AUGUST, ASHES, AUSTRALIA
Memories are Made at Trent Bridge
The Guardian called it, “The moment that changed the match, the match that changed the series” …and no-one who was at Trent Bridge twenty years ago would disagree.
Gary Pratt of Durham, on as a substitute fielder, ran out Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting and instantly became one of cricket’s folk heroes (at least in England). His brief dalliance with fame included a place on the open-top bus tour to celebrate what many still call ‘The Greatest Test Series’.
Peter Smith, heritage volunteer at Trent Bridge was one of those present and recalls: “Ponting’s intemperate reaction to the run out is now part of Trent Bridge legend (indeed, an often-told story on the tours of the ground) as is the damage to the dressing room wall – which will soon be gone as the Pavilion re-development progresses.
“The Aussie skipper was probably justified in griping that England had over-used breaks and rests for their bowlers in the game, but not on this occasion. Pratt was on the field for Simon Jones, who had sustained the injury that finished not just that match for him but his Test career as well.”
But despite his frustration at series end, Ponting made sure his Trent Bridge conqueror walked away from the campaign with more than just happy memories. "I actually signed a pair of my shoes and gave them to him and said 'well done'," Ponting said.
Notts member Bill Barclay remembers that incident too, “I remember Gary Pratt's direct hit to run out Ricky Ponting and Ponting's angry tirade at Duncan Fletcher as he climbed the pavilion steps.
“I was also there on that sun-kissed evening when Ashley Giles clipped the ball to the mid-wicket boundary in front of where I was sitting, in the Larwood & Voce Stand, to win the match.”
That is an important memory – England were cruising to a substantial win, chasing just 129 to win, but for the intervention of two of Australia’s greatest bowlers, Shane Warne and Brett Lee.
Seven wickets fell and 129 looked at risk until Giles and fellow bowler Matthew Hoggard put on thirteen of the most tense runs scored at a Trent Bridge test.
England went 2-1 up in the series with the fifth and final Test at The Oval waiting to clinch the re-capture of The Ashes.
The alliterative appeal of Ashes, Australia and August was reinforced ten years later in one of the outstanding Tests – especially day one – of any played at Trent Bridge.
Even those who were not on the ground have strong memories of the first day of the fourth Test in the 2015 series. Witness Bill Barclay’s thoughts:
“Unfortunately, I wasn't there to witness Stuart Broad's 8 for 15 but was in a meeting downstairs at home. However, our then-seven 
year-old granddaughter Grace was watching on television upstairs and rushed down to tell me every time Stuart got a wicket. She became a huge Stuart Broad fan from that moment and is now in the Lancashire Thunder Academy!”
Alan Odell, tour organiser at Trent Bridge, also recalls how one distant fan kept up with the drama that day:
“My story starts back in October 2011 when I met Stephen Roper (Harold Larwood's eldest grandson) and his wife Carol. They had come over to England from Sydney; I took Stephen and Carol on a tour of the ground and we kept in touch after they went back to Australia.
“Rolling forward to 2015, Stephen had texted me on the morning of the first day's play. (Note that Stephen supported England and his wife Australia!)
“I knew he was probably following the game but I tried to keep him up to date with the score. The problem was that every time I was composing a message, Broady took another wicket and I had to update the text!
“My wife Lesley and I were sat near the top of the Smith Cooper stand and as wickets tumbled I distinctly remember Lesley saying to me as she rose to clap another wicket, "You're in shock, aren't you?"
“We'd never seen anything like it before. The day was made better by Joe Root scoring a 100 in the afternoon (once the sun had come out.)”
Peter Smith was another on the ground for Stuart Broad’s record stint. “Wickets came so early in 2015 that some fans missed the first two as they were still filing in.
“One member of our party was so excited by Rogers’s wicket that she nearly dropped her drink and was still settling down a few minutes later, surprised that the celebrations were still going on…until we pointed out that she had missed the dismissal of Steve Smith!
“And that catch! Anyone on our side of the ground who says they ‘saw’ Ben Stokes grab that flick from Adam Voges is almost certainly talking about the memory of the catch. Voges was a Notts player and we knew that when he hit that clip, it was going to the boundary – but the ball never arrived at the rope. It was the big screen reply – and Stuart’s memorable (meme-able?) reaction – that showed what had happened.”
Broad went on to the Trent Bridge honours board and into cricket’s history books. His 8-15 is the best bowling return for any England Test bowler on their home ground and the best Test figures at Trent Bridge. It was a significant factor in the club’s decision to rename the Pavilion End as the Stuart Broad End when Stuart announced his retirement from the game.
One more milestone from this extraordinary match – this was the first time that an Ashes series had been clinched at Trent Bridge. Often, the Nottingham Test would be early in an Ashes series but this time it was fourth and victory at our famous ground ensured the series win – the only time this has happened at Trent Bridge.
Memories are made at Trent Bridge and never more so than when the Aussies, the Ashes and August come together.
August 2025