Following a frustrating 2015, in which he turned out just twice for Nottinghamshire in the LV= County Championship, Luke Fletcher is eyeing a strong winter in his bid to win back his place for the 2016 season.
Injury niggles and the emergence of Brett Hutton, Luke Wood and Jake Ball limited Fletcher’s playing time and the pace bowler has tasked himself with putting in the ‘hard yards’ throughout the winter.
“It is going to be a big winter for some people who have to prove themselves and earn the right to get back playing regular cricket again, and I am one of them,” the 27-year-old said.
“It won’t be easy but these are the things you have to do as a cricketer and I know it is up to me to put the hard yards in this winter.
“I love playing cricket for this club and want to do it for many years, not just the two that I have left on my contract.
“I am not going to disagree with any of the selections made this year, if someone is bowling better than me then fair enough.
“It is up to me to get myself back in to the side.”
Alongside the ill-timed injuries, one in pre-season and one cutting short his appearance in the Worcestershire victory, Fletcher has found it mentally tough being on the sidelines.
“At the end of this season I feel I need to get away from cricket, prepare myself mentally for another season and then go again,” he said.
“Mentally it has been tough not being part of the side and with the team being successful I haven’t played as much as I would have liked.
“However, it is definitely good to see the young guys coming forward and showing what they can do and they have shown they can compete in Division One.
“If someone is bowling well and in form sometimes you have to just bite your lip and accept it and I think that is where I have been stuck.
“I have had quite a few conversations with Mick and he has said I haven’t been bowling badly just the other guys have been bowling better so it is up to me to up my game.
“The best part about the emergence of the three bowlers is that they are all Nottingham-based and the club deserved credit for bringing them along.”
One of Fletcher’s best moments of the summer came in the NatWest T20 Blast opener against reigning champions Birmingham Bears where he once again hit the headlines for his ability to bowl yorkers.
“That first T20 was the most focused, nervous and nervous I have ever been for a game of cricket,” Fletcher said.
“The build up was massive, the ground was packed, it was against the reigning champions and it felt like my first every game of cricket again.
“To hit the yorkers and take three wickets in the match in a winning cause was great to be a part of but I didn’t really back that up in further games.
“I wasn’t as consistent as I wanted to be and teams knew that I would be targeting the yorker after how I bowling it in 2014 and next season I will be striving for that same consistency that I showed last year.”
The 2015 season has seen dramatic last-gasp four day victories, thrilling limited-overs contests and an historic Investec Ashes Test, all in the unique surroundings of Trent Bridge.
Next season, we’d wager, will be no less enthralling and frankly we’d hate for you to miss out.