COVERED 2025 Spring

31 @TRENTBRIDGE GRACE BALLINGER The squad has remained fairly stable since our rebranding: eight players who were part of the matchday squad for our 2024T20 trophy win were also present at our final fixture as Lightning in September 2022. Despite the core of the squad remain- ing similar, the move toTrent Bridge – changing from ‘Lightning’ to ‘The Blaze’ – coincided with transitioning from a team that consistently finished in the bottom half of the league table to one that reached two domestic finals in 2023 and won their first domestic trophy in 2024. Simply put, the move toTrent Bridge provided us with a fresh start; perhaps our new home gave us a new momen- tum. But it didn’t come without work. As we entered our first winter at Trent Bridge, we as a squad of staff and players worked tirelessly on our identity, beliefs, and what it meant for us to play for The Blaze. We spent countless hours scrutinising our previous values and performances – sometimes to an uncomfortable extent – in order to develop better ones. On our first day at Trent Bridge we sat in the press box for the first time, over- looking our new home, and were shown a video of some of our worst perfor- mances on the pitch. From then on, we worked to avoid our previous mistakes. We created a ‘Blaze Code’, which still resonates today, to encourage and enforce behaviours.We focused on being proactive and committed, and made sure to call each other out on both good and bad actions. Our formative years at Trent Bridge changed us from a side with unclear values to one with unwavering beliefs and a match-winning mentality. As this transition occurred alongside our transition to becoming ‘The Blaze’, the team name undoubtedly holds a huge significance for our unit and how we play our cricket. Our positive approach to the game sits in parallel with the values of Notting- hamshire’s men’s team, creating two separate yet united teams. We as The Blaze feel well positioned to compete in the opening season of the restructure, and I have little doubt the men feel equally prepared to begin their pursuit of silverware. For both teams,Trent Bridge is our home, our base, the place we’ve spent rainy days in January hitting numerous buckets of balls in the indoor school. Despite having different team names and different coloured kits, we are all working towards the same goal: bringing trophies home toTrent Bridge. “OUR POSITIVE APPROACH TO THE GAME SITS IN PARALLEL WITH THE VALUES OF NOTTINGHAMSHIRE’S MEN’S TEAM, CREATING TWO SEPARATE YET UNITED TEAMS.” Grace Ballinger