Notts bowler Jake Ball hoping tweaks will pay dividends

Ball has been working with bowling coach Kevin Shine to fine-tune his action ahead of what he hopes will be a successful campaign.

“I worked over the winter to tweak a few things red ball wise, such as a straighter run up to the wicket, to try and get better,” he explained.

“Hopefully we can get a good couple of months to put that into practice.

“He (Shine) has been great to work with. I have worked with him on and off since 19 in the England set-ups so I sort of knew what to expect.

“He has really enjoyed his time here and we've enjoyed having a fresh perspective. For me personally it has been really good to have a fresh set of eyes and to reset.”

The Welbeck man is also relishing a return to competitive action and hopes Notts can quickly rediscover the momentum being built before lockdown.

“It is great to be back in training again, after three months at home you miss it,” he said,

“We had a lot of positives happen over the winter and hopefully got a good group of lads together.

“To not be able to show what we have worked on was tough. It has been really good to get into the nets and have a battle with somebody. Competitiveness is something you really miss during lockdown.

“To come back into it now and see the lads come back and not look as rusty as I thought they might is a positive sign for the cricket ahead.

“We did a lot of good work in the winter to set ourselves up. Once we know who we are going to be playing we will hopefully get back into that and slip back into the momentum we were getting in the winter.”

Notts will return to action on 1st August and will play both red and white ball cricket during the shortened campaign.