Nottinghamshire's Luke Fletcher becomes County Championship's leading wicket taker

Bulwell bomber Luke Fletcher has fired himself to the top of the County Championships bowling charts.
Bulwell's Luke Fletcher has 46 County Championship wickets to his name this season. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)Bulwell's Luke Fletcher has 46 County Championship wickets to his name this season. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)
Bulwell's Luke Fletcher has 46 County Championship wickets to his name this season. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)

On-song Fletcher took match figures of 8-64 as Notts eased to an innings and 36 run win over struggling Derbyshire.

It leaves him with a whopping 46 wickets from Nottinghamshire’s eight games this campaign.

Fletcher was quick to hail the contribution of the whole team for the rapid win.

“We are buzzing as a group to get the win,” he said. “It was a massive game in the context of how the division was set up.

“We are chuffed to bits. They did us here last year so it’s nice to rewrite that.

“The performance was brilliant by the lads and everyone is buzzing.

“It's been great bowling with Dane Paterson. He’s a top man and a great team man, they are the cricketers I latch on to.

“He runs into the wind all day long and is a complete team man. He's in great form with the ball and it is a pleasure to play with him.

“Everyone is stepping up at different times and contributing, and you’ve seen Dane Schadendorf come in for his debut today."He was very calm and relaxed and looked like he belongs."

It caps a smooth transition back to red ball cricket for Notts following the first phase of the T20 season.

Added Fletcher: “The transition back into red ball cricket has gone well. The schedule has been like that for years so you just have to adapt.

“I was a bit worried how this game would go after T20 but after four or five overs I slotted back into my rhythm."The good thing in four-day cricket is that you can get into your spells, which I think we’ve done as a bowling group and got better as the game went on.” “You try and find the rhythm as soon as you can as a bowler.

“There's a few things that you do differently in red ball cricket - different run ups, release points, different deliveries - it took a few overs to get into it and it's certainly nice not to be getting whacked all over the place.

“Four day cricket has a lot of emotions involved. The momentum swings and a lot of hard work goes into it. You want to appreciate it when you win well.”

It leaves Nottinghamshire top of Group One with one match remaining of the group stage as they bid to clinch a place in the Championship division.