Captain Chris Read is aiming to use the momentum generated from Notts Outlaws’ victory over Yorkshire Carnegie as a platform for three more wins in the Twenty20 Cup this week.
With Notts finishing the group stages of the competition with a run of home fixtures at Trent Bridge, they can still end with 10 points which might be enough for third place in the North Division and a quarter-final spot.
But to do that they will need to beat Leicestershire Foxes, Derbyshire Phantoms and Lancashire Lightning, and as Read said: “Quite simply, we need to keep winning.”
He added: “The performance against Yorkshire was great and we need to take that momentum on.
“There were some very positive things to come out of the game and we can build on those for the next three games.
“To a degree we saw a transformation in the team’s performance. We had some lads come into the side in Matt Wood, Kevin O’Brien and Paul Franks who barely featured in the first half of the competition, and their enthusiasm and excitement for the game rubbed off on everyone.
“To an extent we were playing in a new way, and it brought us a win, so we must continue to play like that, starting against Leicestershire on Wednesday.”
Read paid close attention to the tactics employed during the ICC World Twenty20 and had promised to rotate his bowling attack more frequently to keep opposition batsmen off-balance.
The plan worked well against Yorkshire and he said: “It’s something that the bowlers have talked about as a unit before and they were ready and prepared for it.
“In Twenty20 cricket you have to be ready to bowl at any moment. I try and give them an over’s notice when I want them to come on but if we make a last minute decision, then tough. They should be able to get on with it and I think they were all up to the task on Monday.”
Director of Cricket Mick Newell has named an unchanged squad for the match with Leicestershire. Off-spinner Jason Brown is likely to be out for a month after tearing his calf muscle in the warm-up against Oxford UCCE last week.
Advance tickets can be bought on Tuesday until 4pm for the discounted price of £12 for adults, £7 for juniors and senior citizens, and £31 for a family of two adults and two children, either here or from the Trent Bridge Ticket Office on 0870 168 8888.
Squad:
Chris Read (capt/wkt), Ali Brown, Matt Wood, Samit Patel, Will Jefferson, Kevin O’Brien, Paul Franks, Mark Ealham, Andre Adams, Ryan Sidebottom, Luke Fletcher, Darren Pattinson.