ANNUAL REPORT 2019

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY CRICKET CLUB 2019 ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 52 equity share or other rights had been given in exchange.The third party was merely the owner of an asset within the development. Un- fortunately, she was unable to give further details as it was commer- cially sensitive information but she assured Mr Evans that the Club’s processes had been followed and signed off by the auditors. It was proposed by Ms K A Davies CBE, and seconded by Mr J A Gillott that the Annual Report and Statement of Accounts be adopted. 6. CRICKET REPORT Looking back at 2018, Director of Cricket Mick Newell stated that he felt the team had achieved the bare minimum for a club of the stature and ambition of Nottinghamshire. In four-day cricket, staying in Divi- sion One was absolutely crucial to the club’s standing and its ability to attract new players. The club had achieved this in 2018, by the skin of its teeth, and every- one breathed a sigh of relief after a difficult ending to the season. The campaign started very well, with some very good cricket played by a strong bowling attack in seamer-friendly conditions – but the team struggled at the back end of the season in the absence of some of the bowlers who had been so effective in April and May. A lot was learned from two white- ball defeats in knockout cricket, and it was fair to say that know- ledge shaped much of the thinking in terms of rebuilding the squad, which now had a young, exciting and ambitious feel about it. A warm welcome had been exten- ded to Ben Duckett, Joe Clarke, Ben Slater and Zak Chappell – all exciting players who he felt the supporters would all enjoy watching playing for the club. Paul Coughlin, meanwhile, was eff- ectively a fifth new signing in many ways because he had played hardly any cricket in 2018 and Mr Newell looked forward to seeing him on the field in the forthcoming season. Having worked very hard to get fit, Paul was anxious to get his Notting- hamshire career started in 2019. This, in turn, had led to some people leaving the club – with Billy Root,Will Fraine and Matt Milnes seeking increased first-team oppor- tunities elsewhere. Mr Newell wished them all well – except, of course, when they were playing against Nottinghamshire! A special mention was made of Riki Wessels, one of the most exciting white-ball players the club had ever signed. Riki had felt that it was time for a change from his perspective, and a parting of the ways was agreed with no hard feelings, with him joining Worcestershire. Again, the best wishes of the club went with him. It continued to make everyone proud when Notts players represen- ted their country in international cricket, something Stuart Broad had been doing regularly and with distinction throughout his 11 years at Trent Bridge. He had been an outstanding inter- national cricketer throughout that time and was a great ambassador for the club, both on and off the field. He never missed an oppor- tunity to extol the virtues of Trent Bridge and of Nottinghamshire in general and, with 389,000 followers on Instagram, that was the kind of publicity that the club could not generate itself. Mr Newell wished Stuart all the best for his Testimonial year, during which he hoped members would feel able to support him and his charities, the Broad Appeal for Motor Neurone Disease and the Trent Bridge Community Trust. Mr Newell anticipated seeing a lot