Online Reporter
THE Chevrons are going to a place which their former captain Brendan Taylor used to call home and he knows that Trent Bridge will provide them with the ultimatetest when they take on England in a Test match this month.
Taylor spent three seasons at Trent Bridge playing for Nottinghamshire in English county cricket.
The stadium will host the four-day Test match from March 22 to March 25.
The countdown has begun with both countries announcing their Test squads and Trent Bridge is promising a feast for the fans.
“England’s swashbuckling men’s Test team are back at the venue which offers the warmest welcome in the game, and which was recently voted by supporters as the best venue to watch men’s international cricket,” Nottinghamshire said.
“For the first time in 25 years, Zimbabwe will provide the opposition for an historic contest over the May Bank Holiday weekend.
“Pristine whites, green, green grass and timeless tradition − this is Test cricket as it should be.”
Taylor represented his country on 284 occasions in all formats, captaining in 75 of them, and scored over 9,000 runs. Runs continued to flow from his bat during the years he spent in Nottingham, notching over 3,000 between 2015 and 2017, a stint that included being part of the famed double-winning Outlaws side in his final season.
“I think − and I’ve said this a number of times recently − looking as an outsider in the last few years, the administration have made some big strides to recruit players,” he told trentbridge.co.uk.
“As long I as I was playing, we couldn’t ever do that. Our pool of talent would leave, and we’d rely on a few individuals, but Zimbabwe cricket seems to be climbing out of that and propelling forward in a very positive manner.
“I think Zimbabwean cricket is in the best place it’s ever been, and I haven’t even experienced it yet, but when I chat to the group, they seem very excited about it.
“Hopefully, this Test match against England can lead to other things, like playing in Australia, New Zealand, and India.
“Whenever we’ve been to the subcontinent, we’ve been to Sri Lanka or Bangladesh, but not much past that. These are exciting times,and hopefully they just keep coming, because that’s how we get better.”
He added:
“It’s going to be an enormous uphill battle, make no mistake about that. The guys are aware of that, just with the Dukes ball alone, and then with the skill of England and how good they are (at home), it’s quite a challenge.
“There aren’t many of the guys who have experience in England; Ben Curran and Blessing Muzarabani were at Northants, and Nick Welch (was) at Leicestershire, but a lot of them need that experience.
“That’s what we all live for, the chance to play against the best, and to do it in their own back yard, that’s great. It’s something I would have loved to have been a part of and especially at what became my second home − but it was not to be.
“It’s going to be a tough few days though. If the weather holds out, that’d be ideal − but if the weather comes in, you’re looking at a tough time for the batters!” − Sports Reporter/trentbridge.co.uk
