Nottinghamshire�..s director of cricket Mick Newell has promised to bring in three or four new signings in an attempt to freshen up his squad after a failed defence of the Championship title.

Newell showed touching faith in the squad that won the Championship 12 months ago when he made no new signings last winter. With hindsight he may have shown too much loyalty to ageing players who have struggled to rediscover the winning formula.

�..There will be a lot of changes with some senior guys who have done a lot of good service for the club moving on,�.� Newell says. �..There will be at least three, possibly four, signings; batsmen and bowlers.�.�

One of the signings will be an opening batsman to replace Darren Bicknell, who has timed his retirement announcement to coincide with that of his younger brother Martin, the Surrey and former England seamer. Nottinghamshire�..s policy of playing a more youthful side in one-day cricket helped them to qualify for the Twenty20 Cup finals day. But Samit Patel�..s limited-overs success has not been sufficient to secure a place in Nottinghamshire�..s Championship side. A change of county may be on the cards for the former England Under-19 allrounder who is out of contract at the end of the season.

The Wisden Cricketer, Paul Bolton