probably one of the first bowlers who could "swerve" a ball. He played professionally for Mote Park in Kent and made his debut for Notts in 1879. He left Notts in 1886 after falling out with the selection committee and began playing for Kent from 1888. During his career he played 289 first class matches for the two counties, scoring over 4000 runs and taking nearly 1000 wickets. Walter remains in the top 20 all time wicket takers for Kent. In his younger days he was a considerable athlete and twice won the Sheffield Handicap. After he finished playing he became an umpire. Died at Leigh in Lancashire in 1940.

Thomas Shooter (1845-1919)
After playing for Bestwood Park, Shooter made his debut for Notts in 1881, only playing two matches that season. A miner by trade, he went on to play professionally with many Lancashire league clubs.

Career statistics of Thomas Shooter

John Richmond Gunn (1876-1963)
6 Test Matches
John made his Notts debut in 1896 and kept on playing first class cricket until well into his fifties. During his prolific career he scored over 41 first class centuries and is the only Notts player to score over 20,000 runs and take over 1,000 wickets. John played in 6 test matches between 1901 and 1905, being the Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1904. Uncle William Gunn founded the successful sports equipment company Gunn and Moore. After his Notts career finished he played for Retford in the Bassetlaw league.

Career statistics for John Richmond Gunn

George Gunn (1879-1958)
15 Test Matches
George Gunn, the younger brother of John, is one of the most productive run scorers the county has produced. During his career with Notts he amassed over 35,000 runs, scoring over 1,000 runs per season 20 times during his career. George is still Notts record run scorer and the only player to play for the County over 500 times. George never played as many tests as his undoubted talent deserved, just 15 in all and his unpredictable style is often cited as why he never won more caps. However, he did manage two centuries and fifteen half centuries during his test career and was awarded Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1914.

Like elder brother John, George too played into his fifties, making his final test appearance at the age of fifty against the West Indies in 1930. In 1931 both George and his son GV Gunn scored centuries for Notts, George scoring 183 and and his son 100 not out in the same innings. George was one of the great characters of English cricket, and renowned as the best player of fast bowling around, famously telling Lancashire quick bowler E.A. McDonald that he couldn't "knock the skin off a rice pudding".

After retirement George became landlord of the Bentinck Hotel in Nottingham in 1939 and became one of the first honorary life members of the MCC. After his death in 1958 his ashes were scattered on the pitch at Trent Bridge. HS Altham wrote of him: "For here, if anywhere was a genius for batting; the ordinary difficulties seemed not to exist for him, and watching him when he was in the vein one felt that few greater batsmen could ever have lived."

Career statistics for George Gunn

Frederick Stocks (1883-1954)
Frederick, born in Shireoaks, lived a large proportion of his life in Hucknall, where he died in 1954. He played two first class matches for Northamptonshire. Father of his namesake, Frederick Wilfred Stocks.

Sydney H. Copley (1905-1986)
Sydney made his Nottinghamshire debut in 1930 and did not play again after that. His most famous cricketing moment came during a test match! In the 1930 Ashes match at Trent Bridge, Copley came on as substitute fielder to catch Stan McCabe for 49. England went on to win the match. Copley later played professionally for Cuper in Scotland and became coach at King Williams School.

Frederick Wilfred Stocks (1918-1996)
Frederick was born in Carcroft in Yorkshire, but came from a mining family in Hucknall. Frederick was playing for Hucknall Cricket Club when selected to go and play for Notts in 1946, a career that lasted 12 years. Freddie went on to play 284 matches making over 11,000 runs. Freddie holds a unique record by taking a wicket with his first ball ever bowled in first-class cricket against Lancashire and making a century on his debut.

Peter Fairfield Harvey (1923-2006)
Peter was born in Linby and played for Hucknall Cricket Club, going on to make his Notts debut in 1947. During his 11 years at the county he played 175 matches, scoring 3,645 runs and taking 335 wickets. He scored 125 not out on his batting debut for the county against Derbyshire at Trent Bridge, the second Hucknall Cricket Club player to do this!

Career statistics for Peter Fairfield Harvey

Philip A. Wilkinson (1951- )
Philip played for Hucknall Cricket Club and made his Notts debut in 1971 and played in the same team as fellow Hucknallite Kevin Cooper. Philip played 92 times for Notts, the last time being 1977. After finishing with Notts he went to play league cricket in Yorkshire.

Kevin Edwin Cooper (1957-)
Although born in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Kevin is synonymous with Hucknall. He made his debut for Notts in 1976 aged 19. Kevin, bowling partner for Sir Richard Hadlee, took one of the wickets in the 1989 Benson & Hedges Cup final victory over Essex. Kevin's benefit year for Notts was in 1990, and soon afterwards left to play for Gloucestershire up until 1996. Kevin still plays for Herefordshire in the Minor Counties Championship. His first class figures over 305 matches were 2,484 runs scored and 817 wickets taken. In limited overs cricket he has, to date played 282 matches and taken 270 wickets.

Career statistics for Kevin Edward Cooper.

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