28 May 2019
So I’m really proud that Nottinghamshire has been chosen to host five international games at the world-famous Trent Bridge, which is also third oldest Test venue on the planet.
Thousands of fans from around the world will be coming to Nottinghamshire and hopefully enjoy what our great county has to offer. It is a real boost for our plans to make our county an even better tourism destination.
Nottinghamshire is also blessed with some fascinating cricketing history. Harold Larwood, the best fast bowler of the inter-war period and fellow Notts and England bowler Bill Voce - who were at the centre of a controversial ‘bodyline’ Ashes tour in the 1930s - are both commemorated by the iconic bronze statues in Kirkby in Ashfield.
Our County Council archives team have uncovered some fascinating images of the prolific Gunn cricketing family who hailed from Hucknall. These include George Gunn, who between 1902 and 1930 scored more runs for Nottinghamshire than anyone else. George was also the co-founder of the famous cricket bat maker, Gunn and Moore. Also among our collection is an image of the one and only WG Grace in a ‘North v South’ match in 1876.
There are several former Nottinghamshire cricketers who are being commemorated as part of the new Great War Memorial, which will be completed this summer in tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice in World War I.
Even our registration service has cricketing links. The legendary West Indies all-rounder Garry Sobers, who also played for Nottinghamshire, got married in one of our registration offices back in the 1960s. We also hold the birth record of Harold Larwood.
With a third of fans due to be travelling from overseas to games, we plan to offer a warm Nottinghamshire welcome – and what better way than offering cricket fans our iconic Robin Hood hats!
So if you are attending any of the Trent Bridge games, keep your eyes peeled for them. These proved to be very popular when we hosted the Tour of Britain last year.
We’ll be inviting all fans to send us their photos wearing the Robin Hood hats via social media, whether in the ground or out and about in the County.
With a world-wide TV audience of more than a billion people and fans travelling to Nottinghamshire from across the UK and around the world - including Pakistan, Australia, India, New Zealand, the West Indies and Bangladesh – it is set to be a truly international sporting spectacle
The tournament is a certainly a great opportunity to highlight our rich cricketing history and offer a window into what Nottinghamshire has to offer visitors.
Councillor Kay Cutts, Leader of Nottinghamshire County Council
