Trent Bridge

Nestled in the Robin Hood city of Nottingham, the Trent Bridge ground takes its name from the nearby main bridge over the River Trent. History suggests that it was first used as a cricket ground in the 1830s while the first recorded cricket match was held in 1838 behind the Trent Bridge Inn, a famous old drinking establishment where generations of England and Nottinghamshire supporters have mulled over the day’s events with a pint of beer in hand.One of the world's most beautiful cricketing venues, Trent Bridge staged its first Test match in 1899 when the WG Grace led England team drew a three-day match with Australia. Another famous Test in 1965 saw the Pollock siblings win a match for South Africa almost on their own. Graeme Pollock made 184 runs while Peter took five wickets in each innings to finish with figures of 10-87.Trent Bridge has hosted football matches too, including an international match which saw England blank Ireland 6–0 on 20 February 1897.Ground[caption id="attachment_50521" align="alignleft" width="380" caption="Many argue that the Trent Bridge is one of the best grounds in the world to watch cricket. Tom Shaw/Getty Images"][/caption]The Trent Bridge ground saw some construction take place before the 2008 Test match against New Zealand including a new stand to replace the Parr Stand and West Wing. Extra rows of seating were added which increased the ground capacity from 15,358 to more than 17,000.Earlier in 1998, the £7.2 million Radcliffe Road Cricket Centre was opened. Four years later, the state-of-the-art £1.9 million Fox Road stand was opened. It has a roof reminiscent of an aircraft wing, and has won architectural awards.Bowling takes place from the Pavilion End and the Radcliffe Road End, with the wickets laid square of the Fox Road, William Clarke and new stands.India at Trent BridgeTrent Bridge stages its 57th Test match on 29 July 2011. Thanks to the huge victory at Lord's, the hosts are 1-0 up against India in the four Test match series. With the visitors missing their key bowler Zaheer Khan, who was instrumental in India's seven-wicket win at the same ground four seasons ago, England should fancy their chances of further consolidating their lead.Meanwhile, the first Indian side to play a Test in Nottingham was led by Datta Gaekwad in1959. The next Test India played at the venue was in 1996 when each side traded huge first innings totals in what turned out to be a draw. The 2002 Test was also drawn. Then came the victory in 2007 thanks to Zaheer and some solid batting performance by the Indians. Unfortunately, that match is also remembered for the infamous jelly bean incident involving Zaheer and Sreesanth being fined 50 percent of his match fee for his on-field conduct.