This month’s Test Match between India and England will be the eighth to staged at Trent Bridge – five of those in this Century – and there have been a dozen games between Nottinghamshire XIs and visiting Indian teams at the ground. Only one of those – a curtailed game v India A in 2003 – since the Millennium.
India have, though, played at Trent Bridge several times when neither England nor Notts were the opposition – all in international competitions:
Australia vs India, 13 June 1983, Prudential World Cup – Australia won by 162 runs; a match that went strictly to pre-tournament form and gave no hint of the upturn in India’s fortunes that would see them to the final and a memorable win against the favourites, West Indies.
India vs New Zealand, 12 June 1999, ICC World Cup – New Zealand won by five wickets. A stellar Indian team – the top three in order were Tendulkar, Ganguly and Dravid – lost to a Kiwi side that included two people very at home at Trent Bridge, Stephen Fleming and Chris Cairns.
India vs Bangladesh, 6 June 2009, ICC World Twenty20 – India won by 25 runs. The first game of this tournament at Trent Bridge and a rousing, raucous crowd roared the Indians home. The unlikely match winner was left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha with 4-21. Find a blog from that game here
Ireland vs India, 10 June 2009, ICC World Twenty20 – India won by 8 wickets. India were back four days later for a more comfortable win and it was again a bowler, seamer Zaheer Khan, who took ‘Man of the Match’ with even better figures of 4-19.
South Africa vs India, 16 June 2009, ICC World Twenty20 – South Africa won by 12 runs. A quick-fire 63 and three catches behind the stumps earned AB de Villiers one of his many ‘Man of the Match’ awards.
India vs New Zealand, 13 June,2019, ICC World Cup – Match abandoned without a ball bowled. Rain? In Nottingham in June? Not entirely surprising but a disappointment for a full crowd that stayed loyally hoping for a break in the weather until the inevitable decision came.
On semi-finals day of the 2009 T20 World Cup, the curtain raiser for the men’s match between South Africa and Pakistan was the women’s semi in which the New Zealand women beat their Indian counterparts by the considerable margin of 52 runs.
Wicket keeper for the Kiwis that day was Rachel Priest, who is back at Trent Bridge in 2021, as a key member of the Trent Rockets Women’s team in The Hundred.
India’s two star women’s players, Jhulan Goswani (one of the fastest bowlers in women’s international cricket) and Mithali Raj (highest run-scorer in women’s international cricket), were in the India team and both played in the recent series against England.
England’s Women played a One-Day International v India Women in July 1999, winning by three wickets. It was a tense game with the winning runs coming off the final ball as Karen Smithies carried her bat for a maiden ton, finishing 110no. A framed pair of signed bats from this memorable game are in the Library at Trent Bridge.
One other match in the county that did not involve Notts or England was in August 1932 when an All-India side, though not their test team, played Sir Julien Cahn’s XI at his home ground at West Park, West Bridgford. The visitors lost their first three wickets for just one run and were 71-8 by lunch on the first day. They recovered somewhat, thanks to a half century by Jahangir Khan, but still lost by an innings and 26 runs.
August 2021