Trent Bridge Annual Report 2018

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY CRICKET CLUB 2018 ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 14 those challenges head on. The pace at which the Club now operated gave little time for reflection, but for once she believed everyone should do that as it looked back on the previous 12 months and prepared itself for what lay ahead. The return to Division One was a fantastic achievement. The professional cricket department deserved all the plaudits for achieving that goal at the first attempt, following a carefully considered restructuring process during the previous winter. Capping that with two white ball trophies was testament to the quality of the team of coaches, support staff and players who all deserved immense credit for such high performance. Producing entertaining cricket required quality pitches and Ms Pursehouse expressed her thanks to Steve Birks and his team, both at Trent Bridge and at Lady Bay, for producing playing and practise surfaces that facilitated this. She was delighted that he was also recognised as Groundsman of the Year for both four and one day pitches. She also loved the fact that he was ‘still unhappy’ that the ‘belter’ he produced for the ODI went unused! Despite the complete washout of that capacity crowd ODI in September, the Club was able to return to the black and post a pre-tax profit of over £250,000. The result underlined the vital importance that Test cricket played in underpinning finances. With that in mind, Ms Pursehouse went on to say, it should not surprise members that for the previous six months, securing a strong package of High Profile Matches for Trent Bridge had been the Club’s primary focus. As expected, the number of home Tests reduced to six per summer in the period and as such the competition between venues vying to host the biggest matches was intense. The process was entered into with the determination to retain Trent Bridge’s status as a Test match venue and to secure a regular supply of matches that would ensure financial sustainability. The Club pushed hard to earn the right to stage an Ashes Test, and would do so again when the next cycle of major matches was put out to tender. However, the Club was very pleased with its future programme of matches, not only because it included four Tests in five years between 2020 and 2024, but for one critical reason. After 2018, Trent Bridge would be one of only six venues in England and Wales that would host Test cricket until at least 2025, keeping its place at the top table – and everything would be done to ensure it stayed there. This award provided the certainty of supply needed to build the next development and infrastructure plans to further enhance Trent Bridge. It offered members and supporters all formats of International cricket and would have the right to host a team in the new T20 competition, along with the prestige of hosting a domestic finals day. She hoped the members would support the final of the Royal London One-Day Cup when it took residency at Trent Bridge from 2020 – there would be the opportunity to deliver it in the Club’s own unique style and it meant that the team had the prospect of competing for a trophy at its own venue! With this award, she believed that Trent Bridge had taken a huge step forward in securing its long term future as an International venue. Returning to her earlier question of ‘what about the future of our County Club?’ Ms Pursehouse commented that the changing landscape in domestic cricket was, she knew, of particular concern to some members, especially as the impact of those changes had been felt recently within its own domain. Amongst its contemporaries, Nottinghamshire had long held the position of ‘modern traditionalists’, believing in County Championship cricket and an 18 First-Class County model. Quite rightly, the Club had also supported the evolution of cricket, as it did all it could to diversify its offering and retain relevance amongst the next generation. That included the introduction of a fourth domestic competition from 2020, which would now feature a resident outfit at Trent Bridge. The primary focus of the new tournament would be to grow the game at all levels and to introduce cricket to a wider audience as it Steve Birks (left) was named Groundsman of theYear 2017