Disappointed Peter Moores wants collective improvement from Nottinghamshire following defeat to Hampshire

Nottinghamshire’s players have returned from their history-making road trip knowing that there is room for improvement after falling to successive defeats in the Specsavers County Championship.
Peter MooresPeter Moores
Peter Moores

The squad travelled across the Solent straight after last week’s loss to Essex at Chelmsford and were outplayed by a rampant Hampshire side on the Isle of Wight.

First-class cricket had returned to the island for the first time since 1962 and whilst the occasion received glowing plaudits, Notts slumped to a heavy defeat.

“It has been a disappointing trip all round,” head coach Peter Moores said.

“Before it, we also had the disappointment of the Royal London semi-final loss, so for everybody involved it has been a busy few weeks.

“We had played some good one-day cricket and wanted to come out of the back of it and hit the championship running but that hasn’t happened and we have to learn lessons from it.”

Moores emphasised that whilst there will be the opportunity for some down-time for his players, there are areas that need addressing before the next match.

“You can’t just move on, there are areas we need to address and we need to talk about them,” he said. “Batting has been a real issue for us all year.

“The reality of it is that we are a new team. Whichever way you want to perm it we have got young players and they are still finding themselves. But we’ll get them adjusted and go from there.

“It’s not the first time that a batting unit hasn’t quite fired but we’ve also got some bowlers who have to step up as well.

“It’s a collective thing, both batting and bowling need to be ready for the next championship game against Warwickshire at Edgbaston.”

Despite their loss, Nottinghamshire enjoyed being involved in the inaugural game at Newclose Cricket Ground, in the centre of the Isle of Wight.

Over 5,000 spectators passed through the gate for the four days, basking in the sun-drenched conditions.

“I think it has been a big success for them,” Moores said. “It’s a very nice ground and it was a good pitch for four-day cricket. The weather is always a factor on out-grounds and when it helps you out, you get exciting cricket.

“At times the pitch was interesting, so you had to find a way to negotiate it - but it was clear that over the four days Hampshire did it better than we did.

“We’ve got a bit of a break now before the next game but we’ll come back and be ready to go.

“The positive thing for us to take is that we have got a lot of cricket coming up in the next six or seven weeks, so there will be plenty of opportunities for people to put things right.”

Nottinghamshire are next in action from Monday 3 June 2019, when they face Warwickshire at Edgbaston.