CRICKET
The 35th anniversary of the 1977 Trent Bridge Test, complete with royal visit and an unpopular run-out, is marked by PETER W Y N N E -T H O M AS
Queen’s Silver Jubilee, when she and Prince Philip visited the cricket ground. As you will have noticed, Nottinghamshire did not play a match on the Diamond Jubilee bank holiday this year. The Nottingham scorebook itself is quite sharp regarding the royal visit, which occurred on July 28, the first day of the England v Australia Ashes Test. The book simply states: “Royal visit (Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip). Play suspended 5.26 to 5.34pm (8minutes lost) for presentation of teams.” To be even more precise, Ian Botham had just finished bowling an over to the last wicket pair of Australian batsmen Kerry O’Keefe and Len Pascoe and the former had hit a single off the third ball. Australia were all out just after 6pm and Botham, making his debut for England, was the most successful bowler with five wickets. When play ended at 6.30pm, England were 9 for no wickets, Geoff Boycott and captain Mike Brearley the not out batsmen. Not very exciting.
T
Nottinghamshire fans didn’t come to see the Queen – they came to see their hero bat in his first Trent Bridge Test. Derek Randall had captured the imagination of cricket enthusiasts worldwide when he had scored 174, just four months earlier, in the Centenary Test in Melbourne.
His attitude at the crease and especially in the field had been a breath of fresh air to Trent Bridge visitors for five years, but now all cricket appreciated his rapport with the public. He appreciated that professional cricket wasn’t some obscure ritual in which the participants reluctantly acknowledged the spectators. I’m the first to admit that I’m biased, but has there ever been a more popular professional cricketer? To return to the match. The second day,
Friday, opened with Brearley and Boycott batting. There were 21,000 people present – this was, curiously, the last of the old-fashioned Ashes Tests at Trent Bridge.
136 NOTTINGHAMSHIRE TODAY
o cricket followers, particularly those who frequent Trent Bridge, the Jubilee Match will always recall 1977 and the
YE GODS, B OYCOT T
The plastic seats hadn’t come and you sat where you liked – even on the grass behind the boundary rope. The ring of advertising boards had yet to encircle the ground, though they were beginning to appear. The weather was warm and fine. Boycott had refused to play for England for three years. He had let the selectors know he was now available and they had welcomed him back, though the Nottingham crowd were not so certain. The batting was painfully slow. When Brearley was out for 15, Boycott had scored just nine in 55 minutes. Bob Woolmer replaced Brearley and was out a minute
later. Derek Randall jogged down the pavilion steps to much applause – he was all arms and legs. In the next half hour, whilst Boycott managed four singles, Randall looked more at home, hitting a couple of fours and reaching 13. Boycott then hit the ball to mid on, shouted ‘run’ and dashed down the pitch. The fielder picked up the ball, threw it to the wicketkeeper with both batsmen at the bowlers end. To silence, Randall chose to leave. Boycott dropped his bat and hid his face in his hands. A quarter of an hour later, the batsmen,
Boycott and Tony Greig, came in for lunch and a barrage of cat-calls aimed at the
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