Zak Chappell hopes his luck might have turned after getting first wickets for Notts

Zak Chappell is hoping that he now has some good fortune on his side, after collecting his first wickets for Nottinghamshire during the Bob Willis Trophy defeat to Yorkshire.

Almost defying the odds, the former Leicestershire fast bowler played six times for his new county last summer without picking up a single wicket.

“It was a massive relief to get up and running with my first wickets for the club,” said the 23-year old. “Last year I had my fair share of injuries and there were also a few games where I didn’t bowl as well as I could have.

“You’ve just got to believe that if you put enough balls in good areas and make them play and miss continuously, then eventually you hope they’ll nick one.”

Chappell’s maiden wicket for Notts was a memorable one, the big scalp of Jonny Bairstow, who slashed into the hands of point.

“I guess I was fortunate that he hit it straight to him but you’re happy to take them, it’s a wicket, no matter how it comes. Hopefully, that has now set the ball rolling for me.”

Like London buses, his first wicket was swiftly followed by another and he ended up with the impressive match figures of six for 123.

“It was a wicket where you had to make the most of the new ball because it seamed around for a while then before going flat.

“I was thankful for the catchers behind the wicket. Carts (Matthew Carter) is a bit of a joke. He’s like Mr Tickle in there at second slip, he doesn’t drop many. He might not be the quickest across the ground but anything in the air he snaffles up.

“Obviously in the second innings we had to contend without Jake Ball, which wasn’t ideal because he’s world class. But I thrived on the extra responsibility of leading the attack.”

Chappell revealed that he came into the new season feeling as good as he has done for a while.

“I had a small ankle operation in October, to remove some floating bone from the back of the ankle and have felt good ever since," he said.

“Pre-season went well but then we had the period of lockdown. I think I coped quite well with it and went back to my mum’s at Stamford and kept myself busy, although I was gagging to play cricket."

Next up for Notts is a Trent Bridge fixture against Lancashire, a side that Chappell has never faced in the longer format but he does have a fair idea of what to expect.

“I’m looking forward to it very much,” he confirmed. “Especially as I know a few of their players. Obviously, it will be good to see Luke Wood again, Tom Bailey is a very good bowler, I went on an England Lions tour with him and Alex Davies. And when I was at Leicester, Liam Hurt came and lived with me for a couple of weeks whilst he was on trial there.”

Last season Chappell made his one-day debut for Notts against the Red Rose, a contest that saw the Outlaws narrowly come out on top as both sides scored over 400.

“It was a ridiculous match to play in and typified my luck,” recalled the Grantham-born quick. “My first delivery for Notts was to Steven Croft. He hit me straight to deep midwicket and Samit (Patel) put it down. He then whacked me into the Smith Cooper Stand three times and went on to get a hundred!”

Losing the first two matches in the North Group has been hugely disappointing for the Green and Golds and their supporters but Chappell believes there’s still much that can be gained from this shortened season.

“We’ve got lots still to play for,” he said. “The confidence it would give us if we could pick up a couple of wins would be massive.

“We’ve been getting into good positions to win matches. I know that means nothing if you don’t - but I don’t think it’s been a complete write off.

“We need to find ways of getting over the line and our ability to deal with pressure needs to improve at times.

“Personally, I hope I can put a string of games together to show people what I can do. I’ve always been described as having ‘huge potential’, I need to start converting that now.”