Dan Christian, the big-hitting all-rounder that recently committed to a second spell with the Notts Outlaws, says he jumped at the chance return to Trent Bridge.
The former Australian international was confirmed as the Club’s overseas player for the 2016 NatWest T20 Blast, just days after hitting the headlines with a 117-metre six en-route to a rapid Big Bash half-century in Brisbane.
The 32-year-old made it clear to Nottinghamshire Director of Cricket Mick Newell last season that he was keen to return to the Club.
Now the move has come to fruition, Christian is eager to soak up the history, and enjoy the atmosphere, of the world’s third oldest Test Match venue once more.
“Why was I so keen to come back? It was a bit of everything really; the cricket, the facilities, the staff, the blokes and Nottingham as a city; I just really enjoyed my experience.
“As soon as the opportunity arose, I jumped at it.
“By the end of last season I knew I was keen to come back. I told Mick that and a couple of weeks ago it started to come together.
“One of the things I’m looking forward to coming back for is the ground itself,” Christian continued.
“It’s obviously a fantastic place to play cricket and I loved training and playing there last year.
“T20 is a funny one because you don’t get much of a chance to look around and take it all in as much as you might in another format or at practice.
“At training rather than during games, I think you take it in a bit more, when you’re walking through the Pavilion and looking around at the stands.”
Training may be the ideal time to soak in the history of the world’s third oldest Test match venue. But for what Christian describes as a “brilliant” atmosphere, it’s all about Friday night fixtures in the NatWest T20 Blast.
“Trent Bridge probably is as close to the Big Bash as you get in England,” he said.
“We had some great crowds there last year, some packed houses.
“When the top tier of the stand starts filling up, you know you’re going to get a decent crowd and we had that a couple of times last year, which was fantastic.
“The way the stadium is setup at Trent Bridge, the crowd is so close to the ground, you can certainly feel the atmosphere and it’s brilliant.
“That’s one of the great things about the English grounds actually, the spectators sit so close to the field and you get a really good feel of how good the crowd is and how much they get into the game.”
With Nottinghamshire Director of Cricket Mick Newell having already placed on record his plan for Christian to bat in the upper echelons of the order in T20 cricket this year, Christian should have every opportunity to entertain those sizeable T20 audiences.
Opportunities to do so were scarce during the 2015 competition as the Outlaws elected to bat their overseas recruit lower down the order.
But, having witnessed the damage Christian can do during the side’s run to the semi-final of the Royal London One-Day Cup, not to mention those well documented exploits in the Big Bash, Newell has confirmed there will be a change of policy.
Christian admits it’s a challenge he’s relish, but insists he’s happy to bat wherever it strengthens the side.
“I’d love to,” he said. “I really enjoyed batting a little bit higher in the one-dayers for Notts last year and just having that little bit more time to get set before you have to go.
“That’s the best role for me personally and if it happens in the T20s, fantastic.
“There’s obviously a lot of high quality players in the Notts top-order so I’m happy to fit in wherever.
“I actually felt in really good nick in the T20s last year, but coming in at the end of the innings you don’t really get to show it, or get the return you should based on how you’re playing.
“It was nice in those one-dayers to get an opportunity earlier in the innings and be able to get a few.”
The 2015 season saw dramatic last-gasp four day victories, thrilling limited-overs contests and an historic Investec Ashes Test, all in the unique surroundings of Trent Bridge.
Next season, we’d wager, will be no less enthralling and frankly we’d hate for you to miss out.