Joe Clarke is ready for his winter’s work to take centre stage when Nottinghamshire’s 2026 Rothesay County Championship campaign gets underway at Taunton (3-6 April, 11am starts).

Clarke is one of 14 named by Head Coach Peter Moores in the Green and Golds’ first squad of the new season, and he can’t wait for proceedings to begin in earnest.

Fergus O'Neill will land in the UK in the coming days following his participation in the Sheffield Shield final, while Ben Duckett and Josh Tongue miss the trip to Taunton as their workload is managed in line with other centrally-contracted players ahead of the Test summer.

“It’s the moment that all the work over the winter, all the training, every wicket that we’ve played on, every net that we’ve had, has all been leading up to,” said Clarke.

“It’s been a good few months getting myself ready for the season, it's been good to play through the winter, and then we had South Africa as a group.

“That was good to get all the boys together, but it was also competitive and we were able to enjoy a lot of time in the middle, and specifically a lot of time against the red ball.

“It was very productive, and it really underlined how competitive and ready for the season everyone is looking.”

Clarke is firm in his belief that Notts’ ability to operate as a team was a deciding factor in last summer’s success, and he wants to see more from every member of the squad this time around.

“One of the biggest things last year was everyone contributing, and that will be something that we’re looking to do again,” he said.

“Personally, I still felt I contributed at times when we really needed it, but hopefully that will be something that I can do more consistently this year.

“Ultimately, I want to make sure I’m putting us all in a strong position so we can win games for this club; that’s always the main focus.”

The discussion of contributing when required could hardly be more apt for Clarke given the venue of the opening clash.

In 2024, Clarke produced a match-defining second-innings 213* over a total of almost seven hours at the crease to guide Notts to a draw in Taunton.

“It helps, but that is a couple of years ago now, and we all know that this game changes very quickly,” he says magnanimously, when asked about the mental impact of past successes.

“Yes, it might be similar bowlers, but the fact that was a couple of years ago means they’ll have some new stuff to throw at me.

“Especially with it being the first game of a new season, and they’ll be pumped up for it just like we are.”

One area where Clarke is not shy about drawing confidence, however, is his overall performances with the bat in April of years gone by.

Describing the first month of the season as “notoriously difficult” for batters, he nevertheless says he is “feeling good about it, given I feel I’ve had a strong April over the last few years.

“Ultimately, though, it’s like any game, where I’ll be trying to be proactive, solid in defence, leave well, and look to score if there’s a bad ball.

“It’s the same sort of process that has kept me in good stead over the years, so I’m really looking forward to it.”

Enjoyment will be key, for Clarke is under no illusions about the scale of the challenge presented by perennial contenders Somerset, and especially on their own turf.

“They’re a competitive side, so we know we’ll have to be playing well, especially how Somerset have looked in their pre-season.

"But we’ll review everything about them to make sure we know what we’re coming up against.

“We focus 80% on ourselves and 20% on the opposition, and we’ll be making sure we’re there to compete and that our standards are as high as they can be.”