With Nottinghamshire’s pre-season business already done, any transfer activity to coincide with the close of football’s January window seems highly unlikely.
The site of Sky Sports News poking a camera into Mick Newell’s car as he leaves the car park will, therefore, wait for another year.
The fax machines at Trent Bridge have, however, taken plenty of heat down the years with players from around the UK – and from overseas – choosing Nottinghamshire as the Club with which to further their careers.
The current Outlaws crop features a balance of homegrown and recruited cricketers.
Newell’s eye for a signing that improves the squad has brought Stuart Broad, Will Gidman, Harry Gurney, Steven Mullaney, Michael Lumb, Greg Smith, James Taylor and Riki Wessels all to the Club in recent years.
Jake Ball, Brett Hutton, Luke Wood, Matthew Carter, Samit Patel, Luke Fletcher and Sam Wood, meanwhile, are homegrown products of the Academy system.
Of Newell’s signings that have come to Trent Bridge, conquered county cricket and departed with their popularity well and truly enhanced, here are six of the best.
Stephen Fleming
The New Zealand captain’s status as one of world cricket’s great leaders was established long before his arrival at Trent Bridge ahead of the 2005 season.
Eight years into a decade long tenure during which he became his country’s most successful captain, Fleming’s impact was immediate.
Leading from the front with four centuries and a first class average 61, the Kiwi left-hander also proved an expert in man-management as newly promoted Nottinghamshire lifted the County Championship for the first time since 1987.
Although they were relegated the following year, Fleming guided his men back to the top division in 2007 and departed with a first class record for the Club of 2,830 elegant runs, ten centuries and an average of 55.49.
David Hussey
Throughout Fleming’s tenure – and for a number of years hence – Notts could count on bullish middle-order runs from David Hussey.
The Western Australian averaged 68 during the 2005 title winning campaign and 84 to help secure promotion two years later.
He was still churning out big all-format runs for Nottinghamshire in 2013.
Yorkshire Bank 40 glory at Lord’s was a fitting way for the hard-hitting Aussie to end his time with the Club.
It was due reward for an Outlaws white ball career that saw him average 37.54 and 35.59 in the respective 50- and 20-over formats.
In the first class game, Hussey – who featured in eight campaigns in all for the Club – averaged a staggering 61.28, with 23 centuries.
Andre Adams
When the New Zealand born seamer joined Notts as a non-overseas player in 2007, he was reported to be considering retirement from the game.
But Trent Bridge inspired the Aucklander to enjoy the best years of his career, during which he took 344 first class wickets for the Club at an average of 24.18.
The richly deserved defining moment of glory in Adams’ Notts career came in 2010 when he claimed the wicket that dramatically secured the title at Old Trafford.
He had taken 68 wickets at 22 a piece that year, which would prove to be the highest tally of his career, albeit he only missed it by one during another remarkable campaign a year later.
Adams departed Trent Bridge at the conclusion of the 2014 season and retired from the first class game in June the following year.
His contribution to the Club earned high praise from Mick Newell.
“He’s the best bowler since the likes of Richard Hadlee and Franklyn Stephenson in terms of the level of impact on the team in the county game,” said the Nottinghamshire Director of Cricket.
Graeme Swann
The departure of Stuart McGill at the conclusion of the 2004 season left Mick Newell scouring county cricket for a spin bowler.
He turned to Northamptonshire’s Graeme Swann – and good for Nottinghamshire and England that he did.
Swann had played a solitary One-Day International for England back at the turn of the century but, after impressing in a Nottinghamshire jersey with both red and white ball, he earned an international recall in October 2007.
After earning his stripes by playing 11 ODIs, Swann made his Test bow against India in December 2008.
He went on to spin England to number one in the world, becoming one of the stars of the world game and one of British sports most colourful personalities.
He retired from cricket a three time Ashes winner in 2013 having taken his 255 Test wickets at an average of 29.76.
Although opportunities to play for Nottinghamshire became more limited as time went on, Swann’s nine-year spell at Trent Bridge saw him take 160 wickets in 68 first class matches for the Club, plus an additional 106 dismissals for the Outlaws in white ball cricket.
Mark Wagh
Born and bred in Birmingham and having played ten seasons for Warwickshire, Mark Wagh looked set to be a one-club man.
That was, however, until Mick Newell tempted him up to make the trip up the M42, and the rewards were rich for both Club and player.
A personal career-best haul of 1,310 runs in his debut Notts campaign, 2007, included three centuries and helped propel his new county to the Second Division title.
Eight further first class hundreds were to come during the three years that followed, including three – and a season’s average of 41.43 – in the 2010 title Championship winning campaign.
“I was at short-leg praying the ball wouldn’t come to me and I just remember Chanderpaul edging to Samit and the scenes were just incredible,” is how Wagh describes the moment of victory.
Mark Ealham
A bowler whose nagging medium pace was just perfect for English conditions – and an explosive middle-order batsman to boot – Ealham was aged 34 when he sought a new challenge and signed for Nottinghamshire from Kent.
His career was about to enjoy a splendid Indian summer.
With his England days long since behind him having played the last of his 64 ODIs some three years earlier, Ealham added balance to a side that won the Second Division title in 2004 and the top division a year later.
Ealham would remain an Outlaw until the conclusion of the 2009 season when, at the age of 40, he retired from the game.
For Notts alone he played 89 first class matches, during which he took 218 wickets at 26.73 and scored 3,209 runs at 32.74, with six centuries.
In List A cricket for the Club he averaged just 21.15 with a meagre economy rate of 4.03 runs-per-over.
He even proved to be a handy weapon with bat and ball in the 20-over format, on one occasion blasting 91 from 35 balls at Trent Bridge against Yorkshire, a game in which he – typically – had taken 1-19 from four miserly overs.
The 2015 season saw 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.