Luke Fletcher has urged supporters to get behind the Outlaws as a pivotal weekend awaits at Trent Bridge in the Metro Bank One Day Cup.

Fletcher - named in the 15-man squad to host Gloucestershire on Friday 9 August (11am) - discussed how decisive a successful weekend at Trent Bridge could be for Notts’ aspirations in the competition.

After comprehensively dispatching Surrey in Guildford by a three-figure margin on Sunday, the Outlaws have three victories from a possible five, and currently occupy the third and final qualification spot in Group B.

“It’s always nice to be winning more than losing, and a few lads have given some standout performances,” he said.

“It’s about keeping that momentum up. We’ve got two big games coming up at Trent Bridge and if we win both of those, we’re staring at a knockout place. That’s been our aim from the start.

“It’s a great group. We’ve got a lot of younger players who are only just making their way into the game, and it’s nice to see them do well. The senior players are also looking after things - you had Brett come in and get a six-fer, and Haseeb and Ben produced some great knocks, for example. There have been quite a few good individual performances.”

The squad’s most senior seamer, Fletcher naturally took recent arrival Rob Lord under his wing.

Having received praise in abundance from Lord after he recorded his maiden five-fer at Surrey victory, Fletcher spoke of how he used his years of experience to guide the newcomer towards a memorable day in the south.

“As someone who has played the game for a while, you can tell when someone is nervous and a bit up-tight, not quite as a relaxed as they can be,” he revealed, “I just tried to make it as simple as possible for him.

“He’s got the X-factor, he’s got that bit of pace. It was all about calming him down and making sure he’s not overthinking the situation, and - at the end of the day - making sure he’s enjoying it, because that’s why we’re all here.

“To come in for just your second game against a big club like Surrey and rip out some of their best players - some who have played Test cricket like Ben Foakes and Dom Sibley - was incredible to watch.”

Fletcher himself has compiled a consistent campaign with the ball so far, with best figures of 3/35 in the eight-wicket victory over Sussex Sharks, and with a tournament economy rate of 4.22 being the best of Notts’ bowling attack.

“You know what you’re going to get with me, I bowl in the powerplay and bowl at the death - that’s probably my main skill and always has been as a cricketer,” he said.

“I try to control the game, be aggressive and also be smart about things at the death.

“Without getting an absolute world-class performance in, I seem to have controlled the game when I’ve been in the team in this competition.

“But when you get to my age, you want to pass on your knowledge and help the next generation coming through. It’s important to help these lads on the way to having a good career with Notts.”

A member of the One Day Cup-winning side in 2017 - in the company of the likes of Stuart Broad, Jimmy Pattinson and Chris Read - Fletcher hopes that his pearls of wisdom can make the difference for his team mates.

“The last time we won the 50-over comp, we had 11 experienced players,” Fletcher said.

“Experience is important, but we’ve also got enough in this side to pass on that knowledge to the younger players and help them execute their skills well. It’s about guidance, keeping them calm and relaxed, being clear with them on their plans and what they’re thinking.

“Now we’re half-way through we can see how the table is panning out and what we need to do to make the knockout stages. We don’t want to talk about it too much and put too much pressure on the young lads, but at the end of the day we’re a big club and we have big expectations because of that.”

A pivotal weekend at Trent Bridge approaches, with Sunday seeing Family Fun Day return for Notts’ contest with Essex.

Fletcher feels that events such as these are vital for inspiring the next generation of cricket fans and players.

“I think it’s important for kids and families to come in and experience the cricket here. It’s an amazing ground, my family will be here too," he said.

"Hopefully we’ll get a good game and we’ll do our best to put on a show for everyone coming to watch.

“It’s going to be a huge weekend. It’s Trent Bridge, it’s our home ground, and a few of these lads have never played at Trent Bridge before - Rob Lord was even asking me which end I prefer bowling from.

“Hopefully the younger lads all enjoy it, and that they get the support on Sunday for the Family Fun Day. These two games are really important for pushing us on to where we want to be in this competition.”

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