Nottinghamshire will keep their members and supporters in the forefront of their minds as they begin their Bob Willis Trophy campaign, according to Steven Mullaney.

Notts will contest five group-stage fixtures in the competition, with the two best-scoring group winners progressing to a five-day final.

The competition will take place – at least initially – behind closed doors, but the Nottinghamshire captain is determined to ensure that those fans who are absent are not forgotten.

“Some of our staff who weren’t furloughed – the likes of Mooresy (Peter Moores, Head Coach), Pipey (James Pipe, Physio) and Mick (Newell, Director of Cricket) – rang around a lot of members and fans during lockdown, and the response they got was really positive,” he said.

“But I want them to know that we are mentioning them, we are thinking of them, and we’ll be doing our utmost to perform as well as we can for them.”

The group stages of the tournament will be regionalised, with Notts hosting Derbyshire and facing Leicestershire during the course of August.

The preservation of Notts’ local rivalries has received a warm reception from Luke Fletcher, but Mullaney is keeping his focus firmly on his own side.

“If you’d asked me a month and a half ago I'd have played anybody really, so I think I don't think it really matters who we play,” he said.

“I think what we've done really well is focused on ourselves, rather than other teams – whether they’re our local rivals or not.

“We’re trying to focus on how we want to play our cricket, and to respect what we’re playing for and who we're playing for.

“Hopefully that will stand us in good stead.”

After a ten-month close season – with three months spent in lockdown – a period of five First-Class games in six weeks will represent a change of pace for the Green and Golds.

"I want supporters to know that we are mentioning them, we are thinking of them, and we’ll be doing our utmost to perform as well as we can for them."

Mullaney, however, is philosophical about the shape of the season.

“If you’ve been playing professional cricket for a decent amount of time, you’ll have seen a lot of changes to how the season is structured,” he reflected.

“We used to have periods when we played four-day and T20 games in the same week, then we’ve played each format in its own block, so this will just be another different challenge.

“Every team is in the same boat with it – we just hope that we cope with it better than others do.”