Luke Wood is planning on celebrating his maiden first-class century in style - by watching the NatWest T20 Blast with his mates at Trent Bridge.
The left armer, who is currently focusing on red ball cricket, will be cheering on his teammates from the stands, albeit refusing to dance with Nuts the Squirrel.
“I try to watch every Twenty20 game and it’s always nice to see the lads do well in those matches,” he said.
“It’s been great to see things going well with the white ball and, even when things have been tough in the four-day game, that’s kept the spirits high.
“I love watching T20, I’ve always loved watching it because you can’t get better for viewing entertainment and it’s the format that brings the crowds in.
“We batted very nicely on Sunday to get to the score we did, and I thought the bowlers – especially Harry Gurney, Luke Fletcher and Jake Ball – bowled very nicely.
“On Friday it’s just about producing more of the same and hopefully come out on top again.
“I’ll see what the coaches say but, if I’m not involved, I’ll go to the game with some of my mates and watch it as normal.
“Hopefully Nuts the Squirrel won’t come anywhere near me for the blast break dancing. That would be quite embarrassing.”
Wood starred with bat and ball in the 159 run LV= County Championship victory over Sussex, scoring 100 in the first innings, 53 in the second and securing match bowling figures of 5-96.
And the 19-year-old admitted that his exploits with the bat convincingly surpassed even his own expectations.
“It was only my second century. The only other was when I was 14 playing Sunday second team cricket for Cuckney,” he said.
“I didn’t think I’d get anywhere near as many as that against Sussex, but it was nice to make a big contribution to the team.
“The top six struggled so I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but it takes the pressure off as well because you aren’t expected to make a big contribution. At the same time, you don’t want the team to be bowled out for 100.
“I wouldn’t expect to see any less aggression than that. That’s my style of play. I’ll try to take it to the bowlers rather than letting them get on top.
"On that wicket, you were, at some point, going to get a ball with your name on. So it was see-ball-hit-ball.
“I don’t really think too much about it. I just went out and played how I normally play."
Wood, who has now made five first-class appearances averaging 29.71 with the bat and 28.84 with the ball, has thanked his Nottinghamshire teammates for welcoming him into the first team dressing room.
“Notts have an unbelievable set of lads," he said. "It helps when you feel at home in the dressing room rather than people treating you differently as a young player.
“You can have a bit of a laugh and joke with them. There’s no need to keep yourself to yourself. You can be yourself around them and, as a changing room to go into, it couldn’t have worked out any better.”
Wood, whose most recent two knocks prior to Monday's century had yielded no runs, revealed that it took him numerous attempts to gain selection for the county during his days as an age-group cricketer.
“I was born in Sheffield and I started playing cricket when I was eight,” he remembered.
“My next-door neighbour got me into it with a few training sessions down at Worksop Cricket Club.
“I quite enjoyed it and I started playing at Cuckney soon after that and worked my way through the junior setup and various men’s teams. I moved from the third team to the first team in one season.
“Playing against men as a youngster was a big challenge, but one that develops you.
“I trialed for Notts at all the age-groups and finally got in the under 17s, spent a year and a half on the Academy, got through that and got signed off as a pro. It all happened relatively fast.
“Since then, although I'm primarily a bowler, I’ve been trying to get a bat in wherever possible and working hard in the nets.
“I’m not going to get 100 every week, but even if I’m getting 20 or 30 down the bottom end, it can be quite a telling factor in the result of a game."
Notts Outlaws NatWest T20 Blast Fixtures & Ticket Information
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v Derbyshire Falcons – Friday 10 July 6.30pm BUY TICKETS
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