Today: Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club. Why?
Two words: Trent Bridge:
Yes, I know I have posted this picture before, and yes, there is a fancy new stand now which makes the picture obsolete, but shoot it sure is a lovely shot, eh? And as I have mentioned before, it reminds of my early days of falling in love with the sport: April and May 2007. When I was quitting smoking and just thinking about test cricket gave me a thrill. I am not kidding.
So, considering the above, Trent Bridge and Nottinghamshire hold a special place in my heart.
The club as we know it today was formed in 1841 and dominated throughout the 19th century, those years of the “unofficial” championship (I learned this morning, thanks to good old Sam Collins, that the County Championship proper was not formed until 1890.) They have won five “official” County Championships, the first in 1907, the most recent in 2005. Interestingly enough, they have actually won fewer one day tournaments: only three (four if you county a division two Sunday League title in 2004. I don’t.)
Regarding Trent Bridge: I found some great pictures on its Wiki page. I was thinking of posting them all, but for now, just these:
That last one’s a heart stopper, eh?
The ground is the former home of Notts County and Nottingham Forest football teams, and is a regular stop for international touring cricket sides. It has hosted tests since 1899, the most recent this summer when India came to town. (And lost.)
It currently seats 17,500 and has been home to Notts CCC since the mid 19th Century. (Actually, I had hard time finding a solid date. The ground’s foundations were laid in 1889, but Notts have played on the land since 1838 when William Clarke laid out a cricket ground in the meadow next to the Trent Bridge Inn.)
Oh, and the Trent Bridge library currently boasts the biggest collection of cricket books in the UK.
One Notts player of note that I wanted to talk about was Sir Richard Hadlee, the New Zealand all rounder who played for the county between 1978 and 1987. Sir Richard had a very minor role in the infamous underarm bowling incident in 1981, as he was lbw’d by Trevor Chappell with the second ball of the final over of the match.
The underarm incident is something I will write about in more detail at a later date, as it is one of those odd little cricket moments that really define the sport for me.
And, hey, that’s Notts CCC, more or less.
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A couple interesting articles of note:
DeepBackwardPoint alerts his readers to the fact that cricket has always been insecure, and has always been declaring itself dead. This is really why I think I get along with the sport so well, we are very similar, personality wise. Cricket with Balls a few months back described cricket as: “…not smooth or charming, it’s kind of accidentally vulgar and offensive, but in an intellectual way.” That’s me to a tee.
(Hm. It looks like the above post has been removed from Jarrod’s archives. I guess pissing on other people’s books is not recommended when you are trying to sell your own books. Still available in my Google Reader though.)
Finally, here is a neat article on street cricket in London.
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This is usually where I head “back (to) the pitch”, but I really need to get some work done.
Until next time.
Limited Overs 