Fergus O’Neill has carried on where he left off back home as the Sheffield Shield player of the season made a striking four-wicket County Championship debut for Nottinghamshire.
As the 2025 English season kicked off under blue skies on Friday, the Victoria quick O’Neill wasn’t the only Australian newcomer to shine with Caleb Jewell making a sparkling half-century for Derbyshire and Northamptonshire’s Liam Guthrie clean bowling England Test opener Zak Crawley.
O’Neill came to Trent Bridge, looking forward to parading his ability on a Test ground after a superb season back home in which he had taken 38 wickets at 21.07 apiece, and it took him just three overs to strike on his debut against Durham.
The much-touted future England prospect Ben McKinney was his first victim, caught behind, and O’Neill followed up by dismissing Emilio Gay in similar fashion in his next over.
The 24-year-old grabbed another couple of wickets later in the day to finish with 4-74 off his 21 overs as Durham reached 9-370, largely off the back of Colin Ackermann’s 116, the first century of the championship season and crafted on his 34th birthday.
At Derby, the home side’s new Tasmanian import Jewell looked quite at home as he struck 61 in his maiden championship knock off just 48 balls.
The 27-year-old left-hander hit 12 boundaries, including five in one over off Matt Taylor, as he zipped past the 50 mark off just 37 balls.
His pacy progress was ended, though, when he pulled Marchant de Lange to fine leg, and Derbyshire went to finish the day on 2-127 in response to Gloucestershire’s 222.
Queensland left-armer Guthrie made a spectacular start to life for Darren Lehmann-coached Northamptonshire, taking a wicket with just his 10th ball in the English game while heaping more misery on the struggling Kent and England star Crawley, out for just one, stumps uprooted, on just the seventh delivery he faced.
The 27-year-old Guthrie, who grew up in Western Australia but is seen as a home player because of his UK passport, struck again soon after in his opening spell at Northampton’s County Ground to dismiss Kent skipper Daniel Bell-Drummond.
He finished with 2-69 off his 15 overs as the visitors were bowled out for 231, before Northants tottered to 7-118 in reply.
Those hoping to see Dan Worrall, the former Australia international who’s been touted as a potential England player this year, in the opening match of Surrey’s title defence were left disappointed when the seamer was left out against Essex at Chelmsford with injury.
The champions missed their key wicket-taker as another England Test hopeful Jordan Cox made them toil with his ninth first-class ton, hammering 117 from 148 balls as Essex went to stumps sitting pretty on 4-355.
Elsewhere, Yorkshire made a dismal start under new captain Jonny Bairstow, who made just 10 as they were skittled out for 121 at Southampton by Hampshire, who closed on 5-164.
