County Championship preview: Nottinghamshire

2011 in a nutshell Performed well in the one-day competitions without claiming the trophy that was a priority, and steady in the Championship, reflected by their safe mid-table position How they finished County Championship sixth in Division One CB40 second in Group C Friends Life t20 Lost in quarter-finals What they'll be playing in this season LV County Championship Division One, CB40 Group B, Friends Life t20 North Division Captain Chris Read Coach/head of cricket Mike Newell Ins Michael Lumb (Hampshire), Harry Gurney (Leicestershire), James Taylor (Leicestershire) Outs Charlie Shreck (Kent), Mark Wagh (retired), Ali Brown (retired), Akhil Patel (released) Overseas players Adam Voges (Aus) Key player James Taylor is an excellent signing and if he can carry on his development at Notts as expected then he could knock on the England door this summer How will they get on this season? In many ways English cricket's model county, both in the solid financial performance driven by the redevelopment of Trent Bridge, and the team's consistent competitiveness across all formats. The latter should be maintained following the recruitment of Taylor, Gurney and Lumb, although they don't look quite as strong as Durham and others to sustain another Championship tilt. But if the seemingly ageless Andre Adams can come up with the goods yet again, you never know