Trent Bridge was first used as a cricket ground in the 1830s. The first recorded cricket match was held on an area of ground behind the Trent Bridge Inn in 1838. Trent Bridge hosted its first Test match in 1899, with England playing against Australia. The ground was first opened in 1841 by William Clarke, husband of the proprietress of the Trent Bridge Inn and himself Captain of the All England Cricket Team. He was commemorated in 1990 by the opening of the new William Clarke Stand which incorporates the Rushcliffe Suite. The West Park Sports Ground in West Bridgford was the private ground of Sir Julien Cahn, a furniture millionaire, who often played host to touring national sides. In 1950, an electronically-operated scoreboard was installed at this venue, then the world's largest at any cricket stadium.
Ground
Trent Bridge is considered to be one of the best grounds in the world to watch cricket. Trent Bridge's pavilion, Recent developments include the £7.2 million Radcliffe Road Cricket Centre, opened in 1998 and the state of the art £1.9 million Fox Road stand, which has received awards for its architectural excellence. The latter includes a modernistic aircraft-wing roof and was opened in 2002 despite a conflict with a small group of local residents over the lack of sunlight that this would cause to their properties. Commencing in 2007, Trent Bridge has undergone redevelopment with the construction of a new stand to replace the Parr Stand and West Wing and the addition of one to five rows of extra seating at the front of several of the other stands. This increased capacity from 15,358 to 17,500, and the work was completed in time for the 2008 Test match against New Zealand. The stand was officially opened on 5 June by Prince Philip. The stand continued to be officially called the ’New Stand’ for a number of years, also being referred to as the Bridgford Road Stand, before being renamed the Smith Cooper Stand in a sponsorship deal from March 2016. Bowling takes place from the Pavilion End and the Radcliffe Road End, with the wickets laid square of the Fox Road, William Clarke and Smith Cooper Stands.
Test match records
In Test matches held at the Trent Bridge, the highest team total is 658 for 8 declared, scored by England against Australia in 1938. The lowest team total is 60, scored by Australia against England in 2015, and Stuart Broad also took 8-15 for England against Australia during the same match, in just one innings, as he did not bowl in the second innings. Denis Compton scored 278 against Pakistan in 1954. Sachin Tendulkar also passed the 11,000-run mark in the npower Second Test in 2007. In 2013, Australia's Ashton Agar achieved the highest Test score by a number eleven batsman whilst on debut. Stuart Broad got his 300th test wicket and James Anderson got his 300th home wicket at Trent Bridge. Broad got his during the 8-15 innings, on his first wicket against Chris Rogers. Anderson got his 300th home wicket against South Africa against Dean Elgar on 14 July 2017. In Tests, the leading run-scorers in this venue are Mike Atherton, Denis Compton and Graham Gooch. The leading wicket-takers are James Anderson, Alec Bedser, and Stuart Broad. In ODIs, the leading run-scorers here are Eoin Morgan, Alex Hales, and Jos Buttler. The leading wicket-takers are James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Waqar Younis.
Football
Trent Bridge has a history of hosting football matches. Notts County Football Club played their important games at the ground from the 1860s, and moved there permanently in 1883 when Nottingham Forest left. However, games early and late in the season had to be played elsewhere due to the cricket and Notts County finally left in 1910, moving to Meadow Lane. Trent Bridge also hosted an international match, England beating Ireland 6–0 on 20 February 1897.
