After defeating Hampshire in the Barbados T20 Cup semi final on Sunday morning, captain Greg Smith and Nottinghamshire Director of Cricket Mick Newell gave their thoughts.
Smith, handed the reins for the first time, batted through the Notts innings to make 78 not out, a key contribution in the context of the match.
“I’m very happy to put in a performance myself and for the boys to play the way they did was very pleasing,” he said.
“We’ve got a proud record in this Barbados T20 competition and it’s always nice to win games and make progress in any competition.
“I struggled, if I’m honest, to get my timing on the wicket. Mullaney was batting on a different strip to me, I think. It was a bit sticky out there, so when the bowlers bowled their change-ups, their slower balls, it was reasonably hard work at times but I just dug in and picked up my boundaries when I could and the other guys played some fantastic supporting roles.
“Mullaney played brilliantly and even Anuj Dal’s 10 off three balls really made a difference in a tight game like that.
“I enjoyed the captaincy side of it, I did it a fair few times for the seconds last season and when you are out there things count a little bit more when you’ve got the captaincy. It’s a big responsibility to lead a club as big as Notts and you want to do it justice.”
Mick Newell was just as pleased, as the Outlaws look to record an unprecedented fourth straight win in the competition.
“I thought we played some nice cricket there and adjusted to the conditions very well,” he said.
“We found things difficult early on and weren’t able to get it away in the powerplay because they bowled quite nicely but we managed to cash in against their younger spinners and obviously Steven Mullaney and Greg Smith played really, really well.
“Greg was very good. It would have been easy for a player to get under pressure when runs aren’t coming in those first ten overs but I think he kept his head very well.
“He saw perhaps where we could get to if we built a partnership and what he and Mullaney did was terrific.
“It was important to get Michael Carberry out when we did because he’d got off to the flyer that we wanted to get and he had started quite well so that was a key wicket and Jimmy Adams was also key for us.
“Mullaney, Carter and Sam Wood controlled things really well and the run rate crept up and I thought we were always looking more and more in control. I thought on that pitch we had the bowlers to exploit the conditions very well.
“We now play Northants again and it would be nice to win this once more. Nobody plays cricket to lose and we’ll be trying our best in the final tonight.”
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.