Farhan Ahmed celebrates after completing the hat-trick on July 18, 2025. Photo: Screengrabs
Farhan Ahmed made history on Friday, becoming the first player to take a hat-trick for Nottinghamshire during a Vitality Blast match against Lancashire at the age of 17. He finished with five wickets, helping his team register a four-wicket win. Farhan, the younger brother of England’s emerging spinner Rehan Ahmed, played in the 2024 U19 World Cup as well. Last year, he came under the spotlight when he became the youngest first-class cricketer for Nottinghamshire. On his debut, Farhan picked up 7 wickets for 140 runs and later became the youngest player in England’s first-class cricket to take 10 wickets in a match.
In the Vitality Blast match against Lancashire, Farhan bowled excellently, ending with 5 wickets for 25 runs in 4 overs. He completed the hat-trick in the last over, when he got rid of Luke Wood, Tom Aspinwall, and Mitchell Stanley in successive deliveries. Earlier, he had removed Chris Green, one of Lancashire’s key batters.
Due to Farhan’s impressive bowling and a hat-trick, Lancashire were bundled out for 126. Although Lancashire got off to a decent start with Phil Salt and Keaton Jennings adding 38 runs, they quickly found themselves reeling at 53 for 5. A 63-run partnership between Matty Hurst and Chris Green briefly salvaged their innings, but once the partnership was broken, they could not recover.
In reply, Nottinghamshire found themselves struggling at 14 for 4 in the third over of their chase. However, Lyndon James and Tom Moores rescued the innings with an 81-run stand for the fifth wicket. After James got out, Moores and Daniel Sams calmly guided Nottinghamshire to victory in the 16th over.