Conor McKerr has expressed a firm desire to keep building through pre-season ahead of Nottinghamshire’s three-day friendly with Oxford UCCE, which starts tomorrow (Sunday 30 March).

McKerr is one of a 13-strong party heading to The Parks for the Green and Golds’ final clash of pre-season, with Head Coach Peter Moores having made five changes to the group that travelled to Leicestershire earlier this week.

He reflected on a first run out in Nottinghamshire colours at Grace Road, and noted his eagerness to build on that from tomorrow.

“I loved it, to be honest,” smiled McKerr. “Obviously, I missed out in Abu Dhabi, so it was very nice to get out there and play.

“What comes next is another step in the pre-season programme, and we’re keen to make sure we can get what we want out of those games.

“It’s always about us, and what we can take from each game. We’re setting targets for ourselves, and right now we’re focused on going down to Oxford to win a game of cricket.”

McKerr signed permanently for the Green and Golds from Surrey this winter, affording him a substantial amount of time to work with Kevin Shine on developing his game.

He is keen to put into practice that which he has learned from his new bowling coach, with whom he freely admits he has an excellent working relationship.

“Shiney [Kevin Shine] and I get along very well. That was an easy transition, because I love working with him, and he loves fast bowling!

“It’s quite refreshing to be able to work with him, and most of the stuff we have worked on has been around mindset, which has really helped me out a lot.

“The technical stuff, as far as that goes, was quite simple, and that only took a couple of weeks, so I have plenty to put into action now.”

Enthused by his new surroundings and with a drive behind him from a fresh coaching team, McKerr is chomping at the bit for the competitive summer to arrive.

“There’s not too much pressure on down in Oxford; it’s more about us getting our plans and our preparations right,” he said.

“There’s nothing quite like days in the dust, so it’s just about getting more overs in, and learning how to bowl spells again, as we build forward!”