Shafayat made his Notts debut in 2001

Nottinghamshire batsmen Bilal Shafayat and Matt Wood have not been offered new contracts for next season.

Shafayat, 26, made his Notts debut in 2001 and has spent the past three seasons at Trent Bridge after returning from a spell at Northants.

Director of cricket Mick Newell said releasing Shafayat was a tough call.

"He has a long association with Notts and his attitude and approach has been exemplary. But he hasn't produced the consistency we require," Newell said.

Shafayat averaged just 11.80 in six County Championship matches in 2010.

Newell added: "Other players have overtaken him in the pecking order and we want to give those players an opportunity to show that they can hold down a place in the team."

We have a shortlist of targets who we believe can improve our batting Mick Newell on transfer targets

Wood, 29, joined from Somerset in 2008 and has averaged 24.66 in four Championship matches this season.

Newell said: "Matt joined us with a brief to score runs at the top of the order but he hasn't been able to do that with any consistency in four-day cricket.

"I expect that there will be interest in Bilal and Matt from other counties and I hope that they both achieve success at their next club."

Newell hopes that players within the squad will take advantage of opportunities to feature in first team cricket next season.

"Alex Hales has established himself in our side in all formats and we're keen to give more opportunities to Akhil Patel and Scott Elstone who have shown promise in the Clydesdale Bank 40 this season," he said.

"Neil Edwards has been unfortunate in that injury has ruled him out of contention for most of the season but he'll be keen to make an impression.

"We have a shortlist of targets who we believe can improve our batting and we'll make signings if the right players are keen to join us."

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