Trent Bridge the Draw for Craig Cumming
“I wouldn’t have come to England for anywhere else” – that was Craig Cumming’s view on his arrival at Trent Bridge to take up the head coach role with The Blaze.
Speaking to the December meeting of the Nottingham Cricket Lovers Society (NCLS), he explained further.
“Growing up in New Zealand, our big cricketing hero – indeed a Kiwi sporting hero – was Richard Hadlee, so naturally we supported Nottinghamshire when it came to county cricket.
“I was coaching at home when it was suggested to me that I might apply for the job with The Blaze and the attraction of an overseas coaching challenge allied to playing at Trent Bridge was enough for me to have a go”.
Born in Timaru on New Zealand’s South Island, Craig grew up as the typical sports mad ‘Kiwi kid’, playing most games but eventually concentrating on cricket. He played in age group cricket and was then selected for senior cricket with South Canterbury.
Although Craig Cumming presented himself as relaxed about his career path – putting many of his chances and successes down to ‘luck’ – he showed considerable resolve when he chose to move to close rivals Otago in pursuit of more regular top-quality cricket.
Selection for the New Zealand squad followed and he eventually played eleven Test Matches and thirteen ODIs.
Fittingly, given his subsequent move to Trent Bridge, it was Sir Richard Hadlee that rang him with the news of his Test selection.
“He told me that I had been chosen for the team and that I would be opening”, Craig recalled, “pointing out that I’d be facing the likes of Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie. He ended the call with ‘good luck – you’ll need it’!”
In fact, to Cumming’s relief and general surprise, Lee was not picked for the first test of that New Zealand summer, played at Craig’s home ground of Christchurch. He made 74 – his first and only Test Match half-century – and shared a fifty-run opening partnership with Stephen Fleming, who a few months later made the familiar journey from New Zealand to Nottingham to take on the captaincy at Trent Bridge.
Craig was well aware of what he had avoided. Earlier that month, March 2005, in an ODI at Napier, he faced Brett Lee and what is considered the fastest ever ball bowled in New Zealand, (and one of the fastest anywhere). It was clocked at 160.8 km/h (99.9 mph)!
“It was brute of a ball”, he said, “but it wasn’t the one that got me out.”
Craig retired from playing First-Class cricket in 2012 and moved into commentating. He made the move sound like one of a series of happy accidents – “I found myself sitting alongside people like Ian Smith and Glenn McGrath and being asked for my opinion on fast bowling”, he joked, “I just kept quiet and let them talk”.
He was full of praise for Ian Smith in particular, “Smitty was just great – and his commentary on the last moments of the 2019 World Cup are part of cricket history now. I learned so much from him”.
Craig Cumming was also enthusiastic about the qualities and influence of Stephen Fleming. “Stephen was tough but generous with his time. You’ll know from his time here [Trent Bridge] the calm but determined way he has and how he motivates his team-mates”.
The move into coaching he also portrayed as happening by chance but it was clear that he enjoyed the challenge and took an approach similar to that adopted by Brendon McCullum, a team-mate of his international days.
“Brendon enables people to be the best version of themselves”, he said, “And I try to do the same. I’m not necessarily about strict training or drills, people give of their best when their confidence is high and they know their coach is supportive”.
Craig Cumming said that he had been happy working with the Otago Sparks, a women’s squad based in New Zealand, but that the challenge and the lure of Trent Bridge was hard to resist.
“When it was suggested to me that I should apply for the job with The Blaze, I really wasn’t sure; the opportunity to test myself in a new environment was tempting and I had spent a month at Trent Bridge in the previous season so felt I knew what to expect.
“With my wife’s support, I applied and had a conversation that I don’t think that at the time I quite realised was the job interview – and got the offer”.
His first season with The Blaze was one of consolidation and success. “Given that we finished in the top two of all competitions, it may seem strange to be slightly disappointed but we were defending champions of one title and felt we were good enough to win it again.”
Craig Cumming is looking forward to working with his squad as they prepare for the next season and is especially pleased that The Blaze will more games at Trent Bridge in 2026.
“This great ground is one of the reasons I am here and not in New Zealand”, he said, “I can’t wait to see what next year brings”.
Dressing Room Tales.
If Craig Cumming was talking Kiwis and cricket…Paul Harrison was talking balls.
As Dressing Room Attendant at Trent Bridge, the management of the match balls – including the oft-maligned suitcase of possible replacements – is part of Paul Harrison’s duties.
“We have to have a selection available in case the umpires call for a replacement. So it is essential that we have a mix of used balls, from fairly new ones to those that have survived plenty of overs.
“Even then, umpires and players can reject all the balls on offer and we’ve got to hustle up another option!”
With running the changing rooms for both the home and away teams, Paul and his colleagues are kept busy, even without the 
responsibility for match balls.
“Not many grounds have dressing room attendants now – we’re one of the few – so players really like it that we are there to help.
“We make sure towels are fresh and laundered, keep the changing rooms tidy, or as tidy as they can be with cricketers in and out, and offer things like snacks and drinks to the players”.
For Nottinghamshire’s players and their visitors, ‘Boony’s Fridge’ is a source of extra treats. (Paul is almost always known as ‘Boony’, apparently due to a resemblance to legendary Australian larrikin David Boon.)
Even Craig Cumming knew about the stash of diet drinks and chocolates – “One of the first things Luke Fletcher did when we met was to introduce me to the delights of ‘Boony’s Fridge’”, he said.
For Paul, keeping the fridge stocked is a small part of his busy day, a day that starts very early on match days. “We have to be in first thing to make sure the rooms are clean and properly stocked”, he explained, “and we’ll be among the last to leave. We can’t go until all the players have left the dressing rooms.
“That’s okay unless you get a side that are celebrating, and then they can be still going hours after play stopped”.
He was pleased and proud to be part of the whole team – players and staff – that brought the County Championship back to Trent Bridge in 2025 and paid tribute to the way everyone was involved in the celebrations.
“It was great that Mooresy (head coach Peter Moores) made sure that we were included in the team photos with the trophy”, he said.
“We know the players appreciate what we do – they certainly moan about the poorer service that they get in away dressing rooms – and it was good to have that acknowledged across the team”.
Paul Harrison – ‘Boony’ – is a familiar figure around the ground as, somehow, he also finds time to act as gate steward on busy occasions.
Nottingham Cricket Lovers Society meets monthly in the close season, usually on the third Thursday of each month. Membership for the 2025/26 season is £20, joint membership £30 and visitors £10 per session.
Most meetings are held in the evening but the next two – January and February 2026 – will start at 2pm.
The full programme of meetings and visiting speakers is available on the NCLS website - https://nottinghamcricketlovers.co.uk/
December 2025