2021 ANNUAL REPORT

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY CRICKET CLUB 2021 ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 20 A single season in 2020 when that wasn’t the case was more than long enough for us all to realise how much we missed having spectators in the ground. On the field, it was a season during which homegrown prospects made their mark, and progression was clearly evident, yet also one that demonstrated how fine the margins at elite level can be. For the first team, the catalyst for a third-placed finish in the LV= Insurance County Championship was a victory against our neighbours at Derby.The overdue win was the product of extensive work over an extended period of time, and sowed the seed of success in a two-stage format where our only losses were inflicted by Hampshire and eventual championsWarwickshire. Notably, it was Ben Slater and Ha- seeb Hameed who laid the founda- tions for that victory in the fourth match of the season, having rescued a draw againstWorcestershire a week previously with unbeaten centuries – in Haseeb’s case, his second in the match. The pair remained a firm fixture at the top of the order, and the bedrock of much of the success we went on to achieve. Slater finished the season as the club’s top run-scorer in the Championship and across all formats, while Haseeb’s selection for England against India alongside Stuart Broad – five years after the opening batter’s initial appearances on the international scene – vindicated the work he has put in over the past few years. His half-century at Headingley was indicative of his resilience and hope- fully there is much more to come from ourVice Captain at the highest level. With the ball, Luke Fletcher enjoyed the finest season of his long and popular Nottinghamshire career. In his 14th summer with us, Luke recorded a table-topping tally of 66 Championship wickets. He saw 2021 as particularly impor- tant after his 2020 was ended pre- maturely by injury. A huge volume of winter work, coupled with a close and productive relationship with Kevin Shine, saw Luke return with renewed hunger to succeed. Successive career-best performances against Essex andWorcestershire at Trent Bridge – the latter a timely display for returning members – served to remind us of how well Luke now understands his own game. Regardless of what was achieved on the field, to have welcomed our members and supporters back toTrent Bridge, and to see them watching the action unfold, was by far the greatest source of satisfaction in 2021. M I C K N EWE L L CR ICKET REPORT