Olly Stone says he is “absolutely loving [his] cricket,” as Nottinghamshire’s Rothesay County Championship season hurtles towards a climax with a penultimate-round trip to Sussex.

“I don’t put it down to anything in particular,” Stone said of his recent hot form. “I’m just absolutely loving my cricket at the moment, which will play a big part.

“Thankfully the ball’s coming out nicely, but really, I’m just trying not to put too much pressure on myself, where I just run in and try and hit the top of off with a bit of shape.

“I’m keeping it simple in that way, and if it carries on finding the pad or the stumps, then happy days, so yes, the fact I’m loving playing, as well as the possibility of a title at the end, they keep you occupied.

“That definitely narrows your focus, but really, there’s nothing better than playing cricket and taking wickets, so long may that continue.”

Stone forms part of a 15-strong squad for the trip to the South Coast, with Mohammad Ali making his return after featuring in Pakistan’s recent Test series against England.

With the additions of Ali and new signing Mukesh Kumar, Fraser Sheat has returned home to New Zealand after appearing in two First-Class matches for Notts.

Stone is enthused by the opportunity to operate alongside Kumar and Ali, while also showering all of his seam bowling colleagues with praise.

“To have the world class experience of those two coming in, and Mohammad Ali coming back, it’s 100% good to see,” he said.

“Obviously, we’ll see how we line up tomorrow, but yes, to have the likes of those two to rub ideas off, and also just to add to our bowling attack.

“It will be disappointing for whoever misses out because our attack have been very good in the last few games, but it just goes to show the strength that we’ve got.”

For Stone, that strength will be key as the season reaches its conclusion, though he notes there is an interesting aspect to this round in particular.

“It’s very exciting to go into this point of the season knowing that we can still win the trophy. That’s obviously what you aim to do at the start of the year,” the 32-year-old said.

“It was a great win from the boys last week to put us in a position where we’re still in with a shout, and it’s really exciting now.

“This is a ground that I haven’t been to too much over the years, so it’s a nice change to come here, and hopefully we’ll get four good days of cricket.”

Having assessed the conditions on arrival at the 1st Central County Ground, Stone believes a good contest is in store for the Green and Golds.

“I think it looks like a good cricket wicket,” he said. “There’s still a little bit of live grass on there at the moment, and it feels pretty hard underneath, so hopefully it will be a good wicket.

“Yes, if you get in, there’s probably a few runs in it, but also, there’s enough in it to suggest that if you put the ball in the right area, there’ll be a decent enough chance to take those wickets.”

As for this week’s hosts, Stone is expecting a keenly-fought battle against a strong side, but is backing Notts to get the job done.

“It will absolutely be a good challenge. They’ve shown this year how well they’ve done, and yes, people may have written them off at the start of the year,” he said.

“Credit to them for the way they’ve played this year, and credit to the players who have appeared for them in the fight that they’ve put up.

“We’re just hoping they don’t put up too much of a good fight this week, and I feel like if we have a good four days’ cricket, we should hopefully come out on the right side of the result.”