Lord's Cricket Ground

Ground information
Location	St John's Wood, London
Establishment	1814
Capacity	28,000
Owner	Marylebone Cricket Club
Tenants	England and Wales Cricket Board
End names
Pavilion End Nursery End
International information
First Test	21 July 1884: England v Australia
Last Test	21 May 2012: England v West Indies
First ODI	26 August 1972: England v Australia
Last ODI	16 September 2011: England v India
Domestic team information
Marylebone Cricket Club (1814 – present) Middlesex (1877 – present)
As of 24 July 2011 Source: CricketArchive

Lord's Cricket Ground, generally known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), the European Cricket Council (ECC) and, until August 2005, the International Cricket Council (ICC). Lord's is widely referred to as the "home of cricket"^[1] and is home to the world's oldest sporting museum.^[2]

Lord's today is not on its original site, being the third of three grounds that Lord established between 1787 and 1814. His first ground, now referred to as Lord's Old Ground, was where Dorset Square now stands. His second ground, Lord's Middle Ground, was used from 1811 to 1813 before being abandoned to make way for the construction through its outfield of the Regent's Canal. The present Lord's ground is about 250 yards (230 m) north-west of the site of the Middle Ground. A major redevelopment has been proposed for Lord's which would increase capacity by another 10,000 as well as adding apartments and an ice rink.

Early history[link]

The earliest known match played on the current Lord's Cricket Ground was Marylebone Cricket Club v Hertfordshire on 22 June 1814.^[3]

The oldest cricket fixture at Lord's (i.e., one that continues to this day) is the annual Eton v Harrow match, which was first played on the Old Ground in 1805, and on the present Lord's Cricket Ground in July 1818.

Ground[link]

Stands[link]

Current stands at Lord's.

The current stands at Lord's are as follows (in a clockwise direction):

• The Pavilion
• Warner Stand
• Grand Stand
• Compton Stand
• Media Centre
• Edrich Stand
• Mound Stand
• Tavern Stand
• Allen Stand

Much of Lord's Cricket Ground was rebuilt in the late 20th century. In 1987 the new Mound Stand, designed by Sir Michael Hopkins, was opened, followed by the Grandstand (by Nicholas Grimshaw) in 1996. Most notably, the Media Centre (by Future Systems) was added in 1998-9 which won The Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize for 1999. The ground can currently hold up to 32,000 spectators. The two ends of the pitch are the Pavilion End (south-west), where the main members' Pavilion is located, and the Nursery End (north-east), dominated by the Media Centre.

Pavilion[link]

The Victorian era Pavilion

The main survivor of the Victorian era is The Pavilion with its famous Long Room; this was built in 1889–90 to the designs of architect Thomas Verity. This historic landmark — a Grade II*-listed building — underwent an £8 million refurbishment programme in 2004–05. The pavilion is primarily for members of MCC who may use its amenities including seats for viewing the cricket, the Long Room and other facilities such as the Long Room Bar, the Bowlers Bar, a members shop etc. For Middlesex matches the Pavilion is open to members of the Middlesex County Club. The Pavilion also contains the dressing rooms where players change, each of which has a small balcony for players to watch the play. In each of the two main dressing rooms are honours boards which commemorate all the centuries scored in Test matches on the Lord’s ground and all instances of a bowler's taking five wickets in a Test innings and ten wickets in a Test match.

Old Father Time[link]

The Grand Stand

Another highly visible feature of the ground is Old Father Time, a weather vane in the shape of Father Time, currently adorning a stand on the south-east side of the field.

Media Centre[link]

The futuristic J.P. Morgan Media Centre

The Media Centre was commissioned in time for the 1999 Cricket World Cup and was the first all aluminium, semi-monocoque building in the world. It was built and fitted-out in two boatyards and uses boat-building technology. The centre stands 15 metres (49 ft) above the ground and its sole support comes from the structure around its two lift shafts — it is approximately the same height as the Pavilion directly opposite it on the other side of the ground. The lower tier of the centre provides accommodation for over 100 journalists and the top tier has radio and television commentary boxes. The centre’s only opening window is in the broadcasting box used by Test Match Special. The Building was awarded the RIBA Stirling Prize for architecture in 1999.

Tavern Stand[link]

This memorial stone to Lord Harris is in the Harris Garden at Lord's

The Lord's Taverners, a charitable group comprising cricketers and cricket-lovers, take their name from the old Tavern pub at Lord's, where the organisation's founders used to congregate. The pub no longer exists, and the Tavern Stand now stands on its former site. However, a new pub is open in the grounds with the same name as well as the Members Bar, in the Pavilion.

