Notts head coach Peter Moores is looking forward to a 'challenging' week of cricket as his side prepare to play both red-ball and white-ball cricket starting with the Vitality T20 Blast fixture against Derbyshire Falcons at Trent Bridge on Friday evening.
Moores and side will also make the trip up to Scarborough for a tussle with Yorkshire, which will see the resumption of Specsavers County Championship hostilities on Sunday.
“It’s a tough week,” conceded head coach Peter Moores.
“We’ve got a big game to look forward to on Friday but our practice will have a mixed feel about it. We’ve arranged some specific match practice for the red ball and there’ll be dual sessions as well, where we’ll see both balls used.
“It’s difficult for those that are involved in both formats but it will be the same for Yorkshire as well.
“We know we’ve got a quick turnaround after Friday evening. We’ll go up to Scarborough and practice on Saturday and then be ready for Sunday.”
Despite one or two hiccups, Notts have begun to look a useful white-ball side again and are currently well-placed to advance through to the knock-out stages. Moores feels there are definite signs that his side are peaking at the right time in the Blast.
“You always know that when you play in the league phase of any tournament that you’ve got to find a style,” he said.
“You have to get better as the tournament goes on so, if you qualify, you are ready to play very well in the last part of the competition.
“It feels like we are starting to find that formula but we need to back that up with two or three good performances. If we do that, then I think we’ve got a good chance of getting a quarter-final place.
“The key thing is that people get clear on the roles that they have to do. We are starting to find our feet. Certainly bowling-wise – the last two or three powerplays we’ve bowled really well and then we’ve backed that up coming out of it.
“And batting-wise, it has been great to see different batters at different stages getting runs.”
Notts can strengthen their quarter-final hopes with victory over the Falcons, a side they have now defeated in each of their past seven meetings, including a recent success at the Pattonair County Ground.
Moores is looking forward to renewing the rivalry.
“Derbyshire is always a big game because a lot of their fans will come and we’ve already had one good game against them,” he reflected. “It should be a great night.
“Fingers crossed, the weather will be good and it’ll probably be a full house.”
Attention will then switch to the Yorkshire fixture, an engagement that Notts must undertake without Ravi Ashwin. The Indian spin bowler has picked up 23 wickets in just three matches for Notts but misses out as he is in the Caribbean on Test match duty.
“We knew he’d miss this one when we signed him,” confirmed Moores. “Ravi’s been brilliant when he’s been around and to get that quality of player for so much of the back half of the year has been great. We’ll look forward to having him back for the last three games.”
The head coach is hoping that his side can return to the longer format with some of the momentum that has seen them through recent Blast performances.
“We’ve had some challenges in red-ball cricket,” he conceded. “I’m just hoping that when we get to that Scarborough game the break will have given us a bit of chance to free up.
“We’ve got some good players and I hope we can go out there and play with a bounce in our step and with some confidence, in what will be a huge game for ourselves and the club, to get up and running and try and finish strong and stay in the division.”
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There are three further opportunities to catch the Outlaws in T20 action at Trent Bridge this summer, with the next home game under the lights against Derbyshire Falcons on Friday 16 August.