Nottinghamshire look set to name young batsman Billy Root in their side for the visit of Hampshire to Trent Bridge in the LV= County Championship.
After scoring 562 runs in eight Championship matches for Nottinghamshire’s Second Eleven at an average of 56, Root forced his way into Nottinghamshire Director of Cricket Mick Newell’s thoughts and has been rewarded with inclusion in Nottinghamshire’s 14-man squad.
“It’s a great honour to be named in the squad. Of course there’s a bit of nerves and a lot of excitement,” said Root.
“It’s nice to know that the staff have that faith in me to put me in the squad and it’ll be good to see how these players go about their business as well.
“Hopefully this’ll be the start of another stepping stone on to bigger and better things again.”
With Nottinghamshire heading into the match knowing that a victory could well seal second place in the LV= County Championship, eight-placed Hampshire will know that a win at Trent Bridge could still see them retain their division one status.
For Root, it will provide a new challenge, and one he’s relishing.
“I’d prefer to be playing in this kind of situation, where both teams have something to play for than if it was a dead rubber match between two mid-table sides,” Root added.
“I’ll have a look at Hampshire’s bowlers but try not to change my game too much, and keep it simple.
“That’s what I’ve applied to every game this summer and I’ve been successful with it.
“I’m just going to see how it goes and watch the ball.”
In a summer defined by the emergence of young players into Nottinghamshire’s team, Root has consistently scored runs for the county’s second eleven, academy and Leeds Bradford MCCU, and is the latest product of the setup following Luke Wood, Jake Libby and Brett Hutton to make a first team bow.
“We’ve had a great season, which ended in winning the championship,” he said.
“We had a shaky start in the one-day competition then improved and were unlucky to miss out on a semi-final place. Its been a great season.
“It’s always nice to get runs but to score well and contribute to a championship winning team is particularly good.
“Paul Franks, Gary Keedy and Jamie Hart have been outstanding with us, and seeing guys who I played alongside with break into the team and do well is really encouraging for me.”
All four days of Nottinghamshire’s LV= County Championship fixture against Hampshire at Trent Bridge, as the home side aim to claim second place in the LV= County Championship, will be streamed live via the Trent Bridge Live match centre.
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.