Trent Bridge

Trent Bridge is a Test, One-day international and County cricket ground located in West Bridgford, Nottingham, England and is also the headquarters of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club. As well as International cricket and Nottinghamshire's home games, the ground has hosted the Finals Day of the Twenty20 Cup twice. The site is located very close to the main bridge over the River Trent and also close to the football stadia of Nottingham Forest and Notts County.

History

Trent Bridge was first used as a cricket ground in the 1830s. The first recorded cricket match was held on an area of ground behind the Trent Bridge Inn in 1838. Trent Bridge hosted its first Test match in 1899, for England playing against Australia, making it the third oldest ground to be used as a Test venue after Lord's and Eden Gardens in Calcutta.

The ground was first opened in 1841 by William Clarke, husband of the proprietress of the Trent Bridge Inn and himself Captain of the All England Cricket Team. He was commemorated in 1990 by the opening of the new William Clarke Stand which incorporates the Rushcliffe Suite. The West Park Sports Ground in West Bridgford was the private ground of Sir Julien Cahn, a furniture millionaire, who often played host to touring national sides.

Ground

Trent Bridge is considered by many to be one of the best grounds in the world the watch cricket. Being described variously as " One of the finest cricket venues across the globe", [1]the "Yankees Stadium of Cricket", [2] and a "national treasure", the ground also enjoys a reputation for friendliness and safety that is second to none. Trent Bridge's serene pavilion, kept within the architectural parameters of its 1889 foundation, is thought of as one of the most renowned trademarks of cricket. Recent developments include the £7.2 million Radcliffe Road Cricket Centre, opened in 1998 and the state of the art £1.9 million Fox Road stand, which has received awards for its architectural excellence. The latter includes a modernistic aircraft-wing roof and was opened in 2002 despite a conflict with a small group of local residents over the lack of sunlight that this would cause to their properties. Nottinghamshire CCC have recently announced plans to improve the ground further with the construction of a new £8.2 million stand on the west side of the pitch.^[1] Some consider the only downside to the ground to be the tower block next to the Radcliffe Road stand which was built on a plot of land leased to the County Council since the 1960's.

Bowling takes place from the Pavilion End and the Radcliffe Road End, with the wickets laid square of the Fox Road, William Clarke and Parr stands.

Competition for International cricket

Despite being a regular Test match venue in the past, Trent Bridge faces competition from the increasing number of grounds wishing to host Test cricket in England and Wales. For example, Trent Bridge will not be hosting a Test match in the 2009 Ashes series. Trent Bridge is somewhat disadvantaged by its relatively low seating capacity of 15,000. In a bid to retain Test and One-day cricket at Trent Bridge, the planned new stand will increase the capacity of the ground to 17,500, as well as making other improvements such as the addition of permanent floodlights and an electronic scoreboard.^[1]

Test match records

In Test matches held at Trent Bridge, the highest team total is 658 for 8 declared, scored by England against Australia in 1938. The lowest team total is 88, scored by South Africa against England in 1960. Denis Compton scored 278 against Pakistan in 1954, and Bernard Bosanquet (the bowler who first developed the googly) took 8/107 for England against Australia in 1905.

Football

Trent Bridge has a history of hosting football matches. Notts County Football Club played their important games at the ground from the 1860s, and moved there permanently in 1883 when Nottingham Forest left. Unfortunately for the football team, games early and late in the season had to be played elsewhere due to the cricket and Notts County finally left in 1910.

Trent Bridge even hosted an international match, England beating Ireland 6-0 on February 20 1897.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Lifting Trent Bridge to the next level, Notts CCC website, retrieved 20 November 2006.

See also

• List of cricket grounds in England and Wales
• List of Test cricket grounds
• History of Test cricket (1890 to 1900)

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