Riki Wessels did all the preparation work necessary for tonight's Natwest Twenty20 Blast curtain raiser two days ago.

He blazed 158 off 152 balls to be the headline grabber in Nottinghamshire's brilliant County Championship win against Northamptonshire.

And while training time for tonight's game against Lancashire Lightning has been limited, the son of former South Africa star Kepler Wessels says it takes much more than a series of clubbing blows to be ready for tonight's game at Trent Bridge.

He said: "I think people think we just turn up and smash a ball around on Fridays. That's not the case.

"We get here about 10am on the day of the game and have a bat for an hour, have lunch, work on fielding and that's all before the team warm-up.

"People think it's an easy day but unfortunately it's not. It's something we take very seriously.

"For us, it's a great chance to get hopefully 10,000 people in the ground and show off our skills."

Wessels has been in good form this year, with scores of 90 and 58 also helping to ensure he justifies the faith shown in him by Mick Newell.

The Notts director of cricket left England international Alex Hales on the sidelines at the start of the season as he stuck with Wessels, who averaged only 21.06 last season in First Class cricket.

"It's nice to repay Mick with some runs after a poor year last year having done well the year before," said Wessels.

"I'm feeling good and I'm looking forward to T20. I've got a pretty good strike rate (134) in it and I'll be looking to build on that.

"I was disappointed in a couple of my innings earlier in the season but it's good to get some runs, especially the innings against Northants."

With his tail up, the 28-year-old is fired up for the game against Lancashire as he looks to put on a good show for what could be a club record crowd for a home Twenty20 group game.

"Friday is a day to look forward to. We can bring a big atmosphere to the ground for a couple of hours and maybe give the people of Nottingham a good show," he said.

Notts are tipped as perennial contenders to win given the strength of the squad. They have reached the quarter-finals four years in a row, only making finals day in 2010.

Wessels says it is important not to look at the last eight, with his focus on getting out of a revamped group stage initially.

"Our aim is firstly, get to the quarter-final and then hopefully try to win it. It's a tough group to get out of," he said.

"It's one we've played in for a number of years with a few extra sides coming into it in Worcester and Northants. We've got to make the top four and then you never know."

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Notts Outlaws begin their Natwest T20 Blast campagin tonight, under the Trent Bridge floodlights. Tickets are moving quickly, don't miss out:

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Notts Outlaws v Lancashire Lightning
On the day ticket prices:
Adults £16
Under 21s £12
Over 65s £12
Under 16s £8 
Family (2+2) £40