Club captain Haseeb Hameed praised the Nottinghamshire faithful for their support throughout the season, as the Green and Golds target Division One consolidation in the final round of the 2024 Vitality County Championship.
Hameed is part of a 13-player squad to face Warwickshire from Thursday (10.30am start), as wicketkeeper-batter Kyle Verreynne returns to the fold after missing last week’s victory in Canterbury.
The departing Luke Fletcher, who misses the final fixture of the season through a side injury, will be honoured by the club for his 17 years of unwavering service, with a special tribute taking place before play on Saturday (10.15am).
As a three-way battle for Division One status reaches its conclusion - Lancashire needing a win for any chance of leapfrogging tomorrow’s Trent Bridge contestants - Hameed reiterated the need for simplicity in match mindset.
“Our focus is solely on us and trying to do our job,” the skipper said.
“In cricket, you can’t rely on other teams to do you a favour. You have to turn up and do your job to give yourself the best chance. We’re looking forward to the test to come.”
“You play a long game in four-day cricket, so at this level all it takes is one slip-up in a session and that can cost you the result of a game. It’s something that we’ve tried to focus on, taking each session as it comes to ensure we have our best chance of coming away with a result.”
The Nottinghamshire playing XI has evolved over the course of the summer, with the likes of Farhan Ahmed and Freddie McCann making their mark in recent weeks.
And Hameed says that each and every member of the home dressing room understands they are privileged to be wearing the Nottinghamshire badge.
“There’s a huge amount of pride within this club,” he said, “We know who we represent and we’ll continue to try to fulfil our role in performing to the best level for the club and the people that support it.
“We have a great fanbase and we really do appreciate the support we get, especially here at Trent Bridge. Hopefully they’ll once again be our twelfth man and we can put on a show for them.
“It’s always great for the club to be bringing through one of your own. Especially in Farhan and Freddie’s case, they’ve taken that chance really well.
“We’ve seen this year the importance of having that depth in the squad and players who can push for spaces in the first team when that opportunity is presented to them. Dane Schadendorf doing just that last week was outstanding.”
The role of club captain has been of no detriment to Hameed's form. Having reached 1,000 County Championship runs for the season - and currently lying third in the run-scoring charts - the opener has found a rich pocket of form in the second half of the year.
“It’s been good to play well in the 50-over comp and then in the red-ball stuff I’ve managed to continue my form," he said.
“It’s nice to go game-to-game with the amount of cricket we get to play, so hopefully I can carry that form into this week too.”
Hameed remains fully aware, though, that form across the dressing room will be needed to secure a result by Sunday evening, and expressed his delight for the perseverance shown by Notts’ latest addition.
Having required some time for adjustment with the ball early on in the Kent fixture, New Zealand international seamer Jacob Duffy took a crucial four-fer in the Green and Golds’ 10-wicket victory last week.
“We were really pleased for him to get those four wickets,” Hameed said, ”He adds a different dimension to our attack, and he’s got great pace.
“I think he was desperate to do well - perhaps he was almost too desperate to do well and forced things a little bit in the first innings, but in the second innings he showed his class which was really great to see.”
But while there is significance of this week's season finale on the field, a tear or two may be shed on Saturday when Trent Bridge bids its formal farewell to an icon.
"The one thing I’d say is: when you think of Nottinghamshire, you think of Luke Fletcher," Hameed said with a smile.
"It’s been a beautiful relationship, he’s represented the club for a very long time and while it’s very sad for that journey to end, you certainly have to smile that it happened rather than be upset that it’s over.
"He’s been amazing for me ever since I joined the club. He was one of the senior players who welcomed me with open arms and made it really easy for me to feel at home here. He’s been a stalwart of this club, he should be really proud of what he’s achieved and we wish him all the best for the future going forwards."
When asked for his favourite Fletcher moment, the skipper unsurprisingly had to pause for thought.
"That game against Worcestershire here in 2021 (a seven-fer for Fletcher) is definitely one that springs to mind, it’s one of my favourite moments with him when he went running off into the corner over by the Larwood and Voce Stand and we all went chasing after him.
"That kind of summed him up as a person and how he went about his cricket. He wore his heart on his sleeve and has always been fully committed. He had a lot of fun with it but was also extremely competitive.
"He’s been a role model and an example for others, and right until the end. We’ve seen him do that for people like Rob Lord, who mentioned how he had Fletch at mid-off for a couple of games to guide him through things.
"He leaves a legacy here, and one of the things that will stand the test of time is the passion he brought to the game and for the Notts badge."
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