When Jake Ball represents the Marylebone Cricket Club in the prestigious Champion County fixture next month, it will bring an unrecognisable winter to a fitting conclusion.
The Mansfield born paceman spent the corresponding close season of 2014/15 grafting within the confines of Trent Bridge’s indoor nets any gymnasium.
It’s a regime that paid dividends. Ball was the standout bowler during the pre-season tour of Barbados and was rewarded with a place in the starting 11, before going on to take 67 wickets across the three competitions.
But fast forward 12 months and the winter period has been a very, very different story.
Selection for the England Lions has already taken him to the United Arab Emirates, twice, where he impressed with miserly economy rates and ten wickets in nine white ball appearances against Pakistan A.
He’ll be back in Dubai tomorrow on Nottinghamshire’s pre-season camp, where Bowling Coach Andy Pick will oversee a reintegration into bowling with the red ball.
Then, following a couple of weeks back in Nottingham, it’s off to Abu Dhabi for the county season's curtain raiser against Yorkshire, preceded by a T20 competition for good measure.
Ball says representing the MCC will not only be an honour, it will also bring back good memories.
“I made my first class debut for Nottinghamshire in that fixture, against the MCC in 2011, so it’s already a game I hold close to my heart.
“I remember starkly realising that the first-class game is a decent step up when I played in that game.
“I didn’t go quite so well in the first innings, but I managed to pull it back together second time around and get three wickets.
“I’m looking forward to going out there and playing it in again.
“Harry Gurney, who played for the MCC a couple of years ago, said how special an experience it is representing the home of cricket.
“They always have that marquee player; it was Virender Sehwag when Harry played and it’s Kumar Sangakkara for us.
“It will be special to play with a cricketer of that calibre, and to come together with some exciting domestic players who have also been picked.
“I’ve played against Yorkshire a few times in championship cricket and not gone well against them.
"So it’s a good opportunity to put that right, to hopefully get a few wickets and to see where they are as a team.
“If we beat them, hopefully it can put them on the back foot going into the season.”
Ball admits to being surprised by the haste of his rise since breaking into the Notts first team back in April, but the likeable paceman has no intention of taking his foot off the gas now.
“It’s gone better than I expected having spent last winter in the gym and working on my game indoors.
“It’s nice to have got some results from the hard work. They have come a little bit quicker than I expected, but I’m not complaining about that.
“It’s been a really good winter - now hopefully the MCC game can be a nice springboard into the new season and I can kick on again this summer.
“This winter has been an eye opener for me. Having played in a Lions team that’s included players who have represented the full England team, it just shows how close I am.
“But I’m going to try and keep my feet on the ground, to focus on my performances for Notts and hopefully that will push me to higher honours.”
Having honed his limited-overs skills with the Lions both sides of Christmas – and with six first class matches between now and the Outlaws’ opening match in the NatWest T2o Blast - Ball isn’t expecting to see much of the white ball during the Dubai trip.
“We’re going to have ten days out there in the really good International Cricket Council facilities, with lots of opportunities to have a bowl and to bat.
“It will be all about the red ball really. This winter has been all one-day cricket so far.
“My first bowl with a red ball since September was on Monday at Loughborough.
“It’s about getting that ball back in my hand and making sure I hone those skills for the start of the season.”
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.