Field[link]

The Mound Stand public area on the left and the Tavern Stand members area on the right. The famous Old Father Time weather vane and clock is also visible

One of the most distinctive and famous features of the Lord's ground is the significant slope across the field. The north-west side of the playing surface is some eight feet higher than the south-east side^{[citation needed]}. This slope causes appreciable deviation in bounce of the ball on the pitch, making it easier to move the ball in to right-handed batsmen when bowling from the Pavilion End, and easier to move it away when bowling from the Nursery End. The outfield was notorious for becoming waterlogged and under the chairmanship of the Estates Committee by Maurice de Rohan the whole outfield was relaid over the winter of 2002–2003. The investment (some £2m) was almost immediately repaid by reducing the need to make ticket refunds in rain-affected matches.

Grace Gates[link]

One of the features of the ground is the pair of ornamental gates, named in honour of W G Grace. In 1923, the W G Grace Memorial Gates were erected at the St John's Wood Road entrance to the ground.^[4] They were designed by Sir Herbert Baker and the opening ceremony was performed by Sir Stanley Jackson, who had suggested the inclusion of the words The Great Cricketer in the dedication.^[5]

Floodlights[link]

Twenty20 match at Lord's Middlesex vs Kent 27 May 2009

Temporary floodlights were installed at the ground in 2007 but were eventually taken down in 2008 due to complaints of light pollution from residents of St. John's Wood. In January 2009, the Westminster Council gave permission to use the newly installed floodlights. These new lights were especially designed for the ground in order to prevent as much light spillage in people's homes as possible. Westminster Council's permission was not without condition. The lights will be allowed for a five year trial period during which up to 12 matches and 4 practice matches can be played under the lights from April to September. The lights must be dimmed to half-strength at 9.50 pm and be switched off by 11 pm. The floodlights were first used successfully on 27 May 2009 during the Twenty20 Cup match between Middlesex and Kent.^[6]

Cricket usage[link]

One Day International at Lord's England v Australia 10 July 2005

Lord's hosts Test matches, one-day Internationals, some Middlesex home matches, MCC matches and (starting with a fixture between Middlesex and Surrey in July 2004) some of Middlesex's home Twenty20 games.

Lord's typically hosts two Tests every summer – including the first Test of the summer – plus two One Day Internationals. Lord's also plays host to the finals of the National Village Cricket Competition, the MCC Universities Challenge tournament and The Friends Provident Trophy. Furthermore, two matches in the Twenty20 Cup, but not the competition's finals day, are played at Lord's each season.

The oldest permanent fixture at Lord's is the annual Eton versus Harrow match which began in 1805 (Lord Byron played in the 1805 Harrow XI) and celebrated its bicentennial in 2005. The match is always fiercely contested. Since 2000 it has been 55 overs per side, but before that it was declaration and before that it was two innings per side over two days. Eton has the balance of wins, but the victor in the bicentenary year was Harrow.

MCC Museum[link]

Perimeter wall display at Lord's

Lord's is the home of the MCC Museum, which is the oldest sports museum in the world, and contains the world's most celebrated collection of cricket memorabilia, including The Ashes. MCC has been collecting memorabilia since 1864. The items on display include cricket kit used by the likes of Victor Trumper, Jack Hobbs, Don Bradman and Shane Warne, many items related to the career of W.G. Grace; and curiosities such as the stuffed sparrow that was 'bowled out' by Jahangir Khan of Cambridge University in delivering a ball to T.N. Pearce batting for M.C.C on 3 July 1936. It also contains the battered copy of Wisden that helped to sustain E.W. Swanton through his captivity in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp during World War II. The Museum continues to collect historic artefacts and also commissions new paintings, and work from the "MCC Young Cricket Photographer". A recently opened exhibition, which celebrates the life and career of Brian Lara, is especially suitable for children. It contains the Brian Johnston Memorial Theatre, a cinema which screens historical cricket footage for visitors. A visit to the MCC Museum is included in the guided tours of the ground which take place daily. Alternatively, it can be visited on match-days by ticket-holding spectators for a separate charge.

