2022 ANNUAL REPORT

25 CRICKET REPORT In relation to women’s cricket, a large proportion of Nottingham- shire’s senior side was made up of players from the U18 team who qualified for the quarter finals of the One-Day Cup. Reaching Finals Day of the regional VitalityWomen’s CountyT20 was therefore a commendable achieve- ment, and the early exposure of our young players to the women’s game will only benefit them in the future. A marker of our success as a county is the number of players that are picked to play regional cricket. Lucy Higham,Teresa Graves, Sophie Munro andYvonne Graves have all achieved that feat, whilst Rhiannon Knowling-Davies, Olivia Baker, Ella Porter, Evee-Mae Hicklin and Libby Armitage have been selected forThe Blaze’s academy. MaddieWard, also inThe Blaze’s Academy, was named in England’s squad for the ICC U19Women’s World Cup in South Africa in January. We are in the midst of an exciting era for women’s cricket nationally, and to be the base for East Midlands’ wom- en’s regional cricket is something that is challenging and exciting us all. As a county, we must encourage girls on the Nottinghamshire performance pathway to strive for regional representation, whilst supporting The Blaze’s senior side, Academy and EPP to achieve their develop- mental and performance goals. Those who succeed at regional level will push on to play on the biggest domestic stage for women presently –The Hundred. Trent Bridge was at, or near, capacity for every fixture in the competition, and it was pleasing for the women to secure third place and for the men to win the trophy. There was healthy Nottinghamshire representation – which reflects well on the club – but, perhaps more importantly, the tournament also played a role in attracting audiences to watch women’s cricket. The format cannot be knocked for its value in engaging those who attend and for ensuring that cricket is seen to be an exciting sport. The same outcome has been achieved by England in all formats in 2022, and we were, as ever, proud of each of the Nottinghamshire cricketers that played their part. This feat has been achieved by Ben Duckett, Alex Hales and Stuart Broad at senior level, the latter of whom showed terrific commitment to Nottinghamshire by making himself available early in the season around England commitments, and again for the final fixture of the year of his own volition. Meanwhile, Lyndon James, Liam Patterson-White and Haseeb Hameed have all represented England Lions, with Fateh Singh selected for England’s ICC U19 World Cup squad, and again for their series against Sri Lanka. As ever in elite sport, personal accolades and club achievements are not final, and everyone must seek to continue to progress. We possess sufficient quality to be successful in every format, but executing that necessitates consist- ency across a six-month period and a commitment to getting better with each passing year. Having overcome a challenging pre- pandemic spell in red-ball cricket, our ambition is to be competitive on all fronts. The support of our members is hugely valued and important to all of us, as we continue with those endeavours. “WE ARE IN THE MIDST OF AN EXCITING ERA FOR WOMEN’S CRICKET NATIONALLY, AND TO BE THE BASE FOR EAST MIDLANDS’ WOMEN’S REGIONAL CRICKET IS SOMETHING THAT IS CHALLENGING AND EXCITING US ALL.” Mick Newell Sarah Bryce