Half an hour after ticking off a must-win game with Southern Brave against Manchester Originals to reach Saturday's men's Hundred Eliminator at The Oval against the same opponents, Tymal Mills reaches into his pocket and pulls out a folded piece of paper. "I've got a little cheat sheet," he says with a smile.
On the sheet are three columns. The first contains a list of all Originals' batters in order. The second, headed "SCOOP" is followed by ticks and crosses. The third - "PACE"- has "ON" and "OFF" alternating all the way down.
You don't need to know of this "cheat sheet" to appreciate how diligently Mills prepares for every match (his handwriting, by the way, is immaculate). Doing your homework is part of the job for fast bowlers like Mills who operate primarily at the death. But carrying notes onto the field is a recent development for a cricketer eight shy of 200 T20 appearances.
"I started doing it in the Blast this year [playing for Sussex Sharks] because there were more guys playing that I don't know," he explains. "There were a few times batters would come out towards the back end and I didn't really know them. So I'd be shouting to our analyst or those on the bench: 'Does he ramp or not?' That's all I really want to know - if a guy ramps, do I need fine-leg back, or should I keep him up?
"Since then, I've adopted it. I know Mark Watt did it during the T20 World Cup last year [for Scotland]. I don't know what he had written on his, but that's just for me; whether they scoop and whether pace on or pace off is a better option for that person, just so I am not going into things blind."
"Cheating" works, kids. Mills bowled balls 76 to 80 and 91 to 95 against Originals, removing Jamie Overton and Tom Hartley in the latter set to finish with 3 for 27. Their opponents were restricted to 130, which Brave knocked off with five balls to spare. According to CricViz, Mills' 10 dismissals at the death (categorised as the final 25 deliveries) are the most in the competition, four clear of second-placed Daniel Sams. He takes a wicket every 7.5 balls in that phase, with a dot-ball percentage of 30.6. His 15 wickets overall are the most in the competition.
Those impressive numbers are nothing out of the ordinary for Mills. You only need to look at the last three seasons of the Blast - 30 wickets at an average of 13.50 between overs 16 and 20 - to see this is merely a continuation of his excellence at the business end. Similarly, his deliveries at this stage of an innings - 62.9 percent are slower balls - are nothing new. The surprise is that, although batters now set themselves for change-ups, his are still effective.
"I haven't changed an awful lot," he says. "I bowl a legcutter more now than I did back then, just to have a third variation as such. The legcutter is a bit quicker than the back-of-the-hand-er, so I'm using that as a bit of a middle ball.
"We've played on some wickets which have been decent to bowl on. And by that I mean pretty slow. I prefer slower wickets to faster wickets. My pace often travels for runs on quick decks so I don't mind bowling on tough wickets in terms of used wickets.
"Towards the back end, it's just trying to predict what the batter is going to do as much as I can, and mixing it up between back-of-the-hand slower balls, legcutters and pace-on deliveries. Just trying to outfox the batter and so far it's been pretty successful."
All being well, Mills should double the eight dismissals he managed when Brave won the inaugural men's Hundred back in 2021, which followed a winter in which he spent three months in a back brace following a stress fracture. It was a stint that earned him a call-up to England's 2021 T20 World Cup squad. He played four matches, taking seven wickets, which was the team's joint-highest, before suffering a thigh strain against Sri Lanka.
He missed 2022's edition of the Hundred but found himself on the other side of the ledger as an injury alternate for 2022's T20 World Cup. Reece Topley, Mills' replacement in 2021, suffered an unfortunate ankle injury when he tripped over an advertising cushion during a fielding drill. Mills replaced him in the squad but did not play a game as England triumphed.
A stint in the Big Bash League with Perth Scorchers last winter was cancelled in harrowing circumstances when Mills' two-year-old daughter Delphi suffered a stroke at the airport before the flight to Australia. Thankfully, after 11 days in hospital following the incident, she has made a rapid recovery. Mills has entered this season's BBL draft and is expected to be listed at the Platinum band (AUD$420,000).
He should be in demand given form and fitness. Wednesday's final Hundred group game was Mills' 26th short-form match in the space of 90 days. The first 12 came in the Blast (22 wickets at 21.11) then a six-game stint for Bulawayo Braves in the Zimbabwe Afro T10 (six at 20.50) ahead of the Hundred.
"I hate saying it out loud, but I've been fit all summer," says Mills. "I played a full Blast campaign, went to Zimbabwe and played the T10 and now here. It's just nice not worrying about my body, going about my business and having a nice routine.
"I don't believe in the gods and stuff, but I'm reticent to say yes," he answers, when asked if he is operating at 100 percent. "But I haven't missed a game through injury all year, which has been great. I struggled with a bit of a freak injury with my big toe, the skin and a bad laceration that kept reopening. I got that sorted and played 12 out of 14 Blast games for Sussex, and the two I didn't play was just rest and rotation."
All this makes the timing of England's T20I series against New Zealand, which begins next Wednesday, and Mills' omission from the squad frustrating. Ahead of the 50-over World Cup in October, limited-overs coach Matthew Mott and captain Jos Buttler are opting to use those four matches, and four ODIs that follow, as a tuning-up period ahead of India. As such, T20 staples like Mills and Brave team-mate Chris Jordan were not selected.
Mills gets it. Conversations with Mott and men's selector Luke Wright, a former Sussex team-mate, have been upfront and honest. Nevertheless, Mills rues being unable to add to 13 international caps before the summer is out.
"It was disappointing because, as I say, I'm bowling well, feeling great and there are England games coming up and I haven't been selected. You feel like they've come at a perfect time and you want to play.
"Luke Wright and Motty were clear with CJ (Jordan) and myself. We both had separate conversations and they're using these T20 games as part of the whole month to prepare for the 50-over World Cup. With CJ and myself not featuring in the 50-over World Cup, they weren't going to consider us for the T20 games.
"It's still disappointing and frustrating. I want to play for England as much as I can. But they said I'll come back into consideration for the games in the Caribbean in December."
Mills emphasised that final point - loyalty to the national team - to Mott and Wright. The global franchise circuit may offer greater remunerations, but Mills has eyes for the T20 World Cup next June in the Caribbean and United States.
"That was one of the reasons I was a bit disappointed. I understand, if everyone's fit, I'm not guaranteed to be in that 15. So I want to try and get opportunities to get on there. I want to do what I can to try and be in the mix for World Cup selection next summer."