2025 Annual-report

MINUTES OF THE 2025 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 55 One season. The end of the season required us to bid farewell to departing players. In addition to Luke Fletcher, who had just been appointed as an assistant coach withThe Blaze, three players from the men’s team had left us at the end of last season, with a further trio departing The Blaze.They all did so with our best wishes and thanks for their effort and commitment. In conclusion Mr Newell said that thanks, too, must go to the club’s entire workforce, the ground staff, maintenance and catering teams who all worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make all the cricket we see possible. Finally, Mr Newell wished to extend his appreciation to the members. The time and investment that the members continued to show the club was appreciated by all. Mr Newell then handed over to the Head Coach, Peter Moores. Mr Moores began by saying that if there was a word that seemed to sum up the game of cricket at the moment it was uncertainty.The game was changing at a rate that he had not seen in his lifetime and would continue to evolve over the coming years. Change could feel tough, as the thoughts of losing what we already had could be scary, though change could also be differ- ent and exciting, providing a boost of energy for everyone involved. If we replaced the word uncertainty with opportunity, then he believed the club would have more chance of navigating through this period of change successfully.The opportunity to secure the future of our game, while ensuring the standing of our own club, felt like something to get excited about. When he looked forward to 2025, Mr Moores saw opportunity for our current group of players. After what was a tough season last year, Notts had retained First Division status and had opportunities for silverware in both white-ball competitions. Last season was a year of change, with multiple debuts in all the three competitions. Eight players debuted in the Championship and the Vitality Blast, while four more players debuted in the Metro Bank One Day Cup. This included a few experienced players who had moved counties, though we did see the emergence of several of our own players. Freddie McCann and Farhan Ahmed would be the two stand out perfor- mers from our younger group – although, Ben Martindale, Sammy King, Rob Lord and Dane Schaden- dorf would all have benefited hugely from their exposure to first eleven cricket. Three more Academy graduates had since joined the staff, as we continued to strive towards our goal of having a large percentage of our squad developed through our own system. With new players joining, it was inevitable that we would also lose players. Starting a season without Luke Fletcher or Alex Hales felt like a significant moment in the transition to a new-look squad. The loss of senior players had shaped the way the club had recruited its overseas players, especially in the T20 space. In Moises Henriques and Daniel Sams, we had two senior Australian cricketers who were available for the whole tournament. The need for experience in this format was never more evident than last season, Mr Moores said.We knew that to maintain our proud record of qualifying for the latter stages of this tournament, we would need to perform significantly better than last year. In Sams, the club had an explosive all-rounder who was versatile enough to bowl at any stage of the innings. He also had ability with the bat, and this would mean he would add valuable depth to both these areas of the game. Moises’s tactical knowledge and leadership were well-known and, along with his undoubted cricket skill, would bring much-needed experience to the team. He would add valuable support to Joe Clarke, while being another calm head around an emerging group of younger players. The return of Kyle Verreynne, with availability for the majority of the Championship, would add stability to our middle order, Mr Moores continued.This was an area where we had lacked the volume of runs to be competitive. On too many occasions, we had found ourselves on the back foot, fighting to save the game, rather than being able to create the pressure needed to go for the win. First-innings runs would again be crucial, and the stability Ben Slater and Haseeb Hameed provided at the top of the order in 2024 would be required again this season. McCann would be looking to build on last season, along with the rest of the batting unit. On the bowling front, the loss of Fletcher had been reflected in our overseas signings of Fergus O’Neill and Mohammad Abbas. Both had the ability to put the ball on the top of off stump, which had always been a prerequisite for success, especially in England. Conor McKerr would add fire- power to the bowling unit, as would JoshTongue as he moved closer to full fitness. He had been through another long spell of rehab, and we all hoped his body would now allow him to show his true quality on the field. Players and coaches had worked hard again this winter in preparation for the season ahead. As always, we had had players and staff on various tours and tournaments and now everyone was migrating back toTrent Bridge for the final preparations. We would go to Abu Dhabi again for some competitive cricket, Mr Moores said, with conditions expected to be good enough for more outdoor practice on our return. As always at this time of the year, it felt exciting in anticipation of what might happen: who would make the headlines, and what