Test matches at Lord's[link]

England v New Zealand in a Test match at Lord's, May 2004

Over one hundred Test matches have been played at Lord's, the first in 1884 when England defeated Australia by an innings and 5 runs. Australia's first win was in 1888 by 61 runs. South Africa played their first Test match at Lord's in 1907 and the ground was the host to an Australia v South Africa Test match in 1912. The West Indies appeared in a Test match at Lord's for the first time in 1928, to be followed by New Zealand (1931), India (1932), Pakistan (1954), Sri Lanka (1984), Zimbabwe (2000) and Bangladesh (2005). The hundredth Lord's Test match was in 2000 v West Indies. As of 25 August 2010 England have played 119 Test matches at Lord's winning 45, losing 28 and drawing 46. Personal achievements by cricketers in Test matches at the ground are recognised with the names of century makers and of bowlers taking five wickets in an innings, or ten wickets in a match, being inscribed on the honours boards in the home and away dressing rooms. England beat Australia at Lord's for the first time since 1934 in the second game of the 2009 Ashes Series.

Lord's hosts two Test matches each summer, one match for each visiting team. In 2010, the stadium hosted three Test matches. As well as England's matches against Bangladesh and Pakistan, a Test match between Australia and Pakistan was held at the stadium in July. Lord's was the venue of the 2000th test match when England hosted India from 21 to 25 July 2011.

Other sports[link]

A baseball game was held at Lord's during the Great War to raise funds for the Canadian Widows and Orphans Fund. A Canadian team played an American team in a match watched by 10,000 people. Bowls, tennis, archery and several other sports have been played at Lord's in the past, but never rugby or football.

Lord's is also one of the planned venues for the 2012 Summer Olympics. The archery competition will take place in front of the Pavilion, with the archers positioned in front of the Allen Stand and the targets placed in front of the Grand Stand.^[7] Lord's also houses a real tennis court.

Test match records[link]

• 

  Graham Gooch (Eng):
  Most Test runs (2015) and centuries (6) at Lord's. In 1990 against India, Gooch scored a record 333 & 123.

• 

  Glenn McGrath (Aus):
  Most Test wickets (26) and best innings analysis (8/38) by an overseas bowler at Lord's.

• 

  Sir Donald Bradman (Aus):
  His 254 in 1930, a ground record for 60 years, set up a total of 729/6 declared, which remains the ground record.

• 

  Ian Botham (Eng):
  Most Test wickets (69) at Lord's. Against Pakistan in 1978 he scored 108 and took 8/34, the best innings analysis at Lord's.

Individual records[link]

Batting[link]

Most career runs[8] Runs Player Period 2015 (39 Innings) Graham Gooch 1975–1994 1476 (37 Innings) Alec Stewart 1990–2003 1418 (27 Innings) Andrew Strauss 2004–2011 1241 (30 Innings) David Gower 1978–1990 1189 (29 Innings) Geoff Boycott 1965–1981

Most career runs (Non-England)[9] Runs Player Period 575 (7 Innings) Warren Bardsley 1909–1926 571 (9 Innings) Garfield Sobers 1957–1973 551 (8 Innings) Donald Bradman 1930–1948 508 (8 Innings) Dilip Vengsarkar 1979–1990 503 (9 Innings) Allan Border 1980–1993

Highest individual score[10] Runs Player Year 333 vs India Graham Gooch 1990 259 vs England Graeme Smith 2003 254 vs England Donald Bradman 1930 240 vs Australia Wally Hammond 1938 226 vs Bangladesh Jonathan Trott 2010

Most centuries[11] Centuries Player Period 6 (39 Innings) Graham Gooch 1975–1994 6 (19 Innings) Michael Vaughan 2000–2008 5 (15 Innings) Kevin Pietersen 2005–2011 5 (28 Innings) Andrew Strauss 2004–2012 4 (24 Innings) Allan Lamb 1982–1992

Bowling[link]

Most career wickets[12] Wickets Player Period 69 (26 Innings) Ian Botham 1978–1992 63 (24 Innings) Fred Trueman 1952–1965 47 (16 Innings) Bob Willis 1973–1984 46 (21 Innings) James Anderson 2003–2012 45 (18 Innings) Brian Statham 1951–1961

Most career wickets (Non-England)[13] Wickets Player Period 26 (8 Innings) Richard Hadlee 1978–1990 26 (6 Innings) Glenn McGrath 1997–2005 20 (5 Innings) Malcolm Marshall 1984–1991 20 (7 Innings) Courtney Walsh 1988–2000 19 (6 Innings) Charlie Turner 1888–1893

Best innings figures[14] Figures Player Year 8/34 vs Pakistan Ian Botham 1978 8/38 vs England Glenn McGrath 1997 8/43 vs Australia Hedley Verity 1934 8/43 vs Pakistan Derek Underwood 1974 8/51 vs England Bob Massie 1972

