Jake Ball is desperate to take the field for NatWest T20 Blast Finals Day after agonisingly sitting out Notts Outlaws’ Royal London One-Day Cup victory at Lord’s.

The England seamer played six matches in the 50-over competition but was sidelined for the showpiece final with a knee injury.

Since then, the 26-year-old former Welbeck player has made a determined comeback, so much so that he is the Outlaws’ leading wicket-taker in T20 cricket this summer with 18 victims.

Now Ball is hoping to make up for missing out on playing in Notts’ big game in the capital by helping to win a second one-day trophy this weekend.

 “I and the other players have just stuck to the plan and it seems to have worked.”

“It’s massive for me,” he said. “Missing out at Lord’s was a big hit and Finals Day is one of the best days of the year.

“I’m really looking forward to it, especially now we have got the Northants four-day game under our belts and got the win to go with it.

“I’m really happy with how things are going personally. Sometimes you can overthink things at Trent Bridge when the ball is going to the boundary. It’s a difficult place to be a bowler.

“Over the last four or five games, I and the other players have just stuck to the plan and it seems to have worked. Hopefully we can carry that on this Saturday.”

With one trophy already in the cabinet, former Welbeck player Ball insists that winning another in white ball cricket would round off a memorable 2017 one-day summer in perfect style.

That particular ‘double’ feat was last accomplished by Hampshire in 2012.

“It would be an amazing achievement, not many sides have done it I don’t think, and we are in as good a position as we can be going into it having won the 50-over comp," he said.

“In the cricket we have played up to Finals Day, I think everyone who has played has contributed somewhere along the line and the aim is to put in two more good performances.”

“It’s always great to have someone with Stuart (Broad’s) ability and experience available.”

The Outlaws will welcome England bowler Stuart Broad back into their squad to face Hampshire in the second semi-final, which starts at 2.30pm.

He has been made available to play by the ECB after playing in the Investec Test against the West Indies at Headingley that finished on Tuesday.

Ball said: “It’s always great to have someone with Stuart’s ability and experience available because he can help some of the lads who might not have experienced this kind of situation before.

“Having played so much international cricket, he knows how to deal with the pressure situations, and that is something he can look to pass on to the rest of the lads.”

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