Brett Hutton will miss Nottinghamshire’s forthcoming East Midlands derby against Derbyshire with a side injury.

The 28-year-old represented the Green and Golds in competitive cricket for the first time since 2017 in the LV= Insurance County Championship opener against Durham, having spent three seasons at Northamptonshire.

The Academy graduate felt pain in his side whilst bowling in the second innings on day three, having taken three wickets and scored 51 with the bat earlier in the fixture.

He has been ruled out of contention since and is now confirmed to miss out on a return to the venue where he bowled Notts to victory with figures of 10 for 126 back in 2017.

The fixture against Essex at Trent Bridge, starting on Thursday 6 May, may also come too soon for the bowling all-rounder, who is continuing to be assessed by the club’s medical team.

With Jake Ball joining his fellow paceman on the injury list, Nottinghamshire’s seam bowling depth is undergoing something of an early-season test.

Luke Fletcher missed the Warwickshire fixture through illness, and Stuart Broad was unavailable to face Durham and Worcestershire due to management of his workload ahead of England’s assignments in Test cricket later in the summer.

Notts bolstered their pace bowling stocks during the close season with the signings of Hutton, South African international Dane Paterson and former Oxford UCCE seamer Toby Pettman.

“The decisions we made to bring in more fast bowlers are paying dividends in some ways, and the fact that we’ve still been able to field a high-quality line-up in the absence of both Jake and Brett is testament to the depth we have built in that department,” said Nottinghamshire Head Coach Peter Moores.

“But every injury situation leaves behind a bloke who is bitterly disappointed to miss out. Brett was eager to make an impact upon his return, and in fairness he had been bowling beautifully both in pre-season and in the game against Durham.

“When you have depth, you ideally want to be rotating for reasons of keeping people fresh or because you’re selecting a certain side to suit the conditions, not because of injuries.

“But we know that it happens, particularly to fast bowlers because of the strain they put on their bodies – and what it does do is create opportunities for other people to come into the side and perform.”

*******

Tickets to witness Notts Outlaws’ defence of their Vitality Blast title in 2021 are now on general sale.