Pre-season provides technicians like Calvin Harrison a chance to test and challenge their game, but there is also the opportunity to form new bonds away from the confines of the indoor nets.
Through sheer volume of time spent together at Trent Bridge or away from the club’s quarters, friendships flourish.
In the sixth edition of Keeping Up With Calvin, Harrison opens up on the environment in camp, whilst discussing the more recent training developments.
Keeping Up With Calvin: Feeling The Rhythm
Keeping Up With Calvin: Balancing Act
Keeping Up With Calvin: Physical Preparation
Keeping Up With Calvin: The Front Foot
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You know the season is creeping round when you start to head outside, as we have in the last week or two.
It definitely takes some time to get used to that feeling on grass again, which is why it is so important that we are able to get out there as soon as we can.
We had a running session on the outfield yesterday and I definitely felt it in my legs afterwards.
The ground is that much softer so your muscles need to adjust to that extra work which is good preparation ahead of Abu Dhabi and the Championship starting in April.
You want to start the season fit enough to play back-to-back four day games with small breaks in between. Particularly as you get late on days three or four, having that extra five or ten percent of mental and physical energy and strength helps when you are in the fight to win a game.
We’ve also done a few sessions of fielding outdoors, and we obviously are able to get a lot more from that than you do inside.
You get used to the different backgrounds when you’re catching - trying to spot the white ball out of grey clouds, or picking it up out of the big blue.
Even throwing, when you are indoors you have the confines of nets or walls to help focus you at a target and gauge distance and line.
Outside, you see loads of space, so it’s about being able to zone into the mitt that you are throwing at.
We are able to incorporate some more open and faster paced competitive practice which is a good bit of fun.
Aside from training, it is noticeable how tight-knit we are as a group at the moment.
It is obviously difficult to compare to other teams, but the team spirit is really high and we all get on well.
The guys who have joined this year in Freddie McCann, Jack Haynes, Dillon Pennington and Josh Tongue have moulded into the team dynamic really well and quickly, and that is a credit to them and to the whole environment.
The nature of cricket is that you spend such a large portion of your week with each other, whether it be skills training, gym sessions, lunches and so on. Even away from the ground many of the guys will get together for things like golf or tennis, so it is really important to have that togetherness.
You can’t go far in a career like this without enjoying the time you spend with each other. You pull each other along and it makes for a much more enjoyable journey as you work through the highs and lows.
When I first arrived here it is one of the things I noticed early on, from the top down, it is a genuine, welcoming environment. You get that confidence and the freedom to express yourself.
Your first net sessions can be a bit nervy because you want to prove to others why you have been brought in, but that is completely natural and everyone backs each other here, which is important.
Toby, Monty and myself came to be here in quite similar fashion being involved with the university pathways so we are close.
Toby was actually my red ball captain at Oxford MCCU when I first started there, so it is cool that it’s come full circle to now be professionals together.
Monty and I talk a lot about cricket, whether about certain variations with the ball or any parts of our game, and it has become an outlet to explain our thoughts about how we are tracking in or out of the season.
You need to be able to reflect honestly on things and to discuss your game knowing you are getting honest and direct feedback is perfect. You help to build clarity and generally just move each other forward.
We can be open with each other, and that goes for the whole team. The environment is such that we can discuss anything, and there is the experience to lean on from guys like Luke Fletcher, Steven Mullaney, Brett Hutton, Ben Slater etc, when you need it. It is a really nice position to be in when you feel free to talk about anything.
You also learn how to approach things with each other during games.
You'll get your locker position and have your little bubble of guys near to you, and you start to get a sense of things like how soon the guys will want to talk about things like their dismissal when you might be padding up next to them.
Some will stay more to themselves in thought, others will want to look at the video replays straight away and discuss it.
This profession allows us to spend a lot of time together so being able to contribute positively to the team dynamic is massive, and if you are doing the opposite, you'd find out pretty quickly.
It is something I think we get right and hopefully a factor that will help us go all the way this year and in the future.