Nottinghamshire are part of Group 1 of the 2021 County Championship – here’s their team preview and fixtures list.

County Championship 2021: Nottinghamshire preview

Captain

Steven Mullaney

Last year

4/6 North Group

Player movement

In: Brett Hutton (Northants), Toby Pettman (Oxford MCCU), Dane Schadendorf (Zim, UK passport), Dane Paterson (SA)

Out: Jack Blatherwick (Lancs), Chris Nash (released)

Key player

Joe Clarke – four hundreds in 18 matches since joining Notts in 2019, but only averaging 31 in that time, Clarke is still searching for the consistency to match his talent. The 24-year-old insists he is ready for higher honours – now it’s time to back that up with a red-ball season of real substance.

Bolter

Tom Barber – after fleeting spells at Hampshire and Middlesex, Notts took a chance on the 25-year-old left-arm quick who once clocked 97mph at the Loughborough indoor school. He showed glimpses of that express pace in his three outings last summer, earning a contract extension and praise from coach Peter Moores, who sees a rough diamond starting to smoothen its edges.

County Championship 2021: Nottinghamshire Fixtures

Nottinghamshire v Durham, Thursday April 8, Trent Bridge

Nottinghamshire v Warwickshire, Thursday April 15, Trent Bridge

Worcestershire v Nottinghamshire, Thursday April 22, New Road

Derbyshire v Nottinghamshire, Thursday April 29, The Incora County Ground

Nottinghamshire v Essex, Thursday May 6, Trent Bridge

Nottinghamshire v Worcestershire, Thursday May 20, Trent Bridge

Warwickshire v Nottinghamshire, Thursday May 27, Edgbaston

Essex v Nottinghamshire, Thursday June 3, The Cloudfm County Ground

Nottinghamshire v Derbyshire, Sunday July 4, Trent Bridge

Durham v Nottinghamshire, Sunday July 11, Emirates Riverside

Wisden says

Notts haven’t won a red-ball match since June 2018 but their BWT Trophy campaign (three draws, two losses) was at least an improvement on a dismal 2019 Championship season, when the wheels came off in dramatic fashion, losing 10 of 14 matches after being tipped by many as title challengers.

In Clarke, Ben Duckett and Haseeb Hameed, they boast three of the most gifted young batsmen in the country, and the returning Brett Hutton adds nous to a seam attack which has lacked consistency but possesses firepower. The raw ingredients are there, but the final product has been well short of expectations for the past three seasons.

Prediction

3rd in Division 2

This preview first appeared in issue 42 of Wisden Cricket Monthly.

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