Matt Carter, the off-spinner who has been a near ever-present for Notts Outlaws in T20 cricket since 2019, has signed a new one-year contract with the Green and Golds.
The Bardney-born bowler took seven wickets in the 2022 Vitality Blast, adding to his previous 41 scalps in the domestic T20 competition, 18 of which came in the 2021 edition of the tournament.
Of the current crop of Notts Outlaws’ bowlers, only Samit Patel has conceded runs at a lesser career economy rate than Carter’s 7.68 runs-per-over.
In the final of the 2022 men’s Hundred, Carter catapulted eventual champions Trent Rockets to a position of strength by conceding just 19 runs from his 20 balls against Manchester Originals.
The 26-year-old, meanwhile, collected 19 Second XI Championship wickets last summer having last played red-ball cricket for the club’s first team in 2020.
“I’ve been fortunate to play for Nottinghamshire across eight seasons now, so I feel settled at Trent Bridge and I’m really happy that I can extend my time here for another year,” said Carter.
“I feel like I have played well in T20 cricket since breaking into the side in 2019. I’m happy with my method in that format and the way I go about it fits in with the other spinners in the team.
“As a player, it’s all about winning trophies, so to have done that with Notts in 2020 and with Trent Rockets this year is definitely something I’m proud of.
“People will have seen much more of me with a white ball in my hand, but what they won’t have watched is the work I’m doing with the Red ball in the Second XI as well.
“This is absolutely still important to me and, when it comes to Notts playing in the first division next year, I hope I can contribute to that at some stage as well.
“I want to play as much cricket, across all formats and to win as many games of cricket as possible.
“If I can do that, hopefully further contracts will follow and I can extend my time at Trent Bridge even more.”
Carter joined Nottinghamshire’s Academy from the Lincolnshire pathway, before making his First-Class debut for the club aged 19 in 2015, taking 7-56 in his first innings as a professional against Somerset.
He has since gone on to make 17 First-Class, 16 List A, and 49 T20 appearances for the Green and Golds, totting up 118 wickets across all formats for his adopted county.
In 2019, Carter was selected for England Lions and took 2-23 off ten overs on debut, dismissing Krunal Pandya and Jayant Yadav.
“When he’s on form and hitting his straps, Matt makes it really difficult for batsmen to score, and that’s a great knack to have in any form of the game because it builds pressure,” said Nottinghamshire Head Coach Peter Moores.
“In T20 cricket, he bowls at difficult times, often in the powerplay, and has a track record of stifling batters’ momentum, for taking wickets through subtle variations and for striking the ball cleanly with the bat as well.
“One of Matt’s big strengths is that, no matter what the match situation or who he is bowling to, he doesn’t get overawed. He just executes consistently to his own plans and, more often than not, it brings him results.
“He’s done that for us for a number of years now, and his ability to step-up, to not overthink it and to get the job done was evident in the final of The Hundred, having missed the majority of the matches in the tournament up to that point.
“It was a performance that reminded me, in some ways, of what he did for us at Finals Day a couple of years earlier, when he was instrumental in us winning the trophy.
“We also shouldn’t underestimate his bowling in red-ball cricket. He did a good job for us in 2020, stabilising what at that time was an inexperienced attack, and has a really solid pair of hands in the slips which is also a commodity in itself.
“To set himself up for the kind of success he’s looking for with the red- and white-ball, Matt needs a good, strong pre-season so he can go into the new campaign knowing he’s done all the work and that he’s ready to go out there and play to the best of his ability.”
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Trent Bridge will host three international matches in 2023, with the sole Test Match of the Women’s Ashes taking place at Nottinghamshire’s historic home, before England’s men face New Zealand and Ireland in IT20 and ODI contests respectively.
Secure your seats at trentbridge.co.uk/internationals.