Trent Bridge Greets You Like an Old Friend

Reunions are to be a theme over two days spent at Trent Bridge. The night before the Test, I sit outside at The Castle as the sun sets over the fortress after which the pub is named. On the next table is a group of 50-something men who have come together for tomorrow’s match. They are loud, they are brash. They are almost offensively middle class. But there is a genuine, and heartwarming, affection between them. Latecomers are greeted with warm bear hugs; they catch up about marriages, kids, careers, and moving homes. There is the obligatory piss-taking about one member of the group being too tight to get a round in. That they call one of their number ‘Skip’ suggests that they were once, in their younger days, teammates. Amidst all the talk of their adult responsibilities, there is a sense of rekindled youth in their camaraderie and gentle jibes. One can almost imagine the days when they were together in the field rather than sitting in the stands. Until, that is, one of them launches into a play-by-play account of laying his new lawn and the hallmarks of middle-age – the practical footwear, the hideous floral shirts – are suddenly front and centre once again.

The next morning, I observe the greetings between Trent Bridge regulars as they meet again on the first day of the Test summer. Handshakes and inquiries after the wellbeing of spouses and families abound. Phil Tufnell even gets in on the act, strolling up the stairs in my section on his way from the field to the commentary box saying a polite hello to all he passes as if he’s out for a morning stroll in some idealised English village. This is not a reunion or a return for me, and yet I am still welcomed like an old friend. Wandering around the ground before the start of play, I am stopped by a steward to prevent me colliding with the umpires and support staff as they come in through the VIP entrance. While we wait for them to pass, he asks if I’m a regular here. When I tell him it’s my first time, he strikes up a friendly conversation about where I’ve travelled from, which other grounds I’ve visited, and shares his own reflections on the best grounds in the north of England. When we part, he gives me an affectionate pat on the shoulder and tells me, with genuine care, to have a great time.

At lunch on day one, I visit the Wynne-Thomas Library, Nottinghamshire CCC’s cricket archive and members’ lending library. Heading up to the mezzanine level, where archival materials are kept, an older gentleman immediately explains its contents to me and tells me the story of his search for information on the names of players involved in a 1958 charity match between Notts players and the first amateur team in the county drawn entirely from the local West Indian diaspora. He describes to me how he intends to write an article on this match, which took place during a summer when there were race riots in Nottingham, for the history pages on the club’s website, but cannot do so until he finds the details he is seeking. He tells me he’ll put a call out to the strong community of fellow cricket history enthusiasts amongst the club’s membership and that he fully expects ‘some bugger’ will have the information he needs. To strike up conversation with me in this way, I assume he must be a volunteer of some kind, but, as he departs, he wishes me well and points me in the direction of someone who actually works at the library in case I have any questions.

Inside the Wynne-Thomas library at Trent Bridge

Of course, the principal reunion taking place over these four days is the first match on English soil between England and Zimbabwe since 2003. As the two sides come together again after such a long time, one cannot help but reflect on their differing fortunes in recent decades. In 1983, following his country’s attainment of Test status, former captain D.J. Lewis wrote in his foreword to Jonty Winch’s Cricket’s Rich Heritage: A History of Rhodesian and Zimbabwean Cricket that

‘Zimbabwe cricket stands breathtakingly on the threshold of an exciting future from which point it may gaze out, in high anticipation […], at the potential glories and hopes which are attendant upon Test cricket.’

Alas, that future proved to be one defined by mismanagement, years of racial tensions within the team, the harassment and exile of players involved in the 2003 ‘black armband’ protests, and Zimbabwe’s years-long self-imposed withdrawal from Test cricket, not to mention consistently disappointing results on the field. English cricket has experienced many challenges and management issues of its own, as well as decidedly mixed on-field performance. However, the international game, at least, has remained both well-attended and financially viable. In a year in which Zimbabwe will play 11 Test matches, more than almost any other full member of the ICC, there are perhaps signs that, at long last, things may be changing for the better.

With England 498-3 at the close, day one suggests that an upturn in Zimbabwe’s playing fortunes may be significantly further away than hoped. It seems those decades of mismanagement have prevented this from being anything close to a reunion of equals. But then spirited batting performances from several players on days two and three, particularly 21-year-old Brian Bennett’s masterful first innings 139 (which includes the fastest-ever century by a Zimbabwean in Test cricket), show a lot of promise. Age may put paid to the careers of several key players, such as captain Craig Ervine and all-rounder Sikandar Raza, before a further reunion can take place. However, there are signs that, despite an innings defeat for Zimbabwe, their next meeting may prove to be more competitive.

What is clear throughout my two days at this match is that there is a real love for this team amongst members of the UK’s multi-racial Zimbabwean community. Their reacquaintance with the side after such a long, enforced absence sees them turn up in huge numbers, a riot of colour in the stands in Zimbabwe’s stand-out one-day kits and draped in bright national flags. Travelling members of the Zimbabwean Cricket Supporters Union, recognisable from the distinctive painted mining helmets they wear, lead throngs of fans in chants and songs even when their side are struggling in the field.

Zimbabwe supporters out in force at Trent Bridge

If recent statements made to the media by current administrators are to be believed, Zimbabwe Cricket is serious about restoring the country’s standing in the game and developing the sport nationwide. Let us all hope reality matches rhetoric in this instance because this was a great reunion party, and it would be tragic to leave it another 22 years before the next one.