Stephen Fleming has heralded Trent Bridge as the venue which allowed him to ‘fall back in love with cricket’, as the former Nottinghamshire captain prepares to make his return to the area as Head Coach of the Trent Rockets.
Fleming, who skippered Notts to the 2005 County Championship title, said now felt like the perfect time to rekindle his relationship with the English game.
“It just made sense,” he said.
“It’s something we talked about as a family, so when the opportunity arose it was a no brainer really.
“The competition and coaching side has obviously evolved since I was last in England, but the friendships and memories I made at the time were everlasting.
“My time with Notts was a pretty special part of my career and for a number of reasons allowed me to fall back in love with the game.
“I was just looking to play the game for enjoyment at the time, and there was a good group of guys there so it was three years of absolute joy.
“I can’t believe it’s been that long since my time at Notts so I am really looking forward to the opportunity to get back.”
Fleming’s three-year stint in Nottingham may have been a huge success on the field, but it is some of the relationships he formed away from the middle that have lingered longest in his memory.
“You can have the best grounds in the world – and Trent Bridge is a great place to play – but it comes back to the people,” he said, when pressed on his fondest memories of his mid-noughties spell.
“My time at Notts was magnificent, with Mick Newell, David Hussey and the whole team that was simmering up to doing something special.
“I think that’s part of English cricket – you spend a lot of time with a number of people and if you gel, it’s a wonderful time in your cricketing career.
“The people of Nottingham are pretty passionate spoting-wise as well, so my knowledge around Notts County and Nottingham Forest was pretty extensive throughout my time there!
“Everyone was very supportive and knowledgeable, so that area really became my hub, and me and my family really enjoyed it."
Fleming will have two Outlaws icons under his tutelage in The Hundred, after Alex Hales and Harry Gurney were announced in the first phase of draft.
The kiwi will also be able to call on the services of Joe Root – and he feels the adaptability that the England Test captain embodies will be crucial in the new competition.
“I think players are now much more flexible than when I was playing, and the abilities and skills that they have are much more readily available to be used under pressure,” he said.
“Some of the world’s best players bounce from team to team and still perform, which I have a lot of admiration for, and when they do so they bring a calibre of play and style of play that’s fantastic entertainment.”
Fleming was part of the Outlaws party which reached the Club’s first-ever Twenty20 Finals Day in 2006, only to lose the Final in controversial circumstances to Leicestershire Foxes.
But he feels that despite that campaign ending in disappointment, it showed how special the Trent Bridge atmosphere can be.
“We probably should’ve won that tournament, but we just came up short,” he recalled.
“But the ground was packed and when you’re playing as a club side in front of that, the players react to that.
“It is a wonderful ground when it is full, so if we can generate the interest and play in a style that gets people engaged with us, that will be a good experience to have.”
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