Head Coach Peter Moores is delighted with the blend of youth and experience beginning to come together in the new-look Nottinghamshire squad.

The retirements of Chris Read, Michael Lumb and Greg Smith, coupled with the departures of Brendan Taylor and Brett Hutton, has seen a need to recruit to the Trent Bridge playing staff ahead of the 2018 season.

The Club have already made great strides in that department with the acquisition of accomplished opening batsman Chris Nash and all-rounder Paul Coughlin.

At the same time, long-serving all-rounder Steven Mullaney, plus the promising quartet of left-arm seamer Luke Wood, wicketkeeper Tom Moores, fast bowler Matt Milnes and off spinner Matt Carter, have all signed new deals.

”It’s a really healthy situation for us to be in and says a lot for the environment we have here.”

It means Moores is happy with how things are shaping up following promotion from Division Two of the Specsavers County Championship in September and ahead of the return of the players next week for a fitness test ahead of winter training.

“It’s been an exciting few weeks for us despite it being the close season,” he said. “We’ve managed to secure some of our younger players, with a number of them signing new or extended deals.

“Steven Mullaney, as a senior player, has had two fantastic seasons for us and has now committed to the Club for the long-term.

“Add to that the new lads we have signed in Nashy and Paul Coughlin, and there is a good mix of established players and those really looking to make their mark.

”It’s a really healthy situation for us to be in and says a lot for the environment we have here at the moment – it’s a good one that people want to be a part of.”

Moores is looking forward to seeing how the younger batsmen in the squad can learn and develop with guidance from new signing Nash and other well-established players such as Samit Patel, Riki Wessels and Alex Hales.

He knows that every member of the senior squad will play a part in 2018 as the Club bid to compete in four-day cricket and, at the same time, defend the two white ball trophies they won this summer in T20 and 50-over cricket.

He said: “We’ve had some really good performances from some of the younger players this summer, including from Billy Root and Jake Libby (who both scored Championship hundreds).

“But you also need experienced players around that, and it makes it much easier for those younger players to come through. They learn from each other and we get the right sort of balance for the different teams we have got to put out.

“You saw this year that we used all the squad because we were competing on all three fronts, and we hope that’s going to be the same this year.”

“Over the next couple of weeks we will sit down and find out what the lads want to achieve out of the winter.”

Like many of the playing staff and management, Moores took a holiday following the conclusion of a busy county season to get some hard-earned rest.

He is expecting the playing staff to come back refreshed and ready to prepare for the test of stepping up to play Division One cricket.

Moores added: “What’s nice is that we have all had a break from one another. Quite deliberately, I didn’t speak to many of the lads for a bit, so that everyone has had their own space.

“Over the next couple of weeks, everyone will be back in at the Club and we will sit down and talk to the lads and find out what they want to achieve out of the winter.”

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