Nottinghamshire hope to use the elevated pressure of the Vitality County Championship run-in to their advantage, says last year’s top-wicket taker Brett Hutton.

Hutton described the prospect of the final five matches as of similar feeling to that of knockout cricket, as Notts are hosted by Durham on their red-ball return from Thursday 22 August (11am).

The seamer is one of 13 in the Green and Golds’ squad travelling to Chester-le-Street, knowing a win would see Notts leapfrog the home side in the Division One standings.

Olly Stone features in the Notts squad having been made available for county selection by England, who opted for other seamers for their first Test against Sri Lanka, while run-scoring talisman Joe Clarke returns following the conclusion of The Hundred.

Dane Paterson, meanwhile, takes paternity leave and will be available for the final three County Championship matches of the season.

With an extremely congested mid-to-lower table, the overall picture in Division One could dramatically change over the weekend dependent on results, and such is the outlook for the remainder of the campaign, a prospect which only excites Hutton and his teammates.

“The fact that we know we’ve only got five games left, it almost feels like knockout cricket,” Hutton said, “When you look at the table, you realise a result could see you fly up the table with how congested it is. Likewise, everyone understands how far down you can fall with some bad games.

“It’s a nice scenario, as a team we’ve had a good few days of prep after the white ball. The energy is high in the group because of how exciting that table is.

“Everyone is just desperate for these last five to go well, and that can only be a good thing.”

Having led the wicket-taking charts in the County Championship’s top tier last year, Hutton has been forced to play the waiting game after injury in Notts’ draw with Somerset in mid-April.

Making his comeback in the One Day Cup with 6/38 against Yorkshire Vikings, Hutton now has his sights set on a not only a return amongst the wickets with the red ball, but also his 100th appearance for the club.

The wait, he said, was a chastening experience: “It’s tough to try and fill your time. You’re doing the same stuff every day, sitting on your bike, doing work in the gym. It drags on until you finally get to that point when you’re ready to go again. Once you start running, batting and bowling it’s really exciting again.

“After you get over the initial pain, and you think you’re OK to play, you get pulled back and that can be frustrating, but the sports science team know what they’re doing. You have to trust them; it is your body and ultimately your decision, they won’t stop you, but they’ll give you the best advice they possibly can. Like they won’t try to open the bowling, I won’t try to be a physio.

“Now it feels a little like pre-season again for me. I’m just really excited, especially as it’s such a crucial point of the season. I’m ready to go.”

Watching on from the sidelines or via the club live streams has also made life tough for the medium-fast bowler, who knows full well the impact he can have when at his best.

“It’s frustrating watching, because you wish you were the man making things happen,” Hutton said, “If things haven’t gone our way, I’d be thinking if I could have gotten us over the line - all the what-ifs of sport that nobody knows the answer to.

“On the other side, it’s been great watching Dillon do what he’s done and get himself that England call-up; that’s what we all work for. And I was pleased for Stoney getting that call-up with all the hard work he’s put in.

“From a team point-of-view, it’s obviously disappointing not to play as you always want to be contributing, but the other lads then get opportunities in the team which is always a good thing.”

Like in many facets of the game, seam bowling can be a role which poses many risks to the human body, and injuries can be frequent.

But to use that matter of fact to their advantage, Hutton says that the mutual understanding between fast bowlers only brings them closer together.

“All seamers have that care for each other - everyone wants to play, but anyone who has bowled seam understands that at some point you’re going to pick up an injury. It’s just the nature of the sport.

“We’ve all got that camaraderie,” he added, “Everyone felt really bad for Stoney last year, he was ticking all the boxes and then to just pick up an injury like that is just awful. We have that connection because everyone is always trying to hard to get out there and you want to pick each other up.”

The wait for his red-ball return is nearly up, and the potential entertainment on the pitch that awaits the counties is a mouthwatering prospect for Hutton, who relishes the challenge of a ‘knockout’ style finish.

“With how tight it is, teams are going to have to try and force results, we’ll see more interesting games and that’s really exciting for us.

“We’ve got some big names who love to step up when the pressure’s on and that’s only going to be a good thing,” Hutton added, “That pressure feels heightened now and all eyes are on the County Championship.

“Five games are enough for us to get on a roll with some momentum, so I think that the pressure will benefit us.”