Steven Mullaney is relishing the opportunity to develop his game by learning from the world’s leading white-ball performers in The Hundred next summer.
Mullaney will be staying at Trent Bridge for the competition, having been picked up by Stephen Fleming’s Trent Rockets, and he feels the wisdom he can gain from the head coach – as well as the other big names in Fleming's line-up – will stand him in good stead when performing for his county.
“I’m looking forward to picking his brains and seeing how he gets teams to come together,” said the Nottinghamshire skipper.
“His record of winning trophies, especially in the IPL with Chennai Super Kings, hopefully stands us in good stead and gives us a real chance when the tournament comes.
“It will be great to play with someone of the calibre of Rashid Khan as well, and to learn from the likes of D’Arcy Short and Nathan Coulter-Nile and their experiences of playing around the world.
“And it’ll obviously be exciting to have the England captain [Joe Root] in the dressing room. Hopefully we can gel quickly as a team and give it a real go.”
The gelling process will be aided by the core of Nottinghamshire talent at Fleming’s disposal in the competition, with Tom Moores, Luke Fletcher, Matt Carter, Harry Gurney and Alex Hales all being part of the squad.
And Mullaney feels this is testament to the strength of the Outlaws in white-ball cricket.
"It's great to see so many Notts lads get an opportunity in the new competition."
Steven Mullaney
“I think a couple of Notts boys can think of themselves as unfortunate to have missed out, but it shows how strong we are in the short format of the game,” he said.
“It’s great to see the lads get an opportunity in the new competition.
“It also opens up a great opportunity in the Royal London Cup [which will be played alongside The Hundred] to see our youngsters coming through – including the likes of Joey Evison and Jack Blatherwick, who didn’t get the opportunity to have a long run in the side.
“I think it’ll be really good for the fans to see what we’ve got coming through, and hopefully the chance to play on a bigger stage will stand the players in good stead going forward.”
Trent Bridge will host a Hundred double-header on Saturday 25 July, with the men’s and women’s outfits hosting their Welsh Fire counterparts.
Mullaney worked with Trent Rockets’ Katherine Brunt prior to her departure to Australia to play in the Women’s BBL, and he was effusive about the quality of the women’s game – and the impact the new competition could have on the next generation of female cricketers.
“I spent quite a bit of time coaching Katherine before she went off to Perth, and she’s really good,” he said.
“I know all the women are looking forward to it, and it’s great that we can play double-headers with them and they get the chance to play at Test match venues.
“Hopefully, the kids that come to watch Hundred games will get interested in watching and playing cricket.”
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