ANNUAL REPORT 2019

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY CRICKET CLUB 2019 ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 28 With 2019 being up and down across the board, it was once again pleasing to see a number of Academy graduates showing first team potential. MAT T WOOD ACADEMY REPORT “THE PROGRESSION OF PATTERSON- WHITE, EVISON, BUDINGER, JAMES AND BLATHERWICK IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE TO EVERYONE IN OUR AGE GROUP AND ACADEMY SYSTEMS THAT IT IS POSSIBLE TO MAKE IT AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF THE CLUB.” Matt Wood Our work across the age group and Academy programme is putting these young players in the best possible positions to hit the ground running at first team level. And once they get that opportunity, the challenge for any young player is to put in the performances to keep their place. It was, therefore, fantastic to see how Liam Patterson-White handled himself after making his First-Class debut in the middle of the summer. Not only did he take five wickets on debut – after battling off tonsillitis – he kept his place in the red-ball eleven on merit for the rest of the season. He was followed onto the First- Class scene by Joey Evison, who showed he was comfortable at first team level with an assured batting performance againstWarwickshire. The pair of them are hugely deserv- ing of their first professional deals and are also joined by the exciting talent of Sol Budinger, who secured his professional future with the club in September. All three players have the game required to perform at senior level, and they follow in the footsteps of fellow Academy graduates Lyndon James and Jack Blatherwick, both of whom made the step up to the first team last summer, in becoming professional cricketers. The progression of all five players, along with the many others who have gone before them, is a perfect example to everyone in our age group and Academy systems that it is possible to make it at the highest level of the club. A crucial stepping-stone to such honours is the challenging breeding ground of the Second XI, where – I’m delighted to report – a number of our Academy prospects were mainstays in 2019. Joey, meanwhile, represented England Under 19s in the tri-series versus India and Bangladesh this summer. And his performances have been further recognised with selection for the U19 winter tour of theWest Indies, which will hopefully lead to him taking part in theWorld Cup early next year. There’s immense pride from everyone