Trent Bridge Test v India

FALL-OUT

19-07-14

Secondary to the James Anderson - Ravindra Jadeja alleged hand-bagging incident, the pitch for Test  has been decreed "Poor" by match referee David Boon. The ECB have 14 days to make an official response.


Steve Birks earlier in the season also produced another "poor" wicket against Warwickshire; that game lasted 3 days. The bloke can't win; he produces a result wicket and it's wrong or he produces a wicket that would have lasted 6 or 7 days and that is wrong too.

“We are naturally disappointed to have produced a pitch rated poor, which is at odds with our record of producing consistently good pitches for international matches at Trent Bridge,” said Trent Bridge CEO Lisa Pursehouse.

“The role of a Test Match Venue groundsman is fraught with immense pressure and variable factors and we are blessed to have one of the very best in Steve Birks.

“We will cooperate fully with this process and re-establish our enduring reputation for producing good cricket wickets.”

In all seriousness however; the nature of the wickets at Trent Bridge have evolved over the years with one change coinciding with the outfield's new drainage system. If Steve Birks can show that he can produce wickets consistently going to the fourth day of championship games whilst delivering positive results, then all is well and good. It's not Birks' fault that Notts don't have a frontline spinner as other counties do so that shouldn't have much bearing on there being draws or positive results.

If Steve Birks isn't up to the job, then perhaps he should stand aside, but I don't feel that this is the case. Perhaps a more scientific approach to the management of the moisture content of the square is required or perhaps more use of the "test" strip to learn more about that part of the square is required.  That strip is hardly used in county fixtures nowadays whereas wickets towards the Fox Stand appear to be being avoided because of past experience learned and there being a preference for wickets on the other side where there is more influence from the New Stand to add to the equation too.

So far this season most Championship games at Trent Bridge have ended in a positive result and all but one have gone into the fourth day. This is an improvement on previous years (?)

12-07-14 Day 5 MATCH DRA-YAWN


Early wickets led to some excitement for the paying public and at 186/6 England would have had a faint sniff of a chance but a Stuart Binny 50 wiped all trace of a chance of a run chase away.


Binny was eventually out for 78 but Kumar added another 50 to his first innings 50 as the game headed towards a stale end at 5.05 but not before Alastair Cook claims his first test wicket with his slow right armers - Ishant Sharma being the unfortunate mug, in only Cook's second ever spell of test bowling.

Cue pitch recriminations.

 Simon Kerrigan has been added to the squad for the Lord's test.

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Day 4 ROOOOOT (the next Trego)
The tenth wicket pair of Joe Root and James Anderson continued where they had left off the night before; Root reaching his hundred before Anderson his first Test 50.

In spite of turning runs down in a misguided policy of keeping Anderson off strike, even when in his 60s, Dhoni playing with the same game, giving Root singles (that he refused to help himself to), the 10th wicket pair surpassed 150 and then to parity at 457. The passage of play reminiscent of Somerset's innings against Notts at Trent Bridge on the third day. 

England eventually not quite as long in the tooth as Somerset but they did run up a lead of 39, 496 all out Anderson 81, Root 154* A new World Record 198 run 10th wicket partnership.

Tickets available for Day Five

Adults £18 U21 £12 U16 £8

https://www.eticketing.co.uk/nottsccc/details/event.aspx?itemref=2233

India lost only one wicket before tea, Matt Prior missing an easy chance (which might prove very costly to the wicket keeper - time will tell).

At stumps, India had a lead of 128 runs with 7 wickets intact.


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Day 3  Trent Bridge makes Kumar feel at home
After the overnight pair of Robson (59) and Ballance (71) had consolidated England's position, an afternoon collapse looked to have handed India the game on a silver platter. A rapid 47 from Golden Boy Stuart Broad allied with patient Joe Root (78*) and  with James Anderson, giving India some eleventh frustration of their own; England reached stumps on 352/9, still 105 in arrears but much better placed than they might have anticipated at tea.

So what has happened to the flat, lifeless, sterile wicket for England to fall to near oblivion? Good controlled medium paced bowling from Kumar (4/61) and a humid atmosphere , that's what. 
Notts followers will be familiar with what happens to the ball at Trent Bridge once the atmosphere is close and clammy - it's comes to wipe some of the egg off the Steve Birk's face. 

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Day 2

India lunched on day two at 342/5 having only lost opener Vijay over the session for 146 but after lunch wickets came a little easier for England taking 2/4 in 21 balls.

But a year on from Ashton Agar's heroics for Australia, the pendulum of fortune swung back in India's favour with a 10th wicket partnership of 111 which served to frustrate Cook's men.
India all out 457

England 9/1 Predictably Alastair Cook (5) is out early with a ball deflected off thigh pad / trousers bowled Shami (Shami the No.11 for India was unbeaten on 51 when India closed)

at stumps 43/1

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Day 1

Rightly so, everyone praises the Trent Bridge ground for its aesthetics but after the first day of this Test Match the wicket is bringing the groundsman if not the club into disrepute - lifeless with little bounce and no carry.

Each test ground groundsman will have had instruction from the ECB to produce a wicket that will give a game that lasts into day 5. Batting last might have its issues but perhaps nothing that the heavy roller will hopefully nullify.

So today Nottinghamshire hosted an Indian-like wicket for Indian batsmen and Murali Vijay helped himself to his first century outside of India - nothing else sums the wicket up better.

At the close the opener Vijay is 122 not out partnered by MS Dhoni 50 not out, India 259/4.

Plenty of beer and other refreshments will have been sold, so all will be happy.

Now the world can see what Nottinghamshire have to contend with for half a season, every season. Neither Notts nor England have Graeme Swann any more, perhaps the nature of the surface needs a rethink.

3 hard earned wickets and a 50