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Steven Mullaney
“He’s signed a lot of players for Notts in
his time and - more often than not - he’s
been fabulous for their careers.
“It feels like five minutes ago since I
signed. It was the end of the 2009 season,
I was only 23 and it was a big thing
for me because home had always been
Manchester.
“It’s daunting moving to a new place and
having to prove yourself - and I knew
Notts was a big Club with names like
Chris Read, Graeme Swann, Stuart Broad,
Ryan Sidebottom and Darren Pattinson.
The overseas players that year were
Hashim Amla and David Hussey.
“I’ve not regretted it one bit. It has worked
out brilliantly for me.
“Lancashire had offered a contract, but it
had nothing to do with money. Notts gave
me a chance to play cricket.
“I’d played a couple of first team games
and done okay; nothing special, a couple
of wickets and a few runs.
“Then I spoke to Mick, who said
Nottinghamshire were revamping their
one-day cricket and that he wanted me to
be a big part of it.”
Newell has been true to his word ever
since, never more so than in 2015; a
campaign which was, in many ways,
a microcosm of Mullaney’s entire
Nottinghamshire career, albeit one
that hints at an upward trajectory in
performance.
A season’s first class average of 35,
including two centuries, is much to
admire from a cricketer who has turned
himself into a top-order batsman through
sheer tenacity, for the good of the team.
He scored runs from numbers three, four
and five, as well as opening the batting
in each of the first nine matches of the
season.
But having scored 19 or more in 20 of his
27 innings - with four half-centuries, two
scores in the forties, two in the thirties and
eight in the twenties - it could actually have
been so much better had he been able to
cash-in on those consistent starts.
In limited-overs cricket, meanwhile, it’s
been a tale of cameos with the bat and
consistent quality with the ball - the
NatWestT20 Blast bringing 12 wickets at
24, and seven consecutive overs across two
matches without conceding a boundary.
Mullaney, meanwhile, has also been
playing a key role mentoring the Club’s
youngsters.
“I would say it’s been a decent white ball
season; and okay with the red ball, but I
could have done better,” he said.
“I got a lot of starts in championship
cricket. It would have been nice to kick on
a bit more and get hundreds.
“My consistency was better at the end of
the year. If it had been like that from the
start, I’d have been averaging closer to 40
than to 30.
“I’ve played over 70 games now in each
of the three competitions, so I feel like one
of the senior players,” he continued.
“I try to help the youngsters, I get on well
with them and I do anything I can to help,
as well as focusing on my own game.
“It’s an enjoyable aspect of being part
of the team and I would like to coach
eventually.
“Lancashire had
offered a contract,
but it had nothing
to do with money.
Notts gave me
a chance to play
cricket.”