Written by Max
Ground #69
23rd & 24th May 2025 (Day 2 & 3)
Test Match
England: 565/6 dec. Zimbabwe: 265 & 255 (Eng win by innings and 45 runs)
Entry: £40 per day
Trent Bridge Cricket Ground has been used as a sporting venue since the 1830s and has been home to Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club since 1841. The ground became a Test Match venue when England took on Australia in 1899
In the 1800’s the ground was also used for football with both Nottingham Forest and Notts County regularly playing matches at the ground. Trent Bridge also hosted an international game in 1897 as England defeated Ireland 6-0!
Trent Bridge is a ground I have visited many times over the years having been a Notts member growing up and, although I get there less nowadays than I would like, we always make sure to get to at least one day of a test match each year as a family.
For Christmas last year me and my Dad both had the same idea and got each other tickets for this years test against Zimbabwe! Luckily we both picked different days meaning for the first time ever I would get to see multiple days of a test match at the ground.
After a 1 sided first day, the 5 of us arrived at the ground for day 2 as England looked to build a massive total and although wickets fell quicker than we would have liked, a big score of over 550 was put on the board before an early declaration.
Many of the crowd around us in the Hound Road Stand expected a walkover but the visitors, who were playing in England for the first time in 22 years, started well. An almost run a ball score of 139 from 21 year old opener Brian Bennett meant it wasn’t all one way traffic but a lower order collapse meant that the Zimbabweans were asked to bat again before the close of play as they were bowled out for 265.
2 early wickets in the second innings meant the tourists ended the day on just 30/2, still over 250 runs behind Englands initial effort.
Into our second day, and this time we were seated on the opposite side of the ground in the newest stand which was built in 2007.
We worried the game could be over rather quickly after the poor start the night before, but as with the first innings the Zimbabweans looked confident with some good early partnerships frustrating England.
The crowd on this third day was noticeably different from the one 24 hours previous with around a third of the attendees seeming to be supporting the visitors. This created a wonderful atmosphere with every run scored being cheered on by Zimbabwean fans who were spread all around the ground.
As the lower order once again began to falter, the enthusiasm of the fans did not. The fans got louder as they sang and danced their way through the day, waving their flags and enjoying every minute of the game.
Sadly for the African side, they couldn’t quite force England to come out and bat again as they ended 45 runs short of their first innings total.
So, let’s rate the ground after an enjoyable couple of days at the test:
Location: 9/10
The ground is just a short 20 minute walk away from Nottingham train station and is surrounded by a number of pubs, restaurants and take aways.
The most famous of these is the Trent Bridge Inn which has been a pub since before the cricket ground existed. A great feature of this pub (which is now a Wetherspoons) is that during big games they open the back bar up allowing you to enter directly from the ground meaning you can grab yourself a drink much cheaper than from the ground itself.
Kit: 5/10
Not really much you can say about a Test cricket kit is there? The new England shirt for this year has a new Toyota sponsorship and includes red detailing around the collar and sleeves.
I was definitely not tempted to part with the £75 they were asking for one in the Trent Bridge shop though!
One thing I do really like are the retro knitted jumpers with a large 3 lions logo in the middle of them. These are really cool and a brilliant nod to the tradition of test cricket.
Facilities: 7/10
The ground has a number of permanent bars and food outlets underneath, and within the stands. Whenever there is a big match such as an international or a T20 there are additional temporary food outlets and bars located all around the ground allowing plenty of variety.
One of the bars in the William Clarke courtyard even has a live band playing on its roof during the lunch and tea intervals which create a great atmosphere while you are queuing for a drink!
The staff do a great job of efficiently serving and long queues at breaks in play get whittled down quickly allowing you to be back in your seat without missing too much of the action.
Look: 9/10
Trent Bridge is one of the most iconic cricket stadiums in the world. With a capacity of 17,500 it certainly isn’t the biggest ground in the country, but the way all the stands have been developed over time, whilst still keeping their traditional charm is fantastic.
Each stand has its own identity and as we found out during the 2 days this week, you struggle to get a bad view wherever you are in the ground.
The biggest, and probably most impressive stand is the Radcliffe Road stand which was built in 1998. This stand has 3 tiers of seating allowing for a Birds Eye view of the action from the top. This stand also includes most of the grounds indoor facilities including indoor nets, hospitality boxes and even a fancy restaurant on the 6th floor! As part of the development of the glass fronted restaurant in recent years there was also the addition of a new huge screen as seen in the photo below
Other stands of note are the 2 we sat in this week. Firstly the Hound Road stand which is a really interesting design with a unique aeroplane wing like roof.
On the opposite side is the newest stand which has a steep rake and an iconic green roof that overhangs the road behind it.
Currently the famous listed pavilion is under reconstruction and we are really interested to see how this will look once completed.
Food and Drink: 5.5/10
As mentioned above there were a variety of food options around the ground including Indian street food, Mexican, fish and chips and even a van selling cheese toasties for £8!
We opted for the chicken stall and went for a sharing bucket. This was, as you would expect at this sort of venue, extremely over priced and pretty average, but it filled us up and kept us going for the rest of the day
There are plenty of bars around the ground selling a generic selection of beers. A couple of them were offering Stowford Press berry cider so we will give it the bonus half point!
TOTAL SCORE 36.5/50
Cricket is a sport we both love and spend a lot of our football free summers watching the sport, whether that is at local clubs or larger venues such as this. We have debated branching out into other sports with this blog for a while and after last years trip to the GAA in Dublin went down so well we thought we would give cricket a go too!
When the weather is nice I don’t think there are many things better than a few pints of stowford press and an England test match victory, so to be able to soak up 2 days of the action whilst also catching up with my family made for a perfect couple of days.
We hope you enjoyed this as something slightly different to the normal football ground reviews, and if you have stumbled across us for the first time, why not check them out in the menu above!
Emma’s Ground Guide 