This is our last song,” Liz McClarnon of Atomic Kitten announced to an unmoved Nottingham crowd, “and then you can all get back to your cricket.” The year was 2003, the occasion was the first ever Twenty20 Cup final at Trent Bridge, and if the largely unenthusiastic reaction to one of the country’s leading girl groups was anything to go by, the marriage between English cricket and popular culture was going to need a little work.
Eighteen years later, it was tempting to wonder if anything had changed. “Lord’s, make some noise!” the chart-topping DJ Jax Jones bellowed across the vast expanse of green outfield before him. Behind him, a vivid light show was unfolding on the big screen. To either side, dancers dressed as animals descended the steps of the Compton Stand, dodging the punters returning to their seats with pints in their hands.
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