By Derek Brewer, Chief executive of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club:.

Watching Giles Croft's superb production of The Ashes at Nottingham Playhouse last week was a very timely reminder, not that one was needed, that we should hear by the end of this week if Trent Bridge has been successful in winning the right to stage an Ashes Test Match in 2013 or 2015.

The profile of the Ashes back in the 1930s and the status of the series in current times demonstrates that this is one of the truly great sporting contests.

Throughout the bidding process we have done all we can to bring an Ashes Test to Trent Bridge.

Whatever the outcome, we have received terrific support for our bid from both the private and public sectors.

We decided our presentation to the England and Wales Cricket Board would be enhanced by a video with third party endorsements and on a very wet July morning we interviewed nine of our eleven MPs who were delighted to help.

The Ashes production at the Playhouse also reflected so well on all that Nottingham has to offer from a cultural perspective.

We are active members and supporters of Invest in Nottinghamshire and Trent Bridge will be playing an important role today at the Invest in Nottingham day when a number of potential investors will be visiting our city to look at all that we have to offer.

Just as there is a huge battle to stage major cricket matches, so there is an enormous competition for inward investment.

I firmly believe that culture and sport can play an important role in attracting both firms and people to Nottinghamshire.

Our Test Match this summer between England and India was a case in point.

Trent Bridge was packed for all four days of the match, hotels in the city were full, restaurants and bars benefited from secondary spend and there was a terrific atmosphere inside and outside Trent Bridge as England won a thrilling match.

In all my time here I cannot recall such pandemonium and noise as the moment Stuart Broad achieved his hat trick.

On the domestic front, our Nottinghamshire team played some exciting cricket to qualify for the Friends Life t20 quarter finals.

Those who came were rewarded with some outstanding displays.

We should also take great pride in the extent of international call-ups.

Four Nottinghamshire players – Graeme Swann, Stuart Broad, Samit Patel and Alex Hales – represented England in the T20 International against India at Old Trafford in August, and Sam Wood, Sam Kelsall and Brett Hutton have been regulars in the England Under-19 side.

With the second eleven winning their one-day competition and our academy team performing well in the Nottinghamshire Premier League, the future on the field is in good hands.

Yet, as a club, we judge our success in many different ways.

Three weeks ago we held our second annual celebration of our Positive Futures programme in Cotgrave.

On a sunlit evening in a packed Derek Randall Banqueting Suite, young people came to show their parents and, indeed all of us, what they have achieved.

When young people are given the opportunity, there is so much untapped potential which is released. Positive Futures has helped that.

So has cricket and sport generally. And it is for those young people, among others, that we are so determined to be successful in our bid.

For more local news and sport visit The Nottingham Post.