With much to achieve in the domestic and international stage, Nottinghamshire and England’s Jake Ball is embarking on the most exciting year of his career in 2017.
The 25-year-old, who made red and white ball debuts for his country in 2016, is trying to take his life one step, and one game of cricket, at a time.
Ball, however, admits to letting his mind wander to the possibility of playing for England at his beloved home venue, Trent Bridge, especially having witnessed the record-breaking antics of his Nottinghamshire teammate Alex Hales there against Pakistan back in August.
“To be honest, I’m not looking too far ahead. I’ll take each game as it comes,” he says.
“But seeing what Alex did there last year and the type of games we always seem to have at Trent Bridge, it would be an unbelievable experience.
“The crowds are always incredible and the games are always either thrillers or nail-biters. If it does happen, it will be a very special moment for me.”
With six caps now under his belt and Trent Bridge set to host red and white ball fixtures in 2017, there’s every chance that it could happen in 2017.
Ball describes the forthcoming red ball showdown against South Africa as “one of the great series” in world cricket.
With three tough matches under his belt in the five-day format, the Mansfield born paceman believes he has performed well enough to earn further opportunities, despite India piling on the runs.
“It was good to get those sorts of days in Test cricket out of the way early,” he reflects. “Hopefully now anything we do will come a bit more easily than that.
“I think it has gone pretty well on pitches that don’t necessarily suit me. I did the job that was asked of me and I learnt a lot having spent so much time in the field.
“Bowling at the likes of Virat Kohli on those pitches, you definitely learn a lot about your game a lot about yourself and about dealing with certain situations, which I can put into practice moving forward.”
Before any of that, there’s more immediate business to attend to, in India.
An England side featuring both Ball and Hales is about to face one of the toughest assignments in cricket, three ODIs and three T20s against Virat Kohli’s world-beaters.
Having turned in match-winning performances in Bangladesh in October – and taken two wickets in the recent warm-up match against India A – Ball has form on his side.
“When I get the white ball back in my hand and the blue pads back on, it does give me the memories of what I achieved in Bangladesh.
“I’m hopeful that I can kick on from there and keep putting those kinds of performances in for England.
“It feels a little bit alien having not done it for a couple of months, but I’ll get the feel back after the warm-up games.”
Following on from the latest sub-continental assignment – and while he endeavours to earn the Test spot he craves to face South Africa – Ball has plenty more he wants to achieve in 2017, domestically with Nottinghamshire.
“It’s a very exciting time,” he says. Last year’s relegation wasn’t what any of us would have wanted, but it does give us a great challenge.
“It gives us an opportunity to maybe play in a way the supporters haven’t seen before.
“It’s a massive season for us, looking to bounce back from Division Two and to carry on progressing in white ball cricket.
“Putting a few trophies in the cabinet is the ultimate aim.”
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