The summer of sport begins this Friday for the Notts Outlaws…
The football season may be over, but Nottingham’s summer of sport begins at Trent Bridge on Friday 15 May, and the return of cricket to the city as Notts Outlaws begin their quest for silverware in the NatWest T20 Blast.
And the Magpies have a pair of tickets to giveaway too, check the club's Twitter account on Tuesday: @Official_NCFC
The Outlaws will host defending champions Birmingham Bears on the tournament launch fixture, and local bowler Luke Fletcher is aiming to recreate the scintillating form that saw him become a fan favourite and earn national plaudits in last year’s competition.
Spearheading the Outlaws’ run to the quarter-finals, Fletcher took 13 wickets at an average of just over 20 during the 2014 NatWest T20 Blast campaign.
Add to that an equally impressive economy of 7.06 plus a new reputation as a specialist death bowler, and potential England selection was touted for Fletcher.
“It is another important t20 season for me and I will be looking to perform like I did in the games last season,” the 26-year-old said.
“Bowling yorkers and hitting the right lengths in the shortest formats is something I work on really hard and I don’t just rock up on a Friday night without any practice.
“At the moment I am not in the Championship side so I will train a lot with Picky on the white ball side of things to get myself ready.”
“As a club we work really hard on our death bowling so I will be interested to see how we can get on this year.”
“If we can follow up on what we did at the end of the innings last year then we will put ourselves in a good position in the group stages.”
A firm fan favourite over his eight years with the club, Fletcher’s determination to get the best out of himself has endeared himself to the Trent Bridge faithful.
And Fletcher can’t wait to get back to Friday night t20 in front of a packed ground to do what he does best.
“What I love about the club is that is feels like home for me and I think that is why the fans can warm to me as they know how I feel about the place,” he said.
“I always make sure I give 100% on the pitch to get the result and the fans appreciate that when the players are putting in their all.”
With the premiere of Nottinghamshire’s 2015 promo – Cricket Has Landed 2 – days away, Notts Outlaws hope to pack 10,000 into Trent Bridge for the arrival of reigning champions Birmingham Bears on Friday 15 May.
With special tournament launch prices placing adult tickets at just £10 in advance, don’t miss out and secure your seats at trentbridge.co.uk/twenty20