AN INDIAN restaurant is selling more than 300 curries a day as Ashes fever hits Nottingham.
Normally the Bombay Bridgford in Radcliffe Road outside Trent Bridge would sell around 50 curries in a day, but since the Ashes began on Wednesday the manager says business has boomed.
"Bookings are good and we're opening longer hours specifically for the Ashes," said manager Shamoan Akhtar, 40,
"We've put on a delicious lunchtime set menu which people seem to be enjoying."
And isn't just the curry house which is benefiting from cricket. The number of breakfasts being cooked and sold a the Olive Café next door has increased fivefold.
Javid Omoomian, 23, who works in the café, said: "We've gone up from around 20 breakfasts to 100 and even 150 over the past few days.
"It's been hard work. But the Australians seem to be a friendly crowd and it's all worth it.
"We haven't had much chance to keep track of all the cricket, but we've been told what's happening from customers, and we can here the roar of the crowd."
Thousands of Australians have descended on Nottingham over the last three days, and the fans from Down Under have been universally positive in their praise for the area.
The Post caught up with cricket fans who have travelled from the other side of the world to see their boys in action.
Lauren Slack has come to Nottingham from Queensland.
The 32-year-old consultant said: "I've been here for three days. Trent Bridge is lovely. It's a very sweet and intimate place. The game has been great and the atmosphere is good."
She added: "We're staying in the Lace Market.
"We went to a lovely Japanese restaurant and we're going to the Larder restaurant [in Goose Gate] as well.
"It's a nice place to be. It's a lot smaller than I expected and Australian cities are much more planned."
Debra Stein comes from Melbourne and said the trip to Nottingham has been a great experience.
She added: "My lasting impression of the city is fantastic. You can tell the town is honoured to host the Ashes and really try to make people feel welcome. It is a pretty place to be and historically it is amazing.
"Trent Bridge is great; there's a real merging of new and old."
Cameron Hetherington, from New South Wales said he and his mates had a great time sampling the Notts nightlife and enjoyed the city.
The 21-year-old added: "We've been to Walkabout – there were a load of Australians there. It seems like a great place in general, I'm just so surprised about how small everything is. It's very different to what we're used to back home."
But it wasn't just Australians who had made a special journey to Trent Bridge.
Mary Stockcoal, 52, had travelled up from Falmouth in Cornwall to watch the third day of Test cricket as England fought hard in searing temperatures for a respectable score after a miraculous batting performance from the Aussies the previous day.
She said: "My husband got the tickets, I packed the sandwiches and here we are."
By the end of the day a strong batting performance from Bell and Broad saw England sail past the 300-run marker.
Paul Cranfield, 32, of Ruddington said: "Today has been fantastic; it's sunny, everyone is happy and England are winning."
