Peter Moores has backed Nottinghamshire’s batting line-up to move on quickly from their “bad day at the office” on day one of the pre-season friendly against Warwickshire.

Whilst resolving that his charges will learn lessons from a performance that saw them bowled out for 131, the Head Coach is keeping the far more important challenges that lie ahead at the front and centre of his mind.

“In some ways we’re thankful that it’s not a game of points because, if it was, we’d be very disappointed with how we went about it,” said Moores.

“Warwickshire bowled well and there were some good balls, but we didn’t apply ourselves well enough to get past it.

“We’ll take it for what it is. It’s a practice game. They key is for us to use it to adjust and use the remaining pre-season cricket to get ourselves ready for when we start on 8 April.

“We need to move on in the right way and practice games are about taking the lessons learned.

“It’s about getting into the tempo of batting in four-day cricket. It’s a long format game and you’ve got to get past the new ball and build partnerships.

“We want to be a positive side. That’s the way we want to play our cricket. But sometimes you’ve got to hang in there and soak up some pressure before taking your moment to attack.

“We’ve got another day here at Edgbaston and then two more against Leicestershire to fine tune before things really start."

Whilst disappointed that his top-order failed to benefit from the critical currency of pre-season time in the middle on this occasion, Moores is taking comfort from the consistent performances produced by the same personnel last summer.

Nottinghamshire’s Bob Willis Trophy fixtures saw them post totals of 324, 355, 472, 343 and 422, securing first innings advantages in each of the five matches and providing a platform on which the Head Coach is hoping to build.

“We won’t ignore it, but we aren’t overplaying it either,” he continued.

“It’s a wake-up call that tells us there’s more we need to do to be ready to go against Durham.

“We’ll take confidence from the fact that we batted well as a unit last year. We found some stability and built some strong foundations.

“Our batters have had a bad day at the office today, but you take it on the chin and get yourselves ready for the bigger stuff that’s to come.”

With the current fixture at Edgbaston set to be followed by a further practice match against Leicestershire over Easter, Nottinghamshire’s batsmen have further opportunities to impress prior to facing off in their LV= Insurance County Championship opener against Durham.

“Three lads got to 100 in the last game and that was important time spent in the middle,” added Moores.

“You want to see players getting to a point where, as a batter, you feel in rhythm and you’re thinking about nothing except watching the ball and just playing.

“But, even if you don’t have that, it doesn’t dictate whether you do well or badly when it really counts for something, because that is another set of circumstances.”

After watching Luke Fletcher bowl an unbroken ten-over spell during the dying embers of the opening day, Moores hailed the attitude and dedication of his stalwart paceman.

“You get to this time of the year and you’re always hoping your key men can stay fit,” he said.

“Credit to Luke because he’s worked extremely hard over the past six months, on all aspects of his game.

“He’s in great shape and, from the amount of effort he’s put in, he’s earned the right to have a good season.

“He looks fit, he looks strong, he’s found a nice routine in how he goes about his preparation and he’s always been an effective bowler.”

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Tickets to witness Notts Outlaws’ defence of their Vitality Blast title in 2021 are now on general sale.