2021 ANNUAL REPORT

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY CRICKET CLUB 2021 ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 22 example yet of his abilities with the ball. Ultimately, despite three wins from our four matches in the divisional rounds that concluded the season, defeat at the Ageas Bowl proved crucial in putting paid to our hopes of winning the competition. To finish third, however, was testa- ment to how far the team has come since 2019 and we will now continue to aim high in relation to our red- ball performances moving forward. The weight of expectation as defending champions in theVitality Blast proved not to be a burden in the North Group, as our white-ball team once again stamped their authority on their group, progressing to the knockout stages for the 11th time in 12 years. Despite the loss of Harry Gurney to retirement and Dan Christian on the eve of the tournament to interna- tional duty, we collected nine wins, three ties and two defeats from our 14 matches. Our ability to be consistently com- petitive in this format over such a long period of time is testament to the way we have gradually evolved and transitioned as a white-ball team over more than a decade, whilst always retaining the key ingredients for success. It was pleasing to see the emergence of Calvin Harrison – an unflappable individual who thrived in the spotlight – and the introduction of Lyndon James, Sol Budinger and Ben Slater to 20-over cricket in a Notts Outlaws shirt. Samit Patel also deserves a lot of credit for his match-winning and record-breaking performances, having shifted his focus to the white- ball game. Meanwhile, Jake Ball and Ben Duckett’s inclusions in England’s One-Day International squad for the home series against Pakistan came as further recognition for all they have achieved with and against the white ball in recent seasons. After winning the competition in 2020, our style of play continued to be aggressive – and that was typified at the top of the order by Alex Hales and Joe Clarke, who each posted memorable centuries on their way to personal tallies of over 400 runs during the course of the competition. The quarter-final loss to Hampshire in front of a packedTrent Bridge was a frustrating and unfortunate way to end the campaign.We failed to exe- cute our skills on the night; it is no more complicated than that.There were no excuses and the players held their hands up accordingly. Bearing in mind our consistency inT20 cricket in recent years, it perhaps came as little surprise to see ten of our men’s players representing various teams inThe Hundred, and enjoyable to see their success in the competition, both at Trent Bridge and further afield. Moreover, the competition paved the way for a number of players to take their opportunities by playing in the Royal London Cup. We looked upon the 50-over compe- tition as a chance to accelerate the development of our younger players. However, we retained an ambition to qualify for the knockout stages, and we still had a chance of doing so all the way through until the final ball was bowled. Each of the matches we lost were shortened by rain, and to have won each of the three games that were played over the full distance demon- strates the depth of talent at the club. PeterTrego – who retired at the season’s end, bringing down the curtain on an exceptional two- decade career – deserves credit for skippering the side very well. Ben Slater, whose career List A average of 55.72 continues to be truly remarkable, led from the front with the bat. We also saw early glimpses of two homegrown prospects, Fateh Singh and Sammy King, each of whom have worked immensely hard in Second XI cricket and with the Academy to earn their opportunity. Exposure to List A cricket will aid their development, as it will for a number of the players who featured during the course of the 50-over competition. It reflects well on Paul Franks, Anton Roux and the Second XI leadership team that players held their own in the first team, with many having developed within that environment for much of the season. At the start of the year, Paul, as Assistant Head Coach, stepped in to lead the second team dressing room with a view to instilling the same ethos and standards that are expected Fateh Singh Sammy King