After suffering defeat at the hands of Warwickshire, Nottinghamshire will be looking for a return to winning ways at Somerset on Sunday.
Jake Ball has been included in the squad for the trip to Taunton, returning after making his LV= County Championship debut in Nottinghamshire’s victory over Lancashire in April.
“After being in the first game and holding my own to then go back and put a few performances in for the second team, it’s nice to have earned a recall back into the first team squad,” he said.
“I’ve played a lot of limited overs cricket for Notts so the crowds know my name by now, so it’s nice to be able to show them what I can do with the red ball as well.
“Playing in the first game was always going to be a one-off thing but doing well and getting people talking about me was my main goal.”
Notts travel to Taunton looking to rediscover the form shown in that first victory, after being pegged back to two successive defeats to Middlesex and Warwickshire. The County Ground has offered slim pickings in recent years though, Nottinghamshire last registering a County Championship win at Somerset in 1985.
“The last couple of years there’s been a little bit in the pitches, especially in the first couple of days, then it seemed to dry out a little bit,” said Ball.
“Hopefully if we can get the ball into those dangerous areas early on, then you never know what can happen over the four days.”
"We’ve worked hard, and it’s a case now of putting a complete performance together.
“The bowlers have been doing fairly well and at times the batsmen shown in glimpses what they’re capable of.
“It’s about putting that all together, and one or two of them putting their hand up and working to get a big score.”
Ajmal Shahzad has also been recalled to the team, after spending time working hard in the second eleven, alongside Gary Keedy, who could be set to make his debut for the county in the South West.
“We’ve got some good spinners in the team who can do a good job over the last couple of days,” said Ball.
“It’ll be a good test for us but we’re going there looking to get back to winning ways.
“I’ve played against Somerset quite a lot through the one-day game and I’ve bowled at the likes of Marcus Trescothick and Nick Compton.
“I know it has been in one-day cricket, but it’s about learning their movements, how they approach their game and using the red ball against them.
“This week it’ll be about putting what I’ve learned about them into practice.”
Nottinghamshire squad to face Somerset (from): Phil Jaques, Steven Mullaney, Michael Lumb, James Taylor, Samit Patel, Riki Wessels, Chris Read, Peter Siddle, Ajmal Shahzad, Jake Ball, Andy Carter, Gary Keedy, Brett Hutton.