Best match figures[15] Figures Player Year 16/137 vs England Bob Massie 1972 15/104 vs Australia Hedley Verity 1934 13/71 vs Pakistan Derek Underwood 1974 12/101 vs South Africa Roy Tattersall 1951 11/70 vs New Zealand Derek Underwood 1969

Team Records[link]

Highest innings score[16] Score Team Year 729/6 d  Australia vs England 1930 682/6 d  South Africa vs England 2003 653/4 d  England vs India 1990 652/8 d  West Indies vs England 1973 632/4 d  Australia vs England 1993

Lowest completed innings[17] Score Team Year 42  India vs England 1974 47  New Zealand vs England 1958 53  England vs Australia 1888 53  Australia vs England 1896 54  West Indies vs England 2000

Partnership Records[link]

Highest partnerships[18]
Runs	Wicket	Players	Match	Year
370	3rd	Denis Compton (208) & Bill Edrich (189)	England vs South Africa	1947
332	8th	Jonathan Trott (184) & Stuart Broad (169)	England vs Pakistan	2010
308	3rd	Graham Gooch (333) & Allan Lamb (139)	England vs India	1990
291	2nd	Robert Key (221) & Andrew Strauss (137)	England vs West Indies	2004
287*	2nd	Gordon Greenidge (214*) & Larry Gomes (92*)	West Indies vs England	1984
286	4th	Ian Bell (199) & Kevin Pietersen (152)	England vs South Africa	2008

All records correct as of 28 August 2010.

See also[link]

• List of international cricket centuries at Lord's Cricket Ground

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Midwinter, Eric (1981). W G Grace: His Life and Times. George Allen and Unwin. ISBN 978-0-04-796054-3. 
• Wright, Graeme (2005). Wisden at Lord's. John Wisden & Co. Ltd. ISBN 0-947766-93-6. 
• Rice, Jonathan (2001). One Hundred Lord's Tests. Methuen Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-413-76120-7. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lord's Cricket Ground

• Lord's Cricket Ground
• CricInfo's profile of Lord's
• CricInfo's page on the original Lord's

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Coordinates: 51°31′46″N 0°10′22″W / 51.5294°N 0.1727°W / 51.5294; -0.1727

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The deferential appellation Lord is used at its highest level to refer to a deity.^[1]Christ Pantocrator mosaic, Daphni, c.1100

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Nobile, Edler von

This box: view talk edit

Lord is a deferential appellation^[2] for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others; a master, chief, or ruler.^[3][4] In only a few cases is "lord" a substantive title in itself, most commonly that of the Lord of the Manor and certain vestigial titles from the age of feudalism such as Lord of Mann, in other cases it is a generic term applied, for example, to persons who hold a title of the peerage or persons entitled to courtesy titles, or to refer to a group or body of peers.

Etymology[link]

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, the etymology of the word can be traced back to the Old English word hlāford which originated from hlāfweard meaning 'bread keeper' or 'loaf-ward', reflecting the Germanic tribal custom of a chieftain providing food for his followers.^[5] The appellation "lord" is primarily applied to men, while for women the appellation of "lady" is used. However, this is not universal; the Lord of Mann, a title currently held by the Queen, and female Lord Mayors are examples of women who are styled lord. The word lady originates from a similar structure, believed to have originally meant 'loaf-kneader.'

Used as a prefix[link]

"Lord" may be used in conjunction with a substantive title to denote a superior holder of an otherwise generic title, in such combinations as "Lord Mayor" or "Lord Chief Justice", which mark out the holder as an official worthy of particular respect and of a higher status. Thus in the 19th century the "Mayor of Bristol", an ancient office, was given by the Crown as a mark of special favour the title "Lord Mayor of Bristol", by which appellation the office is known today. A king is frequently referred to in mediaeval documents as "The Lord King".

Feudalism[link]

Cleric, knight and peasant

Under the feudal system, lord has a wide, loose and varied meaning. An overlord was the person from whom a landholding or a manor was held by a mesne lord or vassal under various forms of feudal land tenure. The modern term "landlord" is a vestigial survival of this function. A liege lord was a person to whom a vassal owed sworn allegiance. Neither of these terms were titular dignities, rather factual appellations, which described the relationships of two persons within the highly stratified feudal social system. For example, a man might be lord of the manor to his own tenants but a vassal to his own overlord, who in turn was a vassal to the king. Where a knight was a lord of the manor, as was generally the case, he is referred to in contemporary documents as "John (Surname), knight, lord of (manor name)". A feudal baron was a true titular dignity, with the right originally to attend Parliament, yet even a feudal baron, lord of the manor of many manors, was a vassal to the king.

