Nottinghamshire Assistant Manager Wayne Noon says now is the time for Jake Ball to push his England white ball credentials, as the Outlaws face Durham at Chester-le-Street.
The Outlaws fast bowler has recently been selected in a third successive squad for Test Match cricket but, having been cleared by his country to play three successive white ball games, Noon believes a limited-overs call-up may not be far away.
“You can see that he’s grown a little bit more from being in and around that England environment,” said Noon.
“I don’t think he’s far away from England’s white ball squad. He’s got to push those credentials now, so we’re expecting some good performances from him.
“He showed his white balls skills against Yorkshire in that championship run chase. The way he effortlessly went to Yorkers and slower balls was a great credit to him.
“He’s always been confident with his skills – when he’s got the ball in his hand, he knows what ball he wants to bowl and where to set the field.
“There were a lot of people singing his praises from the winter Lions tour and he’s on the crest of a wave at the moment, itching to play in every format.”
With Chris Read side-lined by injury, Brendan Taylor staked a seemingly irresistible case for selection against Durham tomorrow by blazing their bowling for an 80-ball century in the four-day format.
With the Jets likely to send down at least eight overs of spin, Noon believes Taylor’s specialist skills against slow bowling could be particularly valuable.
“BT has a very good chance of playing,” said Noon. “He had been struggling for form but in the championship game against Durham he was outstanding.
“He is one of our best players, he deserves his place in the squad and he’s a very good player of spin, so he could have a very big role to play in the middle overs.”
Noon accepts that the long trip to Durham, together with the fact that a four-day fixture has only just finished, has been a factor in the Outlaws’ preparations. He insists however that the Outlaws have not been dwelling on any of those factors or the defeat to Birmingham Bears in the opening match.
“There’s no extra pressure because we lost a match, it’s a 14-match tournament, history suggests eight or nine wins will get you through and we’re not panicking,” he said.
“We came within a few balls of winning that game and conditions did turn against us, not that we’re blaming that, but it wasn’t a poor start to the tournament.
“We were beaten by a very good innings from Sam Hain and, if we’d taken one more catch, we could be sitting here talking about trying to go two from two.
“Durham’s strength is in their top order where Mustard and Stoneman always come out hard.
“They’ve also taken the pace off the ball over the years with the likes of Collingwood, Pringle and Borthwick, so that will be a challenge for our batsmen.
“It’s been a little bit hard to practice the skills with the four-day game being on, although Dan Christian and Luke Fletcher have been preparing with the white ball, so they are fully up to speed.
“It’s not an easy place to go, it’s the other end of the earth for a start, but the boys are up for it.”
Notts Outlaws squad to face Durham Jets (from): Dan Christian (c), Jake Ball, Matt Carter, 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
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Vs. Yorkshire Vikings – Friday 15 July 6.30pm BUY TICKETS
Vs. Leicestershire Foxes – Friday 29 July 6.30pm BUY TICKETS
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