England’s cricket team has been feeling the pressure this week, compounded by a malfunctioning air conditioning system in their Nottingham hotel.
Just down the road, the New Zealand team is facing similar challenges. While some players can adjust their room temperatures, others find themselves out of luck. Whether a player enjoys a comfortable stay seems as random as whether they are a Blundell or a Young.
This isn’t the first time Test teams have encountered discomfort before matches in this city. Back in 2007, the Indian team requested to change accommodations, complaining of cramped, stuffy conditions. Some rooms lacked windows, and ventilation was a major issue.
As players prepared for the 68th Test match at Trent Bridge, they were greeted by sweltering weather, with temperatures soaring to 32 degrees Celsius.
In such oppressive heat, cricketers are taking extra precautions, including more frequent drinks breaks, wearing ice-filled cravats before each session, and seeking relief in front of the large fans spinning in the dressing rooms.
Even covering cricket for television or radio can get overbearing, but there is not the kind of respite here Michael Vaughan takes advantage of down under. At the Gabba, the walk-in refrigerator storing the alcohol for the corporate boxes is adjacent to the commentary boxes and Vaughan and his Australian colleague Adam Gilchrist have been known to dive in for a five-minute cooldown.
England players toiled in the field because of the extreme heat on day one of the Test
Stuart Broad used to take dioralyte first thing before a day’s bowling in such conditions, ‘because hydration is crucial in the first few hours of the day and you can’t afford to play catch-up’. And he would change his kit, including socks, every session.
His long-term new ball partner Jimmy Anderson didn’t find soaring temperatures as much of an issue, but concedes that the post-play ice bath more appealing on such occasions.
New Zealand have built a reputation for combatting extreme heat in recent years through the meticulous efforts of former Olympic athlete Chris Donaldson, their highly-rated strength and conditioning coach.
Donaldson’s eye for the small details means New Zealand’s players are asked to weigh themselves before and after play on match days – a process that helps determine whether the right volume of fluids has been taken on board.
Bangladesh is in the top dozen countries in the world when it comes to humidity, but thanks to Donaldson’s methods on a tour there in late 2023 comprising Tests in Sylhet and Dhaka, not a single member of the Black Caps squad was struck down by cramp.
It was not the case here, though, as half an hour after lunch, Devon Conway was having his calf muscles stretched out by physio Brett Harrop.
As centurion Conway lay flat on his back receiving treatment, 12th man Zak Foulkes was busy with a towel, drying the inside of his team-mates’ helmet.
Both Conway and New Zealand captain took drinks before resuming, while England’s players necked either water or isotonic drinks to replace the carbohydrates and electrolytes lost by the body in the process of sweating.
In the stands around Trent Bridge, spectators abandoned their seats for standing in the shade provided by the back walls.
Cricket grounds become like furnaces on days like these and it is a more commonplace experience, with it now three times more likely to be 30 degrees in summers than it was between 1961-1990.
Ben Stokes and Joe Root can lay claim to having played a home match for England when it was even hotter.
Four years ago, at Chester-le-Street, the thermometers hit 40 during a one-day international against South Africa, leading to debutant Matthew Potts being forced from the field with heatstroke.
England have been feeling the heat this week, not least because the air conditioning at their Nottingham hotel is on the blink
Potts bowled just four overs on his home ground, but later admitted to ‘losing the feeling of my legs,’ and gasping for air, making him feel like he was ‘breathing out of a dry vacuum cleaner.’ He spent the next two days nauseous and being sick.
Every England head was covered with either a navy blue cap or the Broad favourite wide-brimmed hat to dilute the effects of the sun yesterday, but when it came to the clothing department they stopped short of their female counterparts in the ongoing Twenty20 World Cup.
England’s women have been sporting Formula One-style cooling vests and applying tubular grips filled with ice to the back of their necks during breaks.
And no matter the countering tactics, the match situation will have left Ben Stokes and his team with extra cause to sweat.