Nottingham, July 8 (IANS): Planning for the Trent Bridge Test between India and England, that starts Wednesday, started exactly a year ago immediately after the Ashes Test match between England and Australia got over.
Curator Steve Birks said that immediately after the Ashes Test his focus was on the arrival of the Indian team, the Nottingham Post reports.
"We went into the planning phase a year ago, after the Ashes Test. We think about any changes that can be made, whether the pitch can be improved. We were actually pretty happy with how last year's game turned out so there has been no need for drastic changes," he said.
In the last three-four days, in the run-up to the Test match, have been hectic for Steve and his team four assistants. They have been working for 10-12 hours a day.
"We will be rolling it and tending to it throughout the build-up," he said. "We usually do this over ten days. To me it is like baking a cake, making sure it is perfect."
Jamie Dickinson, operations assistant at Trent Bridge, has to make sure that the match is held smoothly.
"For a Test match we have a capacity crowd so we need to make sure we have enough stalls selling food and drink, to avoid queues which are too big for fans. A year of planning goes into this. We have to make sure that everything is as wished for stakeholders, including the England and Wales Cricket Board. Hospitality also needs to be sorted. And of course spectators are a massive concern, right from the point of ticket sales," he said.