Brendan Taylor, who has enjoyed remarkable success opening the batting for Nottinghamshire in four-day cricket so far this season, is ready to shuffle down the order when the NatWest T20 Blast gets underway on Friday.
The Outlaws are blessed with a powerful batting line-up and Taylor, who averaged 72.16 coming in at number five in the recent ICC Cricket World Cup for Zimbabwe, is happy to slot-in for the Outlaws wherever it benefits the side.
Speaking ahead of the televised tournament opener against reigning champions the Birmingham Bears, with a 6.30pm start at Trent Bridge, Taylor stated his belief that, for an Outlaws batting order littered with full internationals, adaptability will be the key.
“One of the greatest assets of this squad is that we have a number of batsmen that can bat anywhere in the order,” Taylor, who scored 594 runs in 26 t20Is for Zimbabwe, said.
“Myself, Riki Wessels, James Taylor, Samit Patel, the list goes on and all of us can bat anywhere in the top six or seven.
“That ability will stand us in good stead for the competition and hopefully we can push on and challenge again this season.”
Friday’s tournament opener against reigning champions the Birmingham Bears will be Taylor’s first game of Twenty20 cricket in the UK.
He has, however, heard plenty about Friday nights at Trent Bridge from his new teammates and is very much looking forward to sampling the atmosphere himself for the first time.
“It has been such an easy environment to fit into and I have heard plenty about how much support we get on a Friday night,” the 29-year-old said.
“There will be some tough games, none more so than the holders in that first game, but I believe in the quality of the lads and we will go a long way if we perform to the best of our ability.”
The structure of the domestic season is such that Taylor must get used to preparing for dual formats of the game.
With three centuries in his opening four first-class appearances, Taylor has had no issues getting his head down at the top of the red ball order, a start to life in the UK that has surpassed even his own expectations.
“I have had a much better start to the season than I had expected and now it’s all about kicking on from that,” he said.
“The weather has been very good and the pitches have been more suitable for the batsmen, so that has been beneficial to me."
Notts Outlaws NatWest T20 Blast Fixtures & Ticket Information
v Birmingham Bears - Friday 15 May 6.30pm BUY TICKETS
TICKET OFFER Adults £10 / U16s £5 / U21s £7 / Over 65s £7
v Yorkshire Vikings – Friday 22 May 6.30pm BUY TICKETS
v Durham Jets – Sunday 31 May 2.30pm BUY TICKETS
v Leicestershire Foxes – Friday 5 June 6.30pm BUY TICKETS
v Northamptonshire Steelbacks – Saturday 27 June 2.30pm BUY TICKETS
v Worcestershire Rapids – Friday 3 July 6.30pm BUY TICKETS
v Derbyshire Falcons – Friday 10 July 6.30pm BUY TICKETS
Season tickets include access to all seven group stage home fixtures and a rain guarantee.
Click here to secure your seat: Adults £77 / Over 65s £56 / Families £189 / Under 21s £36 / Under 16s £26
Need more information? Call our ticket office on 0844 8118711.