Dan Christian says the Notts Outlaws are travelling to Durham in high spirits having been lifted by a trio of recent victories.

The NatWest T20 Blast defeat at Chester-le-Steet a fortnight ago meant the Outlaws had begun the competition, and Christian’s tenure as captain, with back-to-back losses.

But the mood has since been lifted by three home triumphs in a week. Lancashire in the Blast, then Northamptonshire & Warwickshire in the Royal London One-Day Cup, were all on the receiving end of brutal performances from the Notts upper order, led by openers Michael Lumb and Riki Wessels.

The upshot, as well as competition points on the board, is a happy Dan Christian.

“It’s much easier coming back for a second year because I know all the players, I know the staff and I know my way around Nottingham too,” he said.

“It’s great to be back, and having success on the field makes it much more enjoyable.

“We lost those first couple of Twenty20 games and lost a championship game down at Hampshire, so that was difficult to take.

“But it’s amazing what a couple of wins does to the morale around the dressing room and generally throughout the Club.

“I’m thinking about the game more as captain for sure,” the 33-year-old continued.

“You don’t have as much downtime, particularly in the field when you’re always thinking about who is bowling next, changes to the field or what the batsman is going to do.

“I enjoy the challenge, I like being captain, and hopefully we can keep winning.”

Leading the side in 50-over cricket has been an added responsibility for the former Australian international. The big-hitting all-rounder was expecting only to lead in the T20 format, but was thrust into the 50 over role following an injury to Chris Read.

“It was a little bit of a breeze in the first two games with the boys putting on scores of over 400,” said Christian, who himself blasted 31 off 14 balls and 94 off 47 balls as a captain’s contribution to the carnage.

“With the bat, it’s nice to come in after a really big partnership because the bowlers are a bit flat, and so are the fielders, so you have the opportunity to knock a few around before really getting going.

“I’m sure there’s going to be a time when we lose a couple of early wickets and I’ve got to do more of a rebuilding job, but at the moment it’s going well.

“As captain in 50 over cricket, that was a nice way to start and having those totals on the board made life a lot easier for the bowlers.

“They got reasonably close in both games, but they were still comfortable wins.

“The Northants game got a little bit stressful, but I’ve played some 50-over cricket now with just the four fielders outside the ring and you know it can be very hard to defend.

“As hard as it was, the bowlers stuck to their guns and did a really good job."

Notts Outlaws squad to face Durham (from): Jake Ball, Dan Christian (c), Luke Fletcher, Harry Gurney, Brett Hutton, Michael Lumb, Steven Mullaney, Samit Patel, Greg Smith, Brendan Taylor, Riki Wessels and Sam Wood.

 

Notts Outlaws NatWest T20 Blast Fixtures & Ticket Information

Vs. Durham Jets – Friday 1 July 6.30pm BUY TICKETS

Vs. Worcestershire Rapids – Saturday 9 July 2.30pm BUY TICKETS

Vs. Yorkshire Vikings – Friday 15 July 6.30pm BUY TICKETS

Vs. Leicestershire Foxes – Friday 29 July 6.30pm BUY TICKETS

Need more information? Call our ticket office on 0844 8118711.