Ahead of Nottinghamshire’s trip to Durham for their latest Rothesay County Championship outing, Freddie McCann has urged his teammates to continue their strong start.

The left-hander struck 138 in the Green and Golds’ three-day win over Hampshire at Trent Bridge last week, a victory that established a 12-point lead at the summit of Division One.

“It’s been a lovely start to the season,” said McCann. “We can’t complain; we’d have taken it at the beginning. Hopefully we can maintain our relentlessness and get another win this week.”

The Nottingham-born 20-year-old retains his place in a 13-player squad for the trip to the Banks Homes Riverside, which begins tomorrow, Friday 16 May, at 11am.

“I was so proud to get a hundred, and at Trent Bridge too,” McCann added on his innings last week. “Hopefully there’s more to come, and hopefully I can back it up away from home too.

“It’s always special to come back to your debut ground, especially knowing I’ve got a fifty here in the past - and my first wicket too!

“It’s such a big ground; one of the biggest by area in the country, I think. The wicket has been nice this season for batting, so hopefully we can get in on it and put a good score on the board.”

McCann’s First-Class debut was away to Durham in August last year, on an occasion when he fitted in seamlessly with a fluent 63-ball 51, as well as the wicket of opener Ben McKinney.

On that occasion, Nottinghamshire may have ultimately been on the wrong side of the result, but McCann is steadfast in his belief that things feel significantly different now, with that not least borne out by the Green and Golds’ position at the top of Division One.

 “I think a lot of hard work that went in over the winter, where not everyone was at Trent Bridge and a lot of people were away developing their games overseas, has helped,” he said.

“Everyone has matured into their own games and everything feels like it’s coming together a lot more.”

If there is a standout example of that maturation, McCann is most well-placed to be it, along with his fellow Nottinghamshire-born teammate, Farhan Ahmed.

“It’s a massive source of pride,” he said, of the fact that he and Ahmed, both hailing from within the county’s boundaries, now occupy their respective spots in the Green and Gold first XI.

“I’ve grown up with Farhan, playing club cricket, since I was about 16, and he was about 12!” he added.

“It’s obviously nice to play with him, but also to know that we have a good bunch of lads who have grown up in the county.”

In addition to the five members of the squad who are locally-bred, Nottinghamshire also arrive at the Banks Homes Riverside with two standout overseas players in South African wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne and Pakistani seamer Mohammad Abbas.

McCann is effusive in his praise for both, noting that Verreynne’s virtues in particular have been a source of much learning as he develops his own skills at precocious pace.

“They have added so much to the group,” he said of the duo. “They’re top international quality, both of them, and they bring experience of playing against the best, as well as such high standards in their skills.

“[For Kyle], it’s just his temperament, and the way he goes about things,” he explains. “The way he deals with different things on different pitches that I’ve not really experienced.

“I’m only ten games into my career, but gaining that knowledge this early, that I can take into my own game, has been so valuable.”