Club Captain Chris Read believes the signs are there to indicate that Nottinghamshire should be in for a good season.

The 36-year old took plenty of positives from how the party, which is missing several players due to injury and international call-ups, has performed in Barbados.

“From my point of view the most pleasing aspect is to see how some of the younger players, those who made really good strides through the second team last year, are now starting to put a bit of pressure on some of the more established first teamers," Read said.

“I think guys like Luke Wood and Brett Hutton have been outstanding and Matt Carter looks a very promising off-spinner.”

With some prominent players due to join up with the squad over the next week or two, Read feels that Notts should be equipped to mount a challenge on all fronts this season.

The availability of Alex Hales, James Taylor and new recruit Brendan Taylor, who has signed for Nottinghamshire ahead of season 2015 subject to ECB approval, will boost the ranks for the start of the campaign.

“I think the idea is that we can now cover guys who go off and play for England," Read explained. 

"Without doing that it’s very hard to compete for trophies, like we saw at the end of last year when we lost a couple of guys through injury.

"Sidds (Peter Siddle) had to go back to Australia, Harry (Gurney) and Alex (Hales) were in the one-day squad and all of a sudden, we weren’t in a position to compete with the top two or three sides in the country.

“Mick’s (Newell) aware of that and so we needed to make the squad strong for when we lose guys like Taylor, Hales, Gurney and Patel, potentially.

“As it stands, at the start of the season we are going to be very strong and there will be some selection headaches, but I’d rather it be that way and there’s a lot of people pushing for places than the other way round.”

Winning the Barbados T20 Cup reignited Read’s belief that Notts are still one of the best around in that format, but need to land the domestic title to confirm that belief.

“As far as T20 is concerned, we know we’re a very good side and we have a lot of confidence within the squad. There are still lot of players to come into that side who weren’t available at the weekend.

“Ultimately we need to get past the quarter-final. When the tournament starts our first goal is to get out of the group and build some momentum like we always do.

But the fact is we keep falling at the quarter final stage and we need, at some stage, to get that monkey off our back and go forward and win the trophy. I believe this squad is capable of that.”

Aside from the collective challenges that lie ahead, there’s an important milestone just around the corner for the former England wicket-keeper who has 968 first-class dismissals to his name.

For one that doesn’t pay too much attention stats, he admits to being aware of how close he is to reaching one thousand and he welcomes being spurred on by competition for the gloves from Riki Wessels and Brendan Taylor.

“It would be lovely to do,” he said. “It’s probably one milestone that I’ve sort of got an eye on.

“I remember Jack Russell when he reached his thousand. I was in and around the Gloucestershire dressing room at the time and I remember what a magnificent achievement that was, so it’s something to look forward to, but I always try and take things as they come.

"At the moment I feel very good about my game, both with the bat and with the gloves. It’s been a highly productive winter from a training point of view, so the body feels good. As it stands I feel in good shape and probably feel younger than my years.

“It’s great to have competition for places and the ability for people to fill into roles that perhaps they won’t do all the time. Having Riki and Brendan around who can take the gloves is a massive boost, but also they’ll both be very much part of our batting thinking."

 

We pride ourselves on offering the best value membership in the country, packing it full of features and pairing it with the best customer experience in the game. With Nottinghamshire looking to challenge across all formats once more, don’t miss a moment of the action and join our Club now.