COVERED SPRING 2020

23 @TRENTBRIDGE I’d like to be remembered as someone who left it all out there on the field; someone who played with passion, with their heart on their sleeve and a smile on their face. “I bring with me lots of great memories of scoring runs and taking wickets on this ground, so my goal as an individual is to be Notts’ best player next season.” Trego seems in a candid mood, so I try my luck. As well as describing him as an entertainer, Wyatt’s profile spoke of a cricketer not afraid to challenge authority. A cricketer who could, therefore, be challenging in himself. Is he aware of this part of his nature? Is he comfortable with it? Proud, even? Trego takes a moment to think before answering. “I think it’s very easy to be a ‘yes man’,” he says, “to go with the flow, even though in the back of your head you’re not quite sure about something. “I’m an ‘all in’ kind of character, but if you want my buy-in and something’s not sitting right with me, then I’m big enough to ask for clarification. “I think that’s a positive thing in any environment, but it does take a strong character as a coach to be able to accept those sorts of questions. “I think a lot of people probably like a dictatorship, and to have ‘yes men’ around them. “But I think a really good environment is one where everybody can have their point of view.” Time is against us, but one thing has struck me during my half-hour with Nottinghamshire’s new recruit. For all that his Somerset career ended in white-ball specialism, the 38-year-old has made sure to bring the conversation back to Championship cricket: the challenge ahead of Notts in 2020, and why there is no greater test of a player than the four-day game. Having spent time as a specialist, does a return to the sport’s most traditional format truly excite? “It was always just a practical decision to sign as a white-ball player at Somerset,” he says. “The nature of the pitch in Taunton simply wasn’t conducive to playing a seam-bowling all-rounder. “But you miss those challenges.There’s no doubt that the test of your quality as a player – mentally, physically, technically – is in four-day cricket, so it’s something I did miss. “I’m more than capable of meeting those challenges.” Trego takes his leave, with the practicalities of finding a bolthole in Nottingham due to take up the rest of his day. But he leaves me realising that 2020 promises to play out in just the same way as 2000, and all those seasons in between. With Peter Trego running in, using his guile, hitting the ball hard, doing everything in his power – on and off the field – to make this year a successful one for him and his county. Same as it ever was. PETER TREGO