Australia look to end Trent Bridge horror shows in West Indies World Cup clash

Trent Bridge has been host to more than one horror show starring Australian cricketers recently. But Aaron Finch believes his team are built to exorcise a few ghosts when they take on West Indies there.

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Trauma at Tent Bridge? That’s something this generation of Australian cricketers knows all too well.

It’s here in the furniture and fittings, it lurks in the clay and leers from the stands.

When it’s pointed out to Aaron Finch that they’ll be using the same pitch in Thursday’s game against the West Indies that was used here last year in the England ODI series he says “thanks mate”.

He doesn’t mean it. It’s not something he wants to remember.

Australia’s last visit to Trent Bridge for an ODI saw it concede a world record score.

It all came rushing back to Justin Langer when he walked into the stadium on Tuesday for the first time since that time.

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Steve Smith, David Warner, Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon would remember the time before that pretty well too. That hectic, horrible morning of the fourth Test in 2015 when Australia’s innings was done and dust in 96 minutes.

Trent Bridge is not a place of fond memories for this generation of Australians.

Justin Langer’s side have been training in the Trent Bridge nets ahead of their West Indies clash.

In 2018 the visitors won the toss and sent England in. The home side destroyed the bowling, of which the best can be said is that at least they did not allow the opposition to break the 500 run mark. They did, however, allow them to score 481 — more runs than any side had or has since.

It is telling that none of the four front line bowlers used that day remain in the squad. Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell and Aaron Finch live to play another day at the venue courtesy of complementary skills. They weren’t quite innocent bystanders, but they had something that resembled an alibi.

It’s hard to forget the shocked state players and coaches were in as they gathered in the small dressing rooms after play that day. Ricky Ponting and Justin Langer conferring. The silence. The empty feeling.

“That was unbelievable,” Langer recalls.

Stuart Broad ripped through Australia on his home ground in 2016.

“I remember walking down to the gate at the end almost wanting to give all the boys a hug because it was brutal.

“There’s certainly a few more smiles at the moment in the camp than there was whatever, 12 months ago, so, yeah.”

At the time Langer said Australia “can’t have had a worse day”. They’d batted so poorly in reply to England’s record that they fell 242 runs short. All out in just 37 overs.

The coach knew, however, it was no time to be angry. You don’t berate somebody about disobeying road rules after they’ve been mown down by a road train.

Finch says he is not concerned with past events at the venue.

“We are playing a different opposition in these conditions,” he said. “The last Test was all out 60 and 480 in the last ODI. It’s just one of those things that there’s been a couple of times when it’s gone wrong for Australia but plenty of different personnel (this time) though.”

Langer addressed the media from the same squad court where Michael Clarke, watched by his wife Kyly, announced he was ending his cricket career.

England had won the fourth Test inside three days and with it the 2015 Ashes. They had been a bad few days for Australia.

You’ll still find English fans wearing the T-shirt of Australia’s scoring that day. The runs, dot balls and wickets fitted within the character confines of a tweet.

Maybe when Shaun Marsh warms up he will remember those insane minutes before the toss where selectors made the last minute decision to bring him into the side at the expense of his brother Mitchell.

The chaos continued into the innings.

Langer remembers the recent heartache of the Nottingham ground only too well.

Chris Rogers was out third ball, Steve Smith the sixth, David Warner the eighth and Shaun Marsh the 16th. Adam Voges was gone before the fifth over was completed and so it continued.

Mitchell Johnson’s 13 runs were an innings high, Michael Clarke’s 10 made him the only other batsman to get into double figures. The team made 60 runs.

Aaron Finch insists history will play no part in Australia’s World Cup match on Thursday.

The match at Trent Bridge between England and Pakistan on Monday provided the highest scoring so far of the tournament and the Australians expect the same on Thursday with its short boundaries, wide square that almost accelerates the ball, true pitch and Chris Gayle at the top of the order for the opposition.

“I think it’ll be an aggressive game, no doubt,” Finch said. “The West Indies play an entertaining brand of cricket and we feel as though we do the same thing so I think it’ll be a bit of a feeling-out process.

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“No doubt they will come hard at the bat, they always do. It is probably one of their main strengths trying to put teams on the back foot early.

“So, if we can put the ball in the right area and get a couple of wickets that will be key. And with the bat, they are going to come hard and aggressively, they always do. So, it’ll just be about playing the situation and not trying to over think it or play the game in your head before it has started.”