Kelsall, Wood and Hutton sign deals

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Sam Kelsall made his first-class debut in the 2011 Champion County game and a further appearance in a tour match against Sri Lanka A

Eighteen-year-olds Sam Kelsall, Sam Wood and Brett Hutton have earned professional contracts with Nottinghamshire after graduating from the academy.

They have signed two-year deals, having made their first-class debuts this summer.

All three have played for England Under-19s and hope to feature in the U19 World Cup in Australia next year.

Hutton featured in this year’s Champion County fixture with MCC in Abu Dhabi, Wood was a replacement for Samit Patel at home to Lancashire in the LV= County Championship following a mid-match England call-up and Kelsall was included in the side for the championship match at Durham.

Director of cricket Mick Newell said: “All three players showed some promise last season and it is pleasing to take players on to our professional staff who have been in our academy since they were 13 years old.

“It is a credit to our academy director Chris Tolley and the specialist coaches that work with him that these players have made the transition.”

Former Notts duo Mike Hendrick and Paul Johnson plus strength and conditioning coach Kevin Paxton have a remit to work with the club’s professional and academy squads to ensure that consistent standards are applied at all stages of a player’s development.

Academy graduates Jake Ball and Scott Elstone earned professional contracts last season, and Newell has already identified England U17 duo Tom Rowe and Simon Webster as players to watch.

“It’s encouraging to see players at different age groups with strong attributes and Tom and Simon have already caught the eye at England Under-17 level,” Newell added.

“Developing more of our own players is a key element of our cricket strategy, but we keep an eye on the entire player market and anyone that graduates the academy and signs professional terms has to do so on merit and not simply because they were born locally.”

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