INTERNATIONAL BONANZA FOR TRENT BRIDGE
GENERAL NEWS|21st April 2006
Nottinghamshire have today received confirmation that India, the West Indies, New Zealand and South Africa will all be appearing at Trent Bridge over the next two years.England will take on India in a Test Match in Nottingham next summer, with West Indies as the One-day International visitors, and the 2008 programme is a Test against New Zealand and a One-day International with South Africa.Said Notts chief executive Derek Brewer: ?They are four appetising fixtures which I?m sure will lead to more sell-out crowds at Trent Bridge and keep us very much in the forefront of cricket in this country.?It?s an established fact that internationals at Trent Bridge are major sporting occasions for cricket fans in the East Midlands and beyond and no doubt they will be delighted about the forthcoming programme.?The schedule of matches released today by the ECB confirms that Trent Bridge will not host an Ashes Test in 2009.Added Derek: ?We have known for some years that this was the case and have been planning and budgeting to accommodate it.?A significant development today is that Cardiff has been upgraded to Category A Accredited Venue status, which means they will qualify for Test Matches once an ambitious ground development plan is completed.Three-year Staging Agreements have also been awarded to Bristol, Chester-le-Street, Old Trafford and the Rose Bowl and Derek added: ?Competition between the counties for staging international cricket becomes ever more intense.?Clearly that represents a threat from our point of view but the challenge all the time is to be sure that we stay ahead of the game.?