Mick Newell has warned the Notts Outlaws to be wary of the ‘much improved’ Leicestershire Foxes in the NatWest T20 Blast on Friday.
The Outlaws, who have already secured a home quarter-final, can seal top spot in the North Group with a victory, as well as scoring psychological points over their East Midlands rivals ahead of a pivotal 50-over clash on Sunday at Grace Road.
“The motivation is very strong,” said Newell. “We want to set a marker down for when we play Leicestershire again on Sunday.
“We want to keep doing what we do well and keep winning.
“We want to win in-front of 12,000 people again; that’s our motivation.
“They’re a dangerous side in all cricket. Four-day cricket is perhaps their greatest strength, but we’re not going to underestimate them.
“We didn’t like losing to them last year, it was a crucial loss in terms of not qualifying and we certainly won’t underestimate them.
“What we want to do is do what we’ve been doing well, in what is obviously an important game.”
Imran Tahir, the South African leg-spinner, is eligible for NatWest T20 Blast cricket and, therefore, returns to the squad.
Harry Gurney, the former Leicestershire left-arm paceman, is rested having featured in all but one match across the three competitions in 2016.
Opening batsman Riki Wessels has been in prime form leading up to the East Midlands derby, averaging 48.7 and 76.4 in the respective white ball formats, and blasting 114 off 85 balls in the recent 50 over fixture against Derbyshire.
With the former Northamptonshire batsman now a British citizen, Newell believes the 30-year-old should be aiming for international recognition in the near future.
“The last couple of years we’ve moved him up the order in T20 cricket, then the same last year in 50-over cricket. That’s where he’s comfortable now, opening in both formats.
“He looks comfortable in white ball cricket, he’s an explosive player who can take the game away from people and if he gets on a run of boundaries he goes hard.
“He doesn’t drift in and out of aggressive batting. If he’s going really well, he just goes for it – and at the moment that’s playing off more often than not.
“He has probably become a better player than we thought,” added Newell, reflecting on when he signed Wessels back in 2011.
“He came with a very good reputation from Northants as a younger player, but there’s no doubt his game has kicked-on enormously over the last two years in white ball cricket.
“He’s now one of the most experienced and best opening batsman in T20 cricket in the country.”
“I’m sure international cricket is on his radar. He’s certainly he’s got the talent to be pushing for it in white ball cricket, and he’s not too old.
“If England want to win world tournaments, players in county cricket should be looking to push their names forward to get involved.
“These North-South 50-over challenges are certainly something that should be in Riki’s mind for next year.”
Notts Outlaws squad to face Leicestershire Foxes (from): Jake Ball, Dan Christian, Luke Fletcher, Michael Lumb, Steven Mullaney, Samit Patel, Chris Read, Greg Smith, Imran Tahir, Brendan Taylor, Riki Wessels and Luke Wood.
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