Haseeb Hameed admits a change of perception has been required in difficult early-season conditions, as the opener looks to continue a strong start to the season against Essex at Trent Bridge (18 – 21 May, 11am start).

The Nottinghamshire vice-captain is part of a 13-man squad for this week’s encounter.

Luke Fletcher is being assessed on an ongoing basis in relation to the ankle problem which prevented him from bowling in the second innings at Northampton.

Ben Duckett, who has been ever-present thus far in Nottinghamshire's County Championship campaign, will sit out the encounter as England's Test summer draws near.

Tom Moores, meanwhile, is progressing well in his recovery from a broken finger, with a view to being back in contention for selection at the start of the Outlaws' Vitality Blast campaign.

Hameed has notched three fifties across Notts’ opening five fixtures of the season, amassing 337 runs at 37.44 – and he looked to Joe Clarke’s recent half-centuries for evidence of how smaller individual totals have been turning into match-shaping contributions.

“The conditions have been challenging, so sometimes you have to change your perception of what constitutes a contribution to the team,” he said.

“People generally look at hundreds as a marker of success for a batter, but you have to recognise that a 40 or a 60 could be a big contribution to your team going on to win the game.

“I thought Joe’s innings at Northampton was a huge one, for the team and for him.

“The way he played in the Lancashire game, in that partnership with Brett in the second innings, went a long way towards us getting the draw. And for him to back that up with 70-odd on a difficult wicket was worth so much more than 76 might normally be.

“It was a hugely important knock, and an innings of high quality.”

Clarke’s innings was the catalyst for victory inside three days at Wantage Road, with Brett Hutton and Dane Paterson running through the hosts’ line-up in the second innings.

It was testament, according to Hameed, to the strength in depth Nottinghamshire’s squad possesses.

“The lads who bowled took responsibility, and for them to perform the way they did was pretty special.

“It wasn’t just Brett and Dane either. To have someone like Lyndon [James] playing the third seamer role so well is great for us – I think his bowling has gone to another level this season.

“To stop a team from going past you when you’ve only got a lead of 90-odd was a pretty amazing effort.”

Notts’ County Championship campaign is nearing the halfway stage, with Essex the sixth side to face the Green and Golds this summer so far.

A record of two wins, two defeats and one draw sees Steven Mullaney’s side sit third in the table, and Hameed is optimistic for the remainder of the campaign.

“We’ve had a couple of ups and downs so far, but with the nature of the points system this year, you’d rather be involved in games that will finish with a result,” he said.

“We’re certainly competing, and we’ve been in great positions in most of the games we’ve played.

“Against Middlesex, we were courageous enough to try and force the win in pretty challenging circumstances. We ended up on the wrong end of that one, but if we can keep looking to force positive results, with the quality we have in the team, hopefully we’ll be on the right side of results more often than not.”

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