Jake Ball spoke of his relief in returning to the red-ball format after a near 18-month long gap between matches, as Nottinghamshire took seven first innings Worcestershire wickets on the opening day at New Road.

The 31-year-old was playing his first match since April 2021 before a lengthy recovery period from back surgery left him unable to turn out in the longest format.

However, as he opened up proceedings in Worcester, the Welbeck Wizard looked to click straight into his rhythm with two wickets early in his spell, before returning to add a third before the day was out.

Watch full reaction above.