2024 ANNUAL REPORT

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY CRICKET CLUB 2024 ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 58 Lyndon James was also handed international recognition in the form of another Lions tour in winter 2023, having enjoyed his most suc- cessful season to date with the ball. Mr Newell said that Lyndon’s potential was clear to see, and was recognised by Stuart Broad who passed down the number eight shirt to Lyndon on the last day of the 2023 season. Hours earlier, Stuart had been present as the Pavilion End was re- named in his honour, in recognition of his services to Nottinghamshire and England cricket over the last two decades. Mr Newell said that Stuart was one of the finest Test Match cricketers ever to represent our national team, and that members should be proud that he had been a Nottinghamshire player and he remained a fantastic ambassador for the club. He had hung up his boots, but he went out in fantastic style as members would expect, and left memories of two of his greatest Test Match bowling achievements at Trent Bridge from the end that would henceforth bear his name. Over the coming seasons, it would be the turn of new players to take up the mantle that had been carried by the likes of Stuart. Mr Newell concluded by saying that he was optimistic that the club’s extensive planning and hard work on and off the field would bear fruit in the seasons ahead across the club. He then handed over to the Head Coach, Mr Peter Moores, for his thoughts on the season ahead. Mr Moores said it was nice to see so many familiar faces after what he was sure had been another long winter for some members. It had certainly been wet, though as we moved closer to spring we could get excited about another season ahead. The AGM always signified that the season is close and as always, we had seen several of our players representing teams overseas. Most notable had been Ben Duckett opening the batting for England in what was known as one of the most challenging tours for any England team, India. In many ways Ben signified the modern development of a player. He moved to Notts several years ago to stretch himself further, developed his game through both red and white-ball cricket and was now a highly-skilled batter across all formats of the game. Arguably he was at the peak of his powers, but it was worth remembering that the process of reaching that level did not come without its highs and lows. Ben had experienced tough times, like the T20 semi-final againstWorcestershire in 2019, before recording achievements such as scoring the fastest Test Match hundred by an Englishman in India. The key to his development had been learning through his mistakes – and though this could be painful, it was what forged a player, provid- ing he was brave enough to accept the areas he needed to improve. It would be great to see him back in a Notts shirt again in 2024 along with what was looking like a more experienced and solid batting line up for Championship cricket.The addition of WillYoung added experience and quality to the top order, and in Joe Clarke and Haseeb Hameed we had two more players of undeniable quality. Mr Moores offered congratulations to Haseeb for earning the club captaincy, and commended the work that Steven Mullaney had put in over the years in guiding the team to where they were now. Haseeb showed his leadership qualities in 2023 when he led the team against Surrey in one of the best perfor- mances of the season.Though Haseeb might appear quiet on the outside, Mr Moores warned against the mistake of underestimating his drive and determination on the inside. They say a team mirrors its captain, the Head Coach continued, and if this was true he expected our team to move to another level of focus and consistency under Haseeb’s leadership.The ability to be con- stantly challenging the opposition for long periods of time was key to Championship success, and to gain this consistency of approach was the goal of everyone.This was some- thing that we had based a lot of our success on in 2022, and something we would need to repeat in 2024 to be successful. Luke Fletcher was now back fit after a prolonged absence due to his ankle surgery in 2023 and would join Hutton and Paterson as three of the mainstay bowlers all teams needed to be successful in England. All three were not scared of hard work, put plenty of balls on the top of off stump, and invariably found a way to challenge batters in English conditions. Allied to this we had the extra pace of Olly Stone, JoshTongue and Dillon Pennington, as well as our emerging seamers who were all looking for opportunities. Josh would miss the first part of the season as he recovered from his injury he had picked up with England in the winter, though Mr Moores could report he was progressing well at the moment. In the spin department, Calvin Harrison and Liam Patterson- White would continue to battle it out, as well as the up-and-coming Fateh Singh who’d had an excellent winter in Australia. It had also been great to see young Farhan Ahmed representing England U19s in the World Cup, and his future in the game looked an exciting one. The Blast would also have a new look for us in 2024, the Head Coach continued, with Joe Clarke taking over the reins. It felt like a fresh start with Samit Patel and Jake Ball moving on and he wished them both well with their new counties. It was always difficult when people leave who’ve given so much to the club and they should both look back with immense pride on all they had achieved over the years. Mr Moores hoped our T20 group took on all the positive traits that Joe Clarke would bring. His experience of playing all over the world meant he had a clear vision of how we should play, and the sort of dynamic and positive approach