England have had more than just cricketing pressure to contend with this week, with the air conditioning at their Nottingham hotel reportedly not working properly.
Nearby, New Zealand have encountered comparable discomfort, as some squad members have been able to adjust their room temperatures while others have not. It has effectively come down to luck — depending, it seems, on whether your name is Blundell or Young.
It is hardly the first time touring Test sides have been left uneasy before a match in Nottingham. In 2007, India asked to be moved after raising concerns that their accommodation was cramped and stuffy, with reports that some rooms had no windows and poor ventilation.
The conditions for the start of the 68th Test staged beside the River Trent were similarly unforgiving, with temperatures climbing to 32 degrees.
On sweltering days of this kind, players rely on extra drinks breaks, ice cravats before sessions and the welcome blast of large fans spinning inside the dressing rooms.
Even broadcasting cricket in such heat can become oppressive, although Trent Bridge offers none of the relief Michael Vaughan has enjoyed in Australia. At the Gabba, the walk-in refrigerator used to store alcohol for corporate boxes sits next to the commentary area, and Vaughan and Adam Gilchrist have been known to step inside for a brief five-minute cool-down.
England’s players were made to work hard in punishing heat during the opening day of the Test
Stuart Broad used to begin days like these with dioralyte before bowling, explaining that hydration is vital in the early hours and that players cannot afford to spend the day catching up. He would also change his kit, socks included, at the end of 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.
