Vatsal Gupta
The Blaze seamer Cassidy McCarthy is optimistic she can play an important role in her side’s bowling unit as the Trent Bridge-based team gear up for their 50 over opener on Saturday.
The East Midlands outfit reached the final of both the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and the Charlotte Edwards Cup in their inaugural year, showing marked growth having moved to Nottingham 18 months ago
McCarthy herself enjoyed game time throughout the season both in domestic cricket and in The Hundred despite an injury which delayed her influence on the field.
Now fit and firing, she believes there is more to come in 2024.
“Last season was tough,” she admitted.
“I managed to get back halfway through the season and played a couple of games and that gave me a bit more of a taste for it.
“There has been a lot of hard work over the winter so I’m feeling really good and coming into the season, it’s really exciting.”
McCarthy also believes the squad are in a better place for their pre-season tour to Abu Dhabi - their first overseas trip since their reformation.
They beat South East Stars in a T20 series, whilst training at the Zayed Sports Complex over the course of their two-week stay.
“It was really exciting to see everyone’s hard work over the winter pay off out there; everything started to click,” she said.
“It was the first time away as a group on tour so it was quite nice to experience training in a hot country, and just to enjoy it together.”
“We had the opportunity to bond as a group, including with some girls who may have been away in the winter, so it was a really positive experience on the whole.”
Now the goal looking forward is simple: take to the field and influence games.
“This time last season I was preparing for surgery on my ankle, so I’m just excited to start the season fit, strong, run in and bowl fast.”
“I think we’ve got a good chance of doing well again but it’ll be important to start well. We had the momentum on our side after the start we got off to last year which I think was really helpful.
“With the squad we’ve got I don’t see any reason why we can’t perform again this year.”