Chris Nash is looking forward to continuing his love affair with outground cricket as Nottinghamshire head to the north of the county to take on Hampshire at Welbeck Cricket Club.

Nottinghamshire have named a 15-man squad for the trip to the John Fretwell Centre. 

Paul Coughlin remains injured, while Stuart Broad is unavailable as the ECB manage his workload ahead of an Ashes summer.

Nottinghamshire squad: Jake Ball, Matt Carter, Zak Chappell, Joe Clarke, Ben Duckett, Luke Fletcher, Jake Libby, Tom Moores, Steven Mullaney (c), Chris Nash, Samit Patel, Liam Patterson-White, James Pattinson, Ben Slater, Luke Wood.

The fixture will mark the first time Notts have played a first-class game at the venue, having visited for five 50-over games over the last four years.

“The pitch was quick and bouncy at Welbeck last year, and the facilities were excellent,” said Nash

“I always think outgrounds create the most exciting cricket. It was a really good wicket at the Isle of Wight a couple of weeks ago, and hopefully it’ll be another good track this week so we can put on a good four days of cricket for the local fans.”

Notts’ trip to the Isle of Wight three weeks ago was their most recent encounter with this week’s opponents, with the south coast side winning by 244 runs.

“We probably should have bowled them out more cheaply than we did, and then we didn’t score enough runs,” said Nash of the defeat at the Newclose County Ground.

“As a batting unit, we have to take responsibility for performing better in the first innings.

“Once we get a partnership, we’ve got to turn it into a big partnership – that’s what we’ve had in the two games where we’ve scored decent runs this year.”

Nash was a key component in Nottinghamshire’s game-saving final-day stand with Ben Duckett against Warwickshire.

The pair put on 199 for the second wicket to rescue a draw, with Duckett notching his first County Championship hundred for Notts.

“Duckett batted beautifully for his hundred, and it was great to see him really get off and running,” said Nash.

“To bat for that amount of time and to still score at a decent rate as well was something we can take confidence from into the next game. 

“It probably showed us there’s a tempo we can find that can help us to get bigger scores.

“We’ve probably played too many shots and made too many mistakes so far this season, but Edgbaston was hopefully a turning point, so we can attack the next couple of games and get some good results.”

Despite the team’s struggles with the bat, Nash has enjoyed his most productive spell in a Notts shirt.

The right-hander sits top of the run-scorers list for his county, having scored 392 runs at 39.20.

But the 36-year-old is eyeing further improvement in the weeks to come.

“I’ve been solid so far this season, but I’m bitterly disappointed that I’ve not scored another 150 or 200 runs considering the way I’ve been playing,” admitted Nash.

“I’m really happy with how I set my stall out at Edgbaston to bat for a long time.

“I’ve got to approach every game in the same way, and if I keep doing what I’m doing then there will be a big score coming up in the next couple of weeks.

“It’s set to be my 200th first-class game this weekend, which is certainly a milestone I didn’t expect to get to 10 or 15 years ago, but I still feel as fresh as a daisy.”

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A Notts Outlaws squad brimming with international talent will commence their T20 Vitality Blast campaign against Worcestershire Rapids at Trent Bridge on Thursday 18 July, with adult tickets priced at £10. Secure your seats…