2022 ANNUAL REPORT

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY CRICKET CLUB 2022 ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 10 of the men’s competition, beating Manchester Originals at Lord’s. Lewis Gregory hit 11 runs from three balls to win the game, which seemed beyond salvation just prior to the final set of five deliveries. Once again, the numbers attending theTrent Rockets women’s matches increased significantly and the team progressed to the Eliminator before losing to Southern Brave by two runs.Women’s cricket in the county continues to go from strength to strength and, as a club, Notts were delighted that Trent Bridge was chosen to become the new home for Lightning Cricket who will in future be known asThe Blaze. Those who were at Trent Bridge in June for England’s contest against New Zealand witnessed one of the finest finishes to aTest Match at our beautiful ground. Across the five days, a total of 1,675 runs were scored for the loss of 35 wickets with England scoring 299 for 5 in the fourth innings run chase. Of all the marvellous performances, perhaps the most significant was that of Steve Birks and his team who produced, yet again, a magnificent Test pitch. A similarly excellent pitch was produced for the International T20 where, on perhaps one of the hottest days ever at Trent Bridge, England won by 17 runs in front of a full house who saw over 400 runs scored on the day. With capacity crowds and magnif- icent pitches, the future of interna- tional cricket at Trent Bridge should be secure. Indeed, we are delighted that the first ever five-dayWomen’s AshesTest in England will be held at Trent Bridge next summer. In last year’s report, I highlighted the racism challenge facing every aspect of cricket.The England andWales Cricket Board (ECB) is committed to making the game we all love so much the most inclusive sport for everyone, and I share that aspiration wholeheartedly. All of my colleagues and I at Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club are determined to stamp out discrimination wherever it manifests itself. In response to the ECB’s call for action this year, the club has published its first equity, diversity and inclusion action plan ‘WeWelcome Everyone’.We have also submitted evidence to the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) and we await with great interest the findings of their report in 2023. Members will be well aware of the continuing deliberations by the ECB and all First-Class counties regarding the volume and scheduling of professional cricket in England as a consequence of the findings of the High-Performance Review led by Sir Andrew Strauss. As articulated at the EGM called by members on this issue, no vote has taken place and no decision will be reached in this regard without a full consultation with the members of the club. Following on from last year’s initial appointments by the Nominations Panel, I am delighted that Sue Storey was able to join the General Committee this year via the nomination route. Sue brings a wealth of experience in the field of safety at sports grounds along with knowledge of inclusion programmes in badminton and volleyball. I was delighted that our heritage team received well deserved recognition when they were declared the joint winners of the Sporting HeritageVolunteering Award. Led by our excellent Heritage Officer, Steve LeMottee, the team reorganised the ground floor of the Wynne-Thomas Library over the winter of 2021/22 and this valuable facility was appreciated by many visitors toTrent Bridge throughout the year.The team also provided exhibitions and displays, illustrated talks, guided tours and digital content that shared the rich history of our club and ground with “ WITH CAPACITY CROWDS AND MAGNIFICENT PITCHES, THE FUTURE OF INTERNATIONAL CRICKET AT TRENT BRIDGE SHOULD BE SECURE. INDEED, WE ARE DELIGHTED THAT THE FIRST EVER FIVE-DAY WOMEN’S ASHES TEST IN ENGLAND WILL BE HELD AT TRENT BRIDGE NEXT SUMMER.” Jeffrey Moore