Bowling all-rounder Calvin Harrison is impressed by the impact made by the newcomers to Notts Outlaws’ Vitality Blast side, and is looking forward to watching their latest addition in action.
Harrison is part of a 14-man squad for the Outlaws’ upcoming local derby with Leicestershire Foxes at Trent Bridge, where the two sides clash tomorrow evening at 6.30pm.
Ben Duckett is available for selection upon his return from the England camp, while Afghanistan international seamer Fazalhaq Farooqi joins the Outlaws for the first time, having both been part of the recent T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA.
Now unbeaten in three Blast matches - earning victories over Worcestershire and local rivals Derbyshire on either side of a rained-off fixture against Durham - Notts, says Harrison, are beginning to turn a corner.
“It was a disappointing run to begin with, we’ve turned ourselves around and recovered a couple of good results,” he said.
“Marts (Ben Martindale) came in with a good start for the win against Derby; he showed us what he can do and what he can offer us in the future. So there are good signs going forward for us in the Blast.
“There definitely were a few moments in those first fixtures that we let slip and didn’t make the most of. That was part of why we weren’t getting results.”
2024 has been a period of change in personnel for the club, with new captains and new faces alike forming a fresh-looking Nottinghamshire squad.
Harrison, himself taking a more senior position in the bowling lineup, has been impressed by the quality brought to the table by Notts’ new signings.
“There have been some positive performances from all the guys who have joined the squad this year," he said.
"All of the park is covered, really, and those new guys will only become more and more comfortable with their position in the team. This is maybe a settling-in period.
“Jack Haynes has had some explosive knocks, Dillon’s (Pennington) have some lovely spells and really wrestled with the ball, and Stoney (Olly Stone, who joined in the winter of 2022) has been awesome to watch now that he’s back from injury and playing regularly.”
At the forefront of Notts’ spin attack in and beyond this year’s Blast, returning six wickets and an economy rate of 7.77 in the short format so far.
The additional responsibility has been something Harrison has both thrived on.
“I’ve definitely enjoyed that role through the middle of trying to hold the game and take wickets, I think I’ve bowled nicely and in some different situations including some more defensive bowling and wide play," said Harrison.
“How I measure success for my own performances is probably situation-dependent. You should manage your expectations considering how the batters may be coming at you - if you concede a boundary, you’ve got to put that out of your mind and continue to play to how the wicket is behaving. Ultimately it’s a balance between minimising runs and taking wickets.”
Friday night could see Afghan left-arm seamer Fazalhaq Farooqi show off his skills to the Trent Bridge crowd for the first time, having returned from the Caribbean as the T20 World Cup’s joint-top wicket-taker with 17 scalps; a tally only India’s Arshdeep Singh could match.
Harrison is excited by the addition and is ready to take on the challenge of the search for a top-four spot.
“He’s a very nice guy and he’s come off the back of a good World Cup for himself,” he said, “He’s a very exciting player, and with Ben Lister heading out it’s good to have another left-arm seamer coming in.
“He’s got some serious skills moving the ball both ways, and he’s caused a lot of problems for international batters so it’s exciting to find out what he can do here.
“It’s also great to have Ducky (Ben Duckett) back for the game, he can be a crucial player at the top of the order so we’re looking forward to having him with us again.
“We know that we’re in a position where we pretty much need to win every game to qualify. If we prep well and train well, knowing what our plan is going into the game, hopefully we make the most of the moments that are presented to us.”
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Notts Outlaws' next home Vitality Blast clash sees them entertain Leicestershire Foxes on Friday 5 July.