Dan Christian says Notts Outlaws will be spurred on by the importance of quarter-final home advantage as they face Worcestershire Rapids on Wednesday. 

Victory at New Road would secure a top two finish for the Outlaws and with it the right to play host in the last eight.

“It isn’t mission accomplished,” said the captain.

“When you look at our side on paper, we’ve got a lot of quality all the way down, so we expect to be there at the quarter-finals.

“But it’s nice that we’re starting to peak at the right time and to get over the line in a really tight game against Yorkshire was a great sign for us.

“We haven’t quite been at our best so far. It’s been a very stop, start season with weather interruptions preventing any chance of getting any momentum.

“To have a really good win at Leicester and then to back it up with another win on Sunday in a really close one against a strong side, is very pleasing for us.

“We want a home quarter-final,” Christian continued.

“We saw how difficult it was down at Somerset last year, but when they came to Trent Bridge the season before we were able to knock them out.

“It would be a massive advantage to be playing at Trent Bridge. We know the ground so well and we have wonderful crowd support.

“We we’ll be trying our best to win the final two games and the one against Worcestershire next up is a massive game.”

With Pakistani international Imad Wasim added to the squad that achieved back-to-back victories over Leicestershire and Yorkshire, Christian is left with a selection headache.

It’s a problem the Australian welcomes, however, as an indicator of the Club’s strength in depth. 

“It’s a great problem to have,” he said.

“We had Jake Ball miss out against Yorkshire, unfortunately, and someone will have to miss out for Imad at Worcester.

“Chris Nash is one of the highest run-scorers in the history of the competition and he’s missing out at the moment as well.

“To have players like that on the side-lines makes for really difficult selections, but it’s a great reflection on the depth and quality of players we have.”

Luke Fletcher found himself on the outside looking in more often than not during the early stages of the competition, only to bounce back with critical hand in both victories over the Bank Holiday weekend.

Christian is full of praise for the Nottinghamshire stalwart and his recent performances.

“He’s been awesome, and that’s Fletch,” said the skipper.

“He begged me for the ball for that second-last over against Yorkshire and he did an awesome job.

“He also smashed a vital six in that game and he fielded brilliantly.

“He’s had a great week actually and it’s really pleasing to see.

“He bowled like a genius at Leicester, got a five-fer in the Championship at Scarborough and signed a new contract.

“He works as hard as anyone in training, he’s the lifeblood of this Club and he’s totally deserving of all the success that comes his way.

“For him to have had those performances is really pleasing.”

The Outlaws have named a 14-man squad for the trip to Worcestershire, with Imad Wasim returning to the group in place of Liam Patterson-White after missing the Bank Holiday Weekend fixtures.

Notts Outlaws squad to face Worcestershire Rapids (from): Jake Ball, Matt Carter, Dan Christian (c), Joe Clarke, Ben Duckett, Luke Fletcher, Harry Gurney, Alex Hales, Jake Libby, Tom Moores, Chris Nash, Samit Patel, Imad Wasim, Luke Wood.

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There is just one further opportunity to catch the Outlaws in T20 group stage action at Trent Bridge this summer, with Durham the visitors under the Friday night lights on 30 August.

Secure your seats….