Harry Gurney says Nottinghamshire can send a powerful message to their Specsavers County Championship Division One rivals by beating reigning champions Yorkshire.
Nottinghamshire are second in the division after one win and one loss from their two matches and welcome a Yorkshire side to Trent Bridge who are currently four points behind them.
The left armer believes familiar surroundings and home comforts can only be beneficial to Nottinghamshire’s push for victory.
“Yorkshire have won the Championship two years in a row and a victory over them would send out a message to the rest of the field,” said Gurney.
“These games - against strong oppositions, well followed and televised - are the matches you relish being a part of.
“You want to test yourself against players of the calibre of Joe Root, Gary Ballance and Jonny Bairstow, who comes here on the back of a double hundred.
“We have a lot of quality in the bowling attack so it should be an interesting match up.
“We have played on two polar opposites in terms of wickets so far this year; Trent Bridge where the scoring rattled along at four an over with pace and bounce and Old Trafford where it was slower and lower and a more attritional match.
“You would expect that with the new toss rule and coming back to Trent Bridge we know what a good cricket wicket it will be, with a fair battle between bat and ball.”
There have been a number of stand out performances over the first couple of weeks; Jake Ball’s five-wicket haul, Steven Mullaney’s opening century and Jackson Bird’s debut to name a few.
Alex Hales will return to the top of the Nottinghamshire order, boosting a side that Gurney believes has performed well in patches so far this season, but with ample room for improvement.
“There are some skills we have executed really well over the first couple of rounds and it is about identifying them and driving them home,” he said.
“Then if we can look to improve in certain other areas which haven’t gone to plan then we are likely to be quite a formidable team.
“We managed to get the win in more familiar home conditions against Surrey but if we are honest we probably let ourselves down at Old Trafford, something which we need to put right.
“Given the choice between two draws and a win and a loss from the opening two games you would certainly take the latter.
“Firstly because numerically we have slightly more points than we would have with two draws, and secondly the positive boost it gives to the dressing room to win a four day game is invaluable.
“If you play the better cricket over four days you will likely come away with more from the game, we did that against Surrey and we will aim to that against Yorkshire to take the lion’s share of the points.”
Nottinghamshire squad to face Yorkshire (from): Chris Read, Jake Ball, Jackson Bird, Stuart Broad, Harry Gurney, Alex Hales, Brett Hutton, Michael Lumb, Steven Mullaney, Samit Patel, Greg Smith, Brendan Taylor and Riki Wessels, Luke Wood.
The excitement of NatWest T20 Blast returns to Trent Bridge on Friday 20 May as Notts Outlaws face Birmingham Bears in the first of seven home matches in the competition.
Supporters can witness every minute of the action with a NatWest T20 Blast Season Ticket, priced at just £84 (adults), £63 (over 65s) or £203 (family 2+2), with Membership available to U16s at £26 and U21s for £36.
Make Trent Bridge a firm fixture for your Friday nights and secure your seats now.