Stewards in white coats, gentlemen wearing Panama hats and an expectant crowd milling their way towards Trent Bridge ufffd there were some familiar scenes yesterday in the build-up to the first Ashes Test in Nottingham.
Ashes-holders England were facing arch-rivals Australia in the latest edition of a Test rivalry dating back to 1877 that makes it the cornerstone of international cricket.
The pavilion doors are opened during Day One of the first Ashes Test at Trent Bridge yesterday. Pic/Getty Images
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This will be the 21st Ashes Test at Trent Bridge since England and Australia drew there in 1899.u00a0It was also the scene of one of the most famous innings in Ashes history when Australia’s Stan McCabe scored 232 there in 1938 -- an innings so good Don Bradman, the greatest batsman in Test history, beckoned his team-mates out onto the balcony to watch it.
Bradman, were he still alive, might recognise the pavilion but much else has changed at Trent Bridge, with modernist stands square of the wicket on both sides, floodlights and a giant television screen all helping to bring the ground into the 21st Century. But some traditional standards remain, with the emphasis at Trent Bridge on spectators coming to enjoy the cricket rather than any other ‘entertainment’.
Emotive language
That explains why Billy ‘the Trumpet’ Cooper, a key figure in the Barmy Army group of England supporters has been banned from playing at the ground.
“I think there has been a lot of emotive language about this whole issue,” Nottinghamshire chief executive Lisa Pursehouse told Talksport Radio. “The truth is, this is nothing new.
Although I’ve only been chief exec for a year, I’ve been at Trent Bridge for about 10 years and the rule was in place then and has not changed at all.u00a0Pursehouse added: “We have a great atmosphere at Trent Bridge. We’re not stuffy or boring or any of those things.u00a0“We’re an intimate ground and the atmosphere is created by the cricket. That is one of the joys of coming to Trent Bridge. I have never been at Trent Bridge when it’s been boring, dull or lacking in atmosphere.”u00a0
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