Peerage[link]

Lord is used as a generic term to denote members of the peerage. Five ranks of peer exist in the United Kingdom, in descending order these are duke, marquess, earl, viscount, and baron. The appellation 'Lord' is used most often by barons who are rarely addressed by their formal and legal title of "Baron", a notable exception being during a baron's introduction into the House of Lords when he begins his oath by stating "I, Baron X...of Y...". The correct style is 'Lord (X)', for example, Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson, is commonly known as 'Lord Tennyson'. The ranks of marquess, earl and viscounts are commonly also addressed as lord. Dukes use the style 'Duke of (X)', and are not correctly referred to as 'Lord (X)'. Dukes are formally addressed as 'Your Grace', rather than 'My Lord'. In the Peerage of Scotland, the members of the lowest level of the peerage have the substantive title 'Lord of Parliament' rather than baron.

For senior members of the peerage, the appellation of lord is used as a courtesy title for some or all of their children; for example the younger sons of dukes and marquesses are entitled to use the style 'Lord (first name) (surname)'. The titles are courtesy titles in that the holder is not deemed thereby to hold a peerage, and is a commoner, according to Law of the United Kingdom.

House of Lords[link]

In the UK, the upper house of Parliament is officially termed the House of Peers, but is commonly called the House of Lords (or just 'The Lords'). This is the most ancient degree of English nobility and a commoner who is raised directly to a high degree in the peerage, for example a former prime minister who becomes an Earl, is always created a baron at the same time, from historic precedent. Indeed the peerage was anciently termed the baronage before the higher degrees were created. Three different classifications exist:

• Most peers who hold peerages created before the Life Peerages Act 1958 (and a few who hold peerages created thereafter) are hereditary peers, who until 1999 constituted the most numerous category of peers sitting in the House. There are in excess of 700 peers whose titles are heritable, however since the House of Lords Act 1999, they are no longer guaranteed a seat in the Lords and instead must take part in an election for a total of ninety-two seats. All male members of the Peerage of England, Peerage of Great Britain and the Peerage of the United Kingdom were before 1999 entitled to sit in the House of Lords by virtue of their title. Peeresses were granted the right to sit by the Peerage Act 1963. Peers of Scotland and Ireland, however, historically had limitations on their right to sit in the English parliament. Between 1707 and 1963, Scottish peers participated in elections to determine which of them would take the sixteen seats allocated to them as a whole. Elections were abolished by the Peerage Act 1963, and from then until 1999 all Scottish peers and peeresses were entitled to sit. Irish peers participated in similar elections from 1801 until 1922, when the Irish Free State was established. Elections of Irish peers ceased in 1922, however already-elected Irish representative peers remained entitled to sit until their deaths. The last Irish representative peer to die was Francis Needham, 4th Earl of Kilmorey, who died in 1961. Many Irish peers also hold peerages of Great Britain and the United Kingdom, which formerly entitled them to sit in the House (without the necessity of being elected a representative peer) until 1999.
• The importance and legal significance of hereditary peers has declined steadily following the increase in the appointment of life peers. These latter peers are entitled to sit in the House of Lords for the duration of their lives, but their titles are not hereditable by their heirs. They are rarely if ever created above the rank of baron. The first life peers were appointed to assist in exercising the judicial functions of the House of Lords under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876. Widespread appointment of life peers was enabled by the Life Peerages Act 1958. Since that Act, about 1,086 life peers have been created. The only hereditary privilege associated with life peerages is that children of life peers are entitled to style themselves 'The Honourable (firstname) (surname)'.
• These first two groups (hereditary and life peers)are termed collectively and officially Lords Temporal as opposed to the third type of deemed baron sitting in the House known as Lords Spiritual. This latter group consists of twenty-six Church of England bishops who are appointed in order of superiority. Unlike Lords Temporal, who can be appointed from any of the four constituent nations of the UK, only bishops with English Sees are eligible to sit in the Upper Chamber. Bishops of the Church of Scotland traditionally sat in the Parliament of Scotland but were excluded in 1638 following the Scottish Reformation. Bishops in the Church of Scotland no longer exist in the traditional sense of that word, and that Church has never sent members to sit in the House of Lords. The Church of Ireland ceased to send bishops to sit after Disestablishment of the Church of Ireland in 1871. The Church in Wales ceased to be a part of the Church of England in 1920 following Disestablishment of the Church in Wales. Accordingly, bishops of the Church in Wales were no longer eligible to be appointed to the House of Lords as bishops of the Church of England.