The county's sensitive handling of Mark Footitt – a quick bowler already talked of as an England candidate in the near future – was rewarded with a first five-wicket haul, against West Indies A.

Footitt, who is 20, bowls leftarm over, can swing the ball back in to the right-hander and, on his day, is quicker than anyone on the staff. But Nottinghamshire have resisted the temptation to
push the shy youngster from the Papplewick and Linby club too far too soon. “Mark has a lot of raw potential but still has a lot to learn,” says Mick Newell, the director of cricket. “He needs to get himself a little bit fitter and to be a little bit more cricket-wise. I’m sure he will come through
over the next couple of years but I didn’t really expect him to emerge this year.”

Phil DeFreitas, the county’s part-time bowling coach, has kept a fatherly eye on Footitt. “Phil has been a massive help,” says Footitt, “and the fact that we play club cricket together means that he can help me with my game at the weekends, not just in the week. We have been doing drills about bowling in the right areas off a short run-up.”

Paul Bolton, The Wisden Cricketer