Alex Hales believes there is more to come from Notts Outlaws

The Outlaws sealed their second T20 Blast trophy win after being Surrey by six wickets in this season’s final.

But the big-hitting batsman, who was bowled first all in the T20 final run chase, is confident there is more to come from his side.

“This is for sure the best T20 team I’ve played in at Trent Bridge – and the exciting thing is that it’s a team that’s still building and improving,” he told the club’s website..

“A lot of guys in that dressing room are in their early to mid-twenties, so alongside the more experienced pros we’ve got the perfect blend of youth and experience.

“The next two or three years could be really special.”

Hales also heaped the praise on Joe Clarke, who was crowned Notts’ Vitality Blast Player of the Season.

Clarke shone throughout with his unbeaten century in the win over Durham the highlight of a memorable tournament.

“He’s a phenomenal talent, and he’s got the world at his feet with the way he’s playing at the minute,” he said.

“He was clear that he wanted to be more aggressive this year, and he’s taken the kind of form we’ve seen in practice into the middle.

“He’s got a great work ethic to go with that talent, so I’m really looking forward to watching his progress over the next few years.”

Meanwhile, Jake Ball finished 2020 as the leading wicket-taker in the Vitality Blast and with a trip to South Africa with England on the horizon, neither of which came as a surprise to his longstanding teammate.

“He’s been brilliant this year,” said Hales.

“I faced both him and Fletch (Luke Fletcher) in the nets as they were limbering up for the T20 season, and they’d worked so hard on their white-ball tricks and skills.

“They’ve got all the deliveries – the knuckleballs, the wide yorkers, the slower-ball bouncers – that you need to succeed in T20. Gone are the days where you could just bowl a yorker and hope for the best.

“You could see in the nets that they’d made such huge strides, and I’m so glad for Jake that it paid off this year.

“I know how hard he’s worked, and hopefully he can build on that in the next few years and get back in that England shirt.”