The Outlaws may not have reached Twenty20Finals Day but fans still have something to cheer about at Edgbaston.
Club mascot Nuts the Squirrel will beflying the county flag when he lines up against 17 of his furry friends in thisyear's npower Derby.
A mix between the Olympic 400 metres andan episode of the 1960's cult TV show "It's A Knockout", the npower Derby isone of the highlights of an action packed day of cricket.
The mascot race,which starts at 2.30pm, will feature 18 weird and wonderful mascots - 15 fromthe County Championship, Sky's Jack Russell and the npower Orbs.
However, Notts fans shouldn't get tooexcited about a win as official Twenty20 bookmakers Totesport have priced therodent as a big outsider to lift the npower trophy at 10/1.
Nuts said: "The npower Derby duringTwenty 20 Finals Day is the biggest day of the year for us mascots and I'll bethere at the start line - bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.
"My performance last year - when I ranthe wrong way - has been gnawing away at me and I've been storing it up eversince.
"This season, I've been on a strict dietof acorns and I've been getting plenty of exercise seeing the young Notts fansaround Trent Bridge. I'm sure this year, I'll scurry along and hopefully I'llwin by a whisker."
Despite this confidence, Nuts will be upagainst some pretty stiff competition. 2004 winner, Lanky the Giraffe fromLancashire, is favourite at 9/2 and last year's winner, Sussex's Sid the Shark,is also strongly favoured at 6/1 – although he may not be able to attend as hemight be on holiday in Cornwall.
Surprisingly, the npower Orbs aren'tfancied by the bookmakers (priced at 10/1 each) despite having two familiarnames wearing the outfits.
Chris Lewis and Jason Gallian will donthe Orb suits on behalf of Twenty 20 sponsors npower to raise money forcharity. Lewis will be running in aid of Macmillan, npower's charity partner,and Gallian for the Professional Cricketers Association Benevolent Fund.
Chris Lewis said: "Hopefully being annpower Orb will give me the energy I'll need to cross the finish line in firstplace, but at the end of the day, wherever Jason and I finish, we're out hereraising money for two great causes."