It’s not just the host County club that looks forward to hosting a Test match in England. There are economic benefits for the city too.
While in London, The Oval and Lord’s are always packed for Tests, and usually host matches every summer, for cities such as Nottingham and Durham Tests are not an annual event. So when those cities do get to host a Test it becomes an event for the city too.
A spokesman for the local tourism authority, Visit Nottinghamshire, said: “More than 60 000 tickets have been sold for the first four days of the second Test at Trent Bridge.
"More than 500 staff will be on site each day to make sure the spectators enjoy their time here. The estimated economic impact of the Test on the local economy is around £10-million.”
There are lots of eateries in Radcliff Road, which runs passed the ground and those are packed during the lunch interval with spectators who leave the venue.
One of those, the Bridgford Fish Bar expects to make a healthy return while the Test is on. Owner Vishal Bhella told a local news agency: “I have no idea how many chips we will sell ... but I know it will be a lot. I have pre-warned our suppliers to stock up.
“The first two days are usually the busiest for us during this time.
"The matches are a sell-out so it should be busy - we have got all our staff in today. With the football it’s three hours of intense working, but the cricket it’s a steady flow all day.
There’s also no doubting what people ask for most; “The most popular is always fish and chips without a doubt,” said Bhella.
Robin Hood's local
Besides the eateries, the pubs of Nottingham do a roaring trade when there’s a Test in town. There are some very old ones here too, with three laying claim to being the oldest in England.
The best known is probably Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem, which is carved into Castle Rock on top of which sits Nottingham Castle. ‘The Trip’ as it’s known in these parts claims it was opened in 1189AD.
Back then it was more of a cave really, and apparently there’s evidence that it was used as brewhouse in the 11th century. The current owners will tell you Robin Hood drank there too, in between raids into the city. It’s a believable tale once you’ve had a few ales.
The Trip also has the most irritating game - if you’re sober, where you have to try and swing a brass ring, attached to a rope onto a horn attached to the far wall. There’s a ‘pregnancy chair’ up stairs and the ‘Cursed Galleon’, a model of an old ship, which the story goes if cleaned, some horrible ill will befall the cleaner - the last three have apparently died in mysterious circumstances.