Dirk Nannes has been reflecting on his season of T20 cricket with Notts Outlaws, a campaign that eventually ended in defeat on Finals Day.

The former Australian international was a member of the Outlaws side that were cruelly defeated at the semi-final stage a decade ago. When the rains came and the Duckworth-Lewis calculations were done it was Somerset who progressed through to the final.

“I recall us being a pretty good side and we were expecting to go a long way on Finals Day,” said Nannes. “I wasn't surprised that we made it that far but when we were bundled out in the semi-final it was just a bit of a shock to us all.

“Somerset were made up of guys who played pace very well, so they whacked me all around the park. Marcus Trescothick was someone who always played me well, so it was no surprise that he smashed me everywhere.

“But when you look at the team we had, it's ridiculous that we weren't a powerhouse in that competition.”

Notts have always, as a club, been particularly creative in promoting the T20 competition. Ahead of that 2010 tournament a media launch was held at the Broadway Cinema in Nottingham to unveil Nannes as their new overseas signing. 

Cricketing prowess aside, he was asked for confirmation about some of the myths surrounding his background as being both a competent saxophone player and skier, as well as being fluent in Japanese.

“I remember going to the cinema that night for the media launch,” he recalled. “As for those myths, I went to university playing sax and I spent my childhood wanting to ski for Australia and be a musician and play in a band.

“I did the skiing thing but didn't make it with the music. Doing music at university turned it into a job and I quickly turned to despise it.

“I was a World Cup mogul skier in my twenties though, which is why I only turned to cricket very late, making my first-class debut just before my 30th birthday.

“I own two hotels and a restaurant in Niseko, Japan, and whilst I'd love to say that I am fluent in Japanese, I can only just do enough to order food and say ‘Hi’.

The left-arm fast bowler recalls his time with Notts with great fondness. “It’s 10 years ago now,” he reflected. “I assume it came about from a recommendation from Dave Hussey, but these things are normally pretty informal anyway.

“I can imagine Mick Newell asking him if he knew of a fast bowler who might be available and it would have gone from there,” he added. “It always helped me that I had a European passport, so every club always knew that I could get into the country and not have to worry about visas.”

Now aged 44, the former left-arm speedster recalls there being a terrific atmosphere in the Nottinghamshire dressing room.

“There were some great characters,” he confirmed. “Andre Adams was always stirring the pot and the 'big boys' (Graeme Swann, Stuart Broad and Ryan Sidebottom) came and went from the England camp throughout and it always made for good chat within the group. 

“Fletch (Luke Fletcher) was just finding his feet, and I believe it was around this time that Alex Hales started making mountains of runs to demand selection in the English side.

“There was a real camaraderie in the group that was unusual to most T20 franchises that I played for and I really valued that.”

Nannes took an impressive 17 wickets at an average of 27 apiece that summer but still has one or two regrets.

“Looking back at the scorecards now, it seems I was useless at the pointy end of the season. No wickets in the last two games, so who knows what would have been if I’d done my job,” he laughed.

Nannes only spent the one summer at Trent Bridge before becoming one of the first cricketers to go totally freelance.

“That is something that I cherish,” he said. “It was a strange time and Chris Gayle, Shaun Tait and myself were the first three to do it, moving from competition to competition around the world. It was the reason I moved my family to the English Cotswolds and lived there until the end of my career.” 

Nannes is amongst a small band of cricketers who have played one-day internationals for two different countries. Holding Dutch citizenship through his parents he appeared for the Netherlands at the ICC World Twenty20 in 2009, a tournament that began in dramatic fashion.

“Without doubt the highlight of my career was my international debut when the Netherlands beat England at Lords in the opening game of the ICC World T20 competition,” he said.

“I was a World Cup mogul skier in my twenties though, which is why I only turned to cricket very late, making my first-class debut just before my 30th birthday."

“We shouldn't have won on paper, yet everything went right for us. We could have lost it on countless occasions, and yet we prevailed on the last ball.” 

The following year he made his debut for Australia and played in their side that was beaten by England in the ICC World T20 Final in 2010.

These days, he’s back home in Melbourne, or he would be if it weren’t for the current pandemic.

“The second wave hit us hard and Melbourne is in total lockdown for the next six weeks,” he reported. “Thanks to my skiing connections I was at a ski resort in Mount Buller when the latest restrictions were announced, so I’ve stayed away from the city.”

Since retirement, the likeable Aussie has become a highly respected cricket commentator but that line of work is currently out of the question for Nannes, with strict travel restrictions in place.

“I should be at the Caribbean Premier League right now and also going back and forth to Japan for my ‘main job’ running my ski hotels,” he said.

“So, times are pretty tough right now. I have no income coming in but I’m looking forward to getting back to commentating.

“Off the back of a few short stints of work with the BBC in England, ABC in Australia have asked me to commentate on every Test series at home.

“I've been doing it now for five years and have grown to love it,” he said. “I've never been a cricket tragic, or someone who knows every fact and figure of the game.

“I question things and explain things to people who would otherwise have no idea about the nuances of the game, and generally don't get too serious about cricket.

“The last 12 months have also taken me to the Caribbean, the Pakistan Super League and for the T20 World Cup qualifiers in UAE. It's been quite a journey!”

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