Notts Outlaws gunning for more Vitality Blast success, says Mick Newell

The Outlaws were defeated semi-finalists a year ago and will be amongst the favourites to go deep into the competition once again.

“As always, our first aim will be to qualify out of the group,” Newell, the club's director of cricket, said.

“Things are a little bit different this year in that it’s a shorter tournament and the groups are slightly different.

“We’ve got a very good record in qualifying for the knock-out stages and for reaching Finals Day but like everyone else, when it all begins we’ll be starting from scratch and hoping to do well. I’d like to think we’ve got every chance this year.”

Notts start their programme of fixtures with two away matches, travelling to Emerald Headingley to face Yorkshire Vikings on Thursday (August 27), before meeting Durham at Emirates Riverside, two days later.

The squad will be bolstered by the return of some familiar faces, with white-ball specialists Alex Hales and Harry Gurney available for the first time this summer and bowlers Luke Fletcher, Jake Ball and Matt Carter ready to feature after spells on the treatment table.

Notts are also again hoping that their talismanic leader Dan Christian will be around to take the helm once again.

The Australian has become something of a Trent Bridge regular, returning for the past five seasons and skippering the side to their solitary success in the competition in 2017.

“We’re hoping that Dan will be here in time,” confirmed Newell. “There have been issues this year, that everyone knows about, in getting travel visas sorted out. It hasn’t been easy to finalise plans but all being well he’ll be here to lead us.”

Whilst Christian has become something of a constant for the green and golds, a number of other options are being explored to see if the county can also bring in a second overseas player.

“We have looked at one or two players but it’s not proving easy to sort out,” said Newell. “Apart from trying to arrange visas, we have to keep an eye on the quarantine arrangements, so it’s difficult to confirm anything.

“Right now, everything is on a day-to-day basis as to whether we can get anyone in.”

With the domestic calendar pushed into October for the first time, the current government guidelines may permit cricket followers to attend the knock-out phase of the Vitality Blast.

Should Notts be able to host a quarter-final and accommodate spectators, then Trent Bridge would be ready, confirmed Newell.

“Obviously that’s something we’re all working towards,” he said. “But it’s completely out of our hands whether we get a crowd in or not. If it’s possible, then we’ll be ready but we have a lot of work ahead of us before we can even start to think about reaching that stage.”

For the time being Notts will continue to live stream all of their home fixtures, beginning with their Trent Bridge clash against Yorkshire on Monday 31 August.