In the run up to the Ashes Test on July 10, the multi-talented Paul Harrison will be providing a series of blogs which touch on his life behind the scenes at Trent Bridge, and what makes his role so important. Here’s the first instalment…

Since last August when Trent Bridge won the rights to stage the opening Investec Test of the 2013 Ashes Series, the sense of anticipation around the ground has been growing daily. Now that the game is so close this anticipation has reached fever pitch, or in some cases blind panic.

Staging an international match of such magnitude brings with it all manner of challenges. I liken it to the circus coming to town. In the coming weeks, Trent Bridge will surely be overrun by a small army of technicians, riggers, cleaners, caterers and hundreds of additional support staff in the weeks running up to the game. Then after the main event is over they all depart (a lot quicker than they set up) and the ground returns to normal.

Amidst this chaos the retail operation is a well-oiled machine and the planning has been ongoing since the fixtures were first announced. The recent ODI against New Zealand acted as a perfect warm up for the main event.

Having such a small club shop potentially creates many problems but we are vastly experienced & well prepared to satisfy the needs of the daily 17,000 crowd. (I’m still not quite sure how we will squeeze them all in the shop though!!).

Planning is the key to ensure that everything runs as smoothly as possible on the day especially in an Ashes year, which is the pinnacle of world cricket. The stock has been ordered and has been arriving regularly ever since, from the Adidas England range to the official Ashes souvenir collection and Barmy Army apparel to Aussie replica kit.

Organizing book signings and advertising items on the website can cause various logistical problems. All the stock has to be sorted, counted and distributed to the retail units that will be in use around the ground during the match, so storage also becomes an issue.

Three outside units are in operation for an international match, as well as the club shop. These are set up at strategic locations and ideally all of these outlets will have an equal selection of stock to take some of the pressure of the shop. However, it is the club shop that the majority of spectators naturally gravitate towards and we have to enforce a strict door policy at the busiest times of the day. It might sound crazy but if we didn’t do this not only would it be uncomfortable for staff & customers alike but the shop would be totally overwhelmed and ruin the shopping experience for the public in the process.

Manning these units is an interesting process and whilst there is a hardcore of loyal staff who return year after year it is an ever changing band of cricket nuts, misfits, students, and overseas cricketers from around the county. They are normally called upon a few days before the big match to prepare all the stock and move it into place. The hours are very long during the match itself and naturally certain times of the day are busier than others but during the downtime they take their breaks and if lucky enough catch a bit of cricket.

Other perks of the job include modeling said replica kit but most important of all are the refreshments. Essentially it helps to befriend the caterers on site from the burger van to ice cream man. The rewards are an endless amount of leftovers that are destined for the bin. Talking of food, the shop could give TMS a run for it’s money, as we are inundated with the most delicious cakes especially from one member of staff who is employed in return for his mum packing him up with the most fantastic fare each day. It is a superb arrangement with mutual benefits for all concerned.

So as the anticipation grows, the days countdown and the sleepless nights get longer everyone at Trent Bridge is hoping for good weather and more importantly a great match that goes the distance and the series gets off to a winning start for England. Roll up, roll up!