Recent Notts Outlaws signing Ish Sodhi is very much a modern-day cricketer, but nothing attracts him more to Trent Bridge than the venue’s history.
The 24-year-old leg-spinner made a huge impact in the recent Big Bash, collecting remarkable figures of six wickets for 11 runs for Adelaide Strikers against Sydney Thunder.
The 41-time New Zealand international has become a prized T20 asset, taking his 60 wickets at 21.96 with an economy rate of 7.14 having featured for Northern Districts as well as New Zealand and the Strikers.
But Sodhi is a student of the longer formats too and Nottinghamshire, housed at the third oldest Test venue in the world, holds great appeal.
“I’m a massive purist. I love the history of the game and to play at a ground with so much of it is really exciting,” he said.
“To be able to call Trent Bridge home is something I never thought I’d ever say.
“Everyone I speak to about Notts says it’s a great spot and that I’ll really enjoy it.
“I really enjoy the tradition of the game in England. A lot of people enjoy the county games, which is a bit of a change.
“It’s something I look forward to experiencing again.”
Sodhi will join Paul Strang, Stuart MacGill and Imran Tahir in the list of overseas leg-spinners to don the stag.
The Northern Districts and Adelaide Strikers star is open minded about the conditions he will encounter under West Bridgford skies come July.
“I’ve heard different things about the wicket,” he said.
“Some people say it’s really flat, others say the boundaries are really small and those challenges are definitely something I’m looking forward to when I get over there.
“You’ve only got four overs, so you want to make the most of it – and I want to be an attacking bowler.
Shane Warne used to speak about it all the time in Test cricket, figuring out the pace of the surface and what sort of balls to bowl on it.
“But, in T20, if you take three overs to figure it out you’ve only got one over to make the most of it – and by that time the batsman is probably ahead of the game anyway.
“You need try a few things in the first over, see what they do and then make the most of the conditions.
“First and foremost, I’m looking forward to meeting new people, figuring out how they work and seeing how I fit into their plans for NatWest T20 Blast.
“There will be a lot of interest in the games and I’m really looking forward to the experience.”
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