Kyle Verreynne has admitted that playing County Championship cricket had been a wishlist item for several years, after marking his Notts debut with a half-century against Surrey.

Having mainly played First-Class cricket for Western Province in South Africa, and with 18 Test caps to his name, the 27-year-old said the opportunity to taste red-ball cricket in England was ideal for his own development.

Verreynne is named in a 14-man squad for the trip to Essex (from Monday 9 September, 10.30am), with Dane Paterson's return from South Africa having been delayed.

A compelling four-day contest with Surrey was Verreynne’s first taste of the English game, keeping wicket at the other end to an historic 10-wicket debut haul for Farhan Ahmed while also grabbing fifty runs in his own debut innings.

“I felt good out there. It’s probably the most nervous I’ve been for a game of cricket over the last two or three years,” he said.

“Coming in as an overseas pro at this stage of the season, you’re expected to be on it from the get-go, you don’t have any time to slowly fit in.

“Fortunately day one with the gloves went really nicely, the lads gave me that reassurance that it was a good first day, and that gave me the confidence going into the rest of the game; by the time I went out to bat, I felt relaxed and settled into the group.

“It was an enjoyable first outing and I was really happy to put some runs on the board.

“I was a bit nervous as playing county cricket is something I’ve wanted to do for a while. With the result against Surrey, all-in-all it’s been a good first week-and-a-half for me personally.”

With only a handful of First-Class games on offer each season in his home country, the prospect of playing red-ball cricket in England was an enticing one for Verreynne for more reasons than one.

“For the last two or three years there have been a few opportunities to come to England, but it just didn’t work out," he said.

"We don’t play much red-ball cricket back home but I love this format, so the opportunity to play it more is very attractive.

“It’s also a different game to back home; I see this as an opportunity to grow and develop my red-ball game.

“It’s my first time here, too. Whenever I’ve watched a Trent Bridge Test on the TV it looks very exciting. There’s so much history here and everyone speaks to highly of it, it’s exciting to be here and even just chatting to the members every morning has been really nice.”

The challenge of helping guide Notts towards Division One consolidation is one which excites the South African, who admits to relishing high-pressure moments.

“As a professional sportsman, you want to play games with meaning behind them,” he said.

“The next few weeks are really exciting for me and I’m hoping I can help the club stay up in this division. It’s a bit of pressure and a challenge, but it’s definitely an exciting opportunity.

“You always get yourself going for playing teams who are up there, because when you rock up every morning you know you need to be really on it.

“Amongst the boys in training it seems like everyone’s really focused and switched on. It’s an exciting challenge and I’m looking forward to it.”

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