After overseeing a winter of graft, Peter Moores says Nottinghamshire are itching to get outside and start playing.
The 54-year-old, who has been at the helm as Head Coach since October, believes starting the new season well, will be crucial for his side.
“We’re a group of players and coaches who want to get outside and get ready to play the season,” he says. “We’re looking forward to getting stuck in - I'm excited."
“We’re working hard with the lads because when we come to the start of those championship games, the quality of how we play will be the biggest thing."
“Pre-season goes through phases. Before Christmas it's based around having a look at what happened last season, and the lads did some really good work."
“After Christmas, you get into your game plans and now we’re into the last two or three weeks before we go to Barbados, when we're just topping up and getting ready to go.”
The appointment of Moores made Nottinghamshire the latest county to employ a Head Coach in tandem with a Director of Cricket.
It’s a structure that worked for the two-time England boss at Lancashire, where he won the County Championship in 2011.
Moores is giving his backing to a largely unchanged group of players, and hopes changes to the coaching staff will help them produce improved performances.
“Mick is now overseeing all cricket,” he says. “It creates a freedom for me and the coaching team to do the work with the players and get them ready to play."
“There have been two or three other coaching changes, with Paul Franks taking on the role of Assistant Head Coach, Ant Botha arriving and James Pipe coming in from Derbyshire as our new physio."
“Credit to all of them. The way they support the team and work together is something I’m really pleased with."
“The players are pretty much the same. It’s nice for those players to have an opportunity in what is a new start. They were disappointed and frustrated last season. There’s a chance to come back this year and start to try and put that right."
"Our game is moving quickly, especially over the last three or four years. We’ve seen it on the international stage, certainly with the evolution of one-day cricket and we've got to move with it."
“It’s very fast paced and physical. We see people hit the ball miles and the quality of some of the skill work is great, so the challenge is there.”
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