Chris Read would love to bring down the curtain on his Notts Outlaws 50-over career with a trip to Lord’s, but will treat tomorrow’s (Friday, 1.30pm start) Royal London One-Day Cup semi-final against Essex Eagles ‘like any other game’.
The long-serving wicket-keeper is to retire at the end of the season having been a near ever-present behind the stumps for the Club since signing from Gloucestershire in 1998.
The 38-year-old was captain when the Outlaws won the Yorkshire Bank 40 competition in 2013 at the Home of Cricket, with victory over Glamorgan.
“My personal ambitions have always been to win trophies, and to play at Lord’s is a wonderful day out, whether it’s your first season or last,” said Read.
“It’s always disappointing when you go out of a cup competition, so we definitely don’t want it to be at this stage. 2013 was a great experience and we’d love to be back there.
“Quite a few of the guys played in that game against Glamorgan, but there are others who didn't and are desperate to get there. We just have to stay focused, not get carried away and make sure we prepare as well as we always do.”
Seam bowler Harry Gurney took 3-71 in Tuesday’s quarter-final victory at Somerset, where Notts posted their second highest List A score of 429-9 before successfully defending it by restricting their hosts to 405 all out.
The left-armer believes the match against the Eagles has become the team’s ‘biggest of the season so far’.
He said: “We went into the group games knowing we were still a long way from Lord’s, but now it’s only one game and it’s there for us to grab if we can play well enough.
“It was tough at Somerset, but we have had chance to rest up yesterday and take the weight off our feet. We’re ready to train today and go again tomorrow.
“We batted superbly and bowled really well in the pressure moments against Somerset, so we’ll be looking to repeat that against Essex.”
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We’d love to count on your support tomorrow.
Following an exclusive Members’ pre-sale, there is now a limited number of tickets available for the match at the Cloudfm County Ground tomorrow. These tickets will be available on a first-come-first-served basis through the Essex CCC Ticket Office, by calling 01245 254010 and quoting 'RLSFNOT'.
The match starts at 1.30pm and tickets cost £15 (adults 26+), £10 (young adults 18-25) and £1 (17 and under).
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