Chris Nash said his debut as Nottinghamshire captain couldn’t have gone any better, after the side defeated reigning Specsavers County Champions Essex by 301 runs.
“It went well from the start to win the toss and go and bat, which we felt strongly about, and the partnerships we built on Day One set us up. To get 380 here against their bowling attack was huge for us.”
Ross Taylor’s 146 was the mainstay of the county’s first innings and went a long way towards giving Notts their period of dominance.
“All credit to Ross,” said Nash.
“The way he played was world class, he showed everyone how good he is and someone like Rooty (Billy Root), who got 32 and was involved in that partnership of over 100 got us all up for the rest of the game.”
The stand-in skipper stressed that it had been a real team performance.
“We said in the dressing room that there were the headline acts – and quite rightly they will get all the credit – but alongside that there were some really solid performances from everyone,” he reflected.
“At lunch yesterday we were looking at 270-280 as a great lead but the way Mooresy (Tom Moores) went about it stretched it right out of their reach, so that was a massive shift for us – and probably for them as well.”
Matt Milnes was the leading wicket-taker in Essex’s second innings and Nash felt he’d earned his successes.
“The way he bowled in the first innings, I thought he deserved more – and the way he bowled to Alastair Cook was brilliant.
"He took a huge amount from that and came out second innings and backed it up even better, so we’re absolutely delighted that a young player from Notts is coming through and performing in first team cricket.”
The captain also admitted he’d enjoyed the experience.
“It’s been cool. It’s always nice when you take over – Mull has been fantastic all year, I’ve really enjoyed working under him and learned a lot from him, so to come in for this game and for the boys to perform as they did was fantastic.
"It’s been a pleasure to captain. I’ll do next week and then he can have the armband back.”
Notts haven’t too long to celebrate the win, with Monday’s match at Trent Bridge against Worcestershire looming large.
“When you come to Chelmsford and beat the champions, for the first time since 1984, it means we can go into that game full of confidence, straight off the back of a win, so we’ll look forward to Monday.”
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T20 returns to Trent Bridge on 4 July with a 2017 Finals Day rematch of Notts Outlaws v Birmingham Bears. Tickets are £10 in advance for adults, £7 for over-65s & under-21s and £5 for under 16s. Secure your seats now.