The last time Luke Fletcher and James Pattinson bowled together was an occasion neither they nor thousands of Notts Outlaws fans will forget.
The pair formed part of an attack that starred in the Outlaws’ historic Royal London One-Day Cup-winning campaign in 2017.
Now Pattinson is set to begin his second spell with the club as this year’s 50-over campaign gets underway, and Fletcher is looking forward to the Australian’s return in Green and Gold.
“It’s great to have Patto back,” said Fletcher.
“We all know how destructive he is with ball in hand on the field, and he’s brilliant guy to have around in the changing room as well.
“We’re all chuffed to bits that he’s come back to play.”
The Bulwell-born right-armer has enjoyed a bright start to his 2019 season, taking six scalps in his first two games.
His opening wicket against Somerset was his 300th for Nottinghamshire in First-Class cricket – more than any other seamer currently in the Notts squad. But it was a landmark which took Fletcher by surprise.
“I knew I’d gone past 300 First-Class wickets in all cricket towards the back end of last year, but I wasn’t aware I was closing in on 300 for Notts. It was a nice surprise when the landmark popped up.
“I never really thought I’d be playing professional cricket for this long, especially for a club like Notts, so it’s an achievement that I’m really proud of.
“I’m pretty happy with the way I’ve been bowling this season so far as well, so my focus is on trying to take that rhythm over into white-ball cricket.
“From the team’s point of view, the results in the Championship so far haven’t been ideal, but we still have a lot of cricket to play for.
“This change in format might be coming at the right time for us to give us the chance to build some momentum and get some wins on the board.”
The game against Lancashire will come just six days after the conclusion of Nottinghamshire’s Specsavers County Championship defeat to Somerset, and heralds the start of a month-long spell of 50-over cricket.
But Fletcher has become accustomed to the rhythms of the English cricket season.
“It is quite a quick turnaround, but as county cricketers we’ve got used to moving between formats.
“This week has been about getting back into ‘one-day’ mode. There are particular skill-sets we need to make sure we can execute with the ball and the bat, and we’ve been working to ensure we’re as sharp as we can be in the field.
“We’ll be as well prepared as possible going into the game.”
Nottinghamshire have named a 14-man squad for the visit of Lancashire.
Paul Coughlin misses out with a finger injury but fit-again Zak Chappell is available having missed the start of Nottinghamshire’s season with a side injury.
Alex Hales has made himself unavailable for selection for personal reasons and no timetable has been set for his return to action.
Matt Carter is included in the squad having impressed with the seconds since recovering from his early season injury.
Notts Outlaws 14-man squad to face Lancashire: Jake Ball, Matthew Carter, Zak Chappell, Joe Clarke, Ben Duckett, Luke Fletcher, Jake Libby, Tom Moores, Steven Mullaney (c), Chris Nash, Samit Patel, James Pattinson, Ben Slater, Luke Wood.
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