Our Club Captain pens his Christmas message...

As we look back on 2016, we can’t shy away from the overwhelming negative of being relegated in the Specsavers County Championship.

The crucial task ahead of us in the New Year is to work out how we build for the future and get back to Division One as quickly as possible.

It is also important, however, to bear in mind the positives that came out of the year.

As a white ball team, we remained very much in contention – and, even in red ball cricket, people might not see the positives, but they are absolutely there.

The fact that we’re now producing our own cricketers, with the calibre to cut it at first-class level, is vital for developing the future of this club.

Billy Root and Tom Moores gained exposure and experience in the first team last season. Luke Wood, Brett Hutton and Matthew Carter, meanwhile, have another year of learning under their belts, which will stand them in good stead.

As for my own game, from a wicket-keeping point of view, I was really happy with my form in 2016.

Batting was a tale of two halves. My one-day batting was productive, but after breaking my hand, my four-day form fell away.

So, for me, this winter is a case of making sure my body feels good and that everything is in place physically to start next season with a bang.

The perennial question I get asked, particularly during the close season, is how many more years I will look to continue playing.

For me, the answer remains the same as it has for a number of years.

I’ll keep doing everything I can to make sure I’m physically in a good place to play.

If my body is good and I’m performing well, I’ll keep going, but I don’t want to look any further ahead than the new season which, once we hit the New Year, will soon be upon us.

Looking ahead to that campaign, we’ve received a double boost in recent days with the news that Dan Christian is returning for next season’s NatWest T20 Blast – and that Stuart Broad has signed a new three-year contract.

Stuart is a massive part of this club. Whenever he is available, he puts his heart and soul into everything we do.

He loves playing here, he loves representing Nottinghamshire and hopefully we’ll see more and more of him.

With him not necessarily involved in white ball cricket for England right now, he could feature quite heavily for us during the first half of next season, which can only be a good thing.

Looking at DC’s return, I’m a massive fan of continuity and having overseas players who feel a real connection with the Club.

Coming back for his third stint, that connection is definitely there with him.

After his first spell with us in 2015, I remember saying to Mick Newell that not only is DC a great player, he’d also fitted in brilliantly.

When he’s not playing white ball cricket for us, he’s playing in the second team and passing on his experience to the younger players in that dressing room.

As well as the obvious striving for success in terms of results across all three formats, those young guys showing significant signs of progress is what I’m hoping, more than anything, to see in 2017.

It’s setup to be quite a year.

Merry Christmas.

Ready

 

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