WATCH! @flintoff11 launches the #T20Blast by ranting about 2014, re-living the 2005 Ashes and stealing the trophy... https://t.co/kHpZqFt0rN
— NatWest T20 Blast (@NatWestT20Blast) April 21, 2015
Notts Outlaws batsman Alex Hales, who smashed a career-best 236 this week, cannot wait for the NatWest T20 Blast to start.
Hales hit a staggering 38 fours and one maximum in that knock in the LV= County Championship draw with defending champions Yorkshire at Trent Bridge.
It has helped to set the England limited-overs international up for the Blast, a format he is ideally suited to, not only in the domestic game but also on the international stage where he sits third in the International Cricket Council Twenty20 rankings.
The Outlaws are one of several counties who have bolstered their squads with high-profile international overseas signings for the Blast.
New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum, big-hitting West Indian Chris Gayle, Sri Lanka greats Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi plus World Cup-winning Australians Aaron Finch, Glenn Maxwell and James Faulkner are all expected to ply their trade in the competition this term.
Notts, boosted by the arrivals of Australian Ben Hilfenhaus and West Indies' Darren Sammy, kick-off their North Group campaign by welcoming holders Birmingham Bears to Trent Bridge on May 15, something Hales is relishing.
Andrew Flintoff has tipped @AlexHales1 as leading six-hitter for 2015. So Alex showed him some big hitting #T20Blast pic.twitter.com/9QWa3hgwIk
— Nottinghamshire CCC (@TrentBridge) April 16, 2015
The 26-year-old said: “Twenty20 is probably my strongest format and I am always looking to impress in this format.
“If you look around the English game this year, the quality of overseas players you have got is brilliant. This is as excited I have been for a T20 campaign.”
Notts missed out on Finals Day for a fourth consecutive year in 2014, losing at home to Hampshire following James Vince’s unbeaten 51-ball 93.
They will look to go one better this campaign after recruiting heavily during the winter, adding the signatures of Will Gidman, Greg Smith and Brendan Taylor to a side already boasting the likes of Hales, Michael Lumb, James Taylor and Harry Gurney.
NatWest T20 Blast launch day. https://t.co/cZnq62Uacs
— Callum Dent ⚽️ (@cdent31) April 16, 2015
Add all-rounder Sammy and seamer Hilfenhaus, the former a team-mate of Hales' at Big Bash League franchise Hobart Hurricanes, and Mick Newell appears to have an imposing squad at his disposal.
Hales certainly thinks so, saying: “The squad we have got this year is the best I have been a part of since I have been with Nottingham. I think this year we have got all areas covered.
“The fact we have got an overseas seamer in Ben Hilfenhaus, he has got a lot of IPL experience and played a lot in the Big Bash, and the addition of Darren Sammy. He will bring a bit of liveliness to our changing room and a bit of flair, which is something we will need.
“If you look down our batting order, we have got class everywhere. With the addition of Brendan Taylor as well, more international experience, this is the most excited I have been for it.”