Pakistan seamer Mohammad Ali will spend the final two months of the 2026 summer at Trent Bridge after agreeing a short-term, multi-format contract with Nottinghamshire. The 33-year-old is due in at the start of August and is expected to feature in both the County Championship and the One-Day Cup.
Ali’s record is solid rather than flashy. He has 340 first-class wickets on the board, and eight more for Pakistan spread across four Tests, three T20Is and a lone one-day international – that debut coming in New Zealand last March. An experienced operator, he thinks county cricket will sharpen his game further.
“I have always wanted to play county cricket and get experience of English conditions, so I am excited to have that chance,” he said. “Trent Bridge is a really famous ground around the world, so I am really looking forward to playing there and helping Nottinghamshire to achieve success. Being able to play red-ball and white-ball cricket is exciting, and I am looking forward to helping the team at an important time in the season.”
Those at Nottinghamshire know what to expect. Paul Franks coached Ali with Central Punjab during the 2022-23 domestic campaign, when the seamer claimed 24 wickets at 25.54 in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and chipped in with six more during the successful 50-over run. The pair have been in touch ever since.
“It was Mohammad’s character and personality that really hit home for me when I coached him while in Pakistan. That’s what’s kept him on our radar ever since, and I’ve kept a really strong relationship with him, from a distance,” Franks, now assistant head coach at Trent Bridge, said. “We speak regularly, and we’ve explored other opportunities to bring him to the club in the past, but this one felt like it was at a really good time for him and for us. He’s a real pleasure to coach.”
From a Nottinghamshire viewpoint, Ali should bolster a seam attack that has struggled to stay fit through recent summers. English conditions can be unforgiving on visiting bowlers, yet his skiddy, stump-to-stump style ought to translate nicely once the Dukes ball starts to nip around in late season.
While Nottinghamshire cover their immediate needs, Yorkshire have gone long-term by securing Sam Whiteman on a three-year, all-format deal. The 33-year-old wicketkeeper-batter, born in Doncaster but raised in Perth, returns as a local player courtesy of his British passport. He arrives with 6,930 first-class runs, 17 hundreds and three Sheffield Shield titles as Western Australia captain – plus three Big Bash wins for Perth Scorchers.
A spell with Northamptonshire in 2023 showed he can handle English pitches; two Championship centuries and an average north of 37 hinted at an adaptability Yorkshire have craved. Headingley’s hierarchy believe his left-handed solidity and leadership skills will stabilise a batting line-up that has lost key senior voices in recent seasons.
Two different moves, two different timeframes. Ali’s impact will be measured over a matter of weeks; Whiteman’s over several summers. Both, however, underline how the county circuit continues to tempt overseas talent looking for fresh challenges and, in Ali’s case, a late-career learning curve.
