Ground name | Lord's Cricket Ground |
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Nickname | Lord's |
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Logo image | |
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Country | England |
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Location | St John's Wood, London |
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Establishment | 1814 |
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Seating capacity | 28,000 |
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Owner | Marylebone Cricket Club |
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Tenants | England and Wales Cricket Board |
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End1 | Pavilion End |
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End2 | Nursery End |
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International | true |
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Firsttestdate | 21 July |
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Firsttestyear | 1884 |
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Firsttesthome | England |
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Firsttestaway | Australia |
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Lasttestdate | 3 June |
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Lasttestyear | 2011 |
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Lasttesthome | England |
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Lasttestaway | Sri Lanka |
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Firstodidate | 26 August |
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Firstodiyear | 1972 |
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Firstodihome | England |
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Firstodiaway | Australia |
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Lastodidate | 3 July |
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Lastodiyear | 2010 |
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Lastodihome | England |
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Lastodiaway | Australia |
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Year2 | 1877 – present |
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Club2 | Middlesex |
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Year1 | 1814 – present |
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Club1 | Marylebone Cricket Club |
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Date | 12 June |
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Year | 2011 |
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Source | http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Grounds/11/596.html CricketArchive |
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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" and is home to the world's oldest sporting museum.
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 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
The earliest known match played on the current Lord's Cricket Ground was Marylebone Cricket Club v Hertfordshire on 22 June 1814.
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
Stands
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
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
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
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 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
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
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. 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
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. 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.
Floodlights
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 9.50pm and be switched off by 11pm. The floodlights were first used successfully on 27 May 2009 during the Twenty20 Cup match between Middlesex and Kent.
Cricket Usage
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
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 July 3, 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
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 August 25, 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.
However the ECB may impose a limit of one Test per ground for the summer, the MCC have looked into talking to the ECB over the proposal. 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.
Lords would be the venue of the 2000th test match when England hosts India from 21 July to 25 July 2011.
Other sports
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. Recently, there has been talk about staging
Major League Baseball games at Lord's in the near future.
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. Lord's also houses a real tennis court.
Transport Connections
Test Match Records
Individual Records
Batting
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 100%"
!colspan=3|Most career runs
|-
! width="130"| Runs !! width="150"|Player !! width="75"|Period
|-
|
2015 (39 Innings) ||
Graham Gooch || 1975–1994
|-
|
1476 (37 Innings) ||
Alec Stewart || 1990–2003
|-
|
1347 (22 Innings) ||
Andrew Strauss || 2004–2010
|-
|
1241 (30 Innings) ||
David Gower || 1978–1990
|-
|
1189 (29 Innings) ||
Geoff Boycott || 1965–1981
|-
|}
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 100%"
!colspan=3|Most career runs (Non-English)
|-
! width="130"| Runs !! width="150"|Player !! width="75"|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
|-
|}
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 100%"
!colspan=3|Highest individual score
|-
! width="130"| Runs !! width="150"|Player !! width="75"|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
|-
|}
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 100%"
!colspan=3|Most centuries
|-
! width="130"|Centuries !! width="150"|Player !! width="75"|Period
|-
| 6 (39 Innings) || Graham Gooch || 1975–1994
|-
| 6 (19 Innings) || Michael Vaughan || 2000–2008
|-
| 4 (24 Innings) || Allan Lamb || 1982–1992
|-
| 4 (14 Innings) || Kevin Pietersen || 2005–2009
|-
| 4 (20 Innings) || Andrew Strauss || 2004–2009
|-
|}
Bowling
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 100%"
!colspan=3|Most career wickets
|-
! width="130"| Wickets !! width="150"|Player !! width="75"|Period
|-
|
69 (26 Innings) ||
Ian Botham || 1978–1992
|-
|
63 (24 Innings) ||
Fred Trueman || 1952–1965
|-
|
47 (16 Innings) ||
Bob Willis || 1973–1984
|-
|
45 (18 Innings) ||
Brian Statham || 1951–1961
|-
|
42 (14 Innings) ||
Hedley Verity || 1933–1939
|-
|}
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 100%"
!colspan=3|Most career wickets (Non-English)
|-
! width="130"| Wickets !! width="150"|Player !! width="75"|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
|-
|}
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 100%"
!colspan=3|Best innings figures
|-
! width="130"| Figures !! width="150"|Player !! width="75"|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
|-
|}
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 100%"
!colspan=3|Best match figures
|-
! width="130"| Figures !! width="150"|Player !! width="75"|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
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 100%"
!colspan=3|Highest innings score
|-
! width="75"| Score !! width="205"|Team !! width="75"|Year
|-
|
729/6 d|| vs England || 1930
|-
|
682/6 d|| vs England || 2003
|-
|
653/4 d|| vs India || 1990
|-
|
652/8 d|| vs England || 1973
|-
|
632/4 d|| vs England || 1993
|-
|}
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 100%"
!colspan=3|Lowest completed innings
|-
! width="75"| Score !! width="205"|Team !! width="75"|Year
|-
| 42|| vs England || 1974
|-
| 47|| vs England || 1958
|-
| 53|| vs Australia || 1888
|-
| 53|| vs England || 1896
|-
| 54|| vs England || 2000
|-
|}
Partnership Records
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 100%"
!colspan=5|Highest partnerships
|-
! width="75"|Runs !! width="75"|Wicket !! Players !! width="205"|Match !! width="75"|Year
|-
|
370|| 3rd ||
Denis Compton (208) &
Bill Edrich (189) || vs South Africa || 1947
|-
|
332|| 8th ||
Jonathan Trott (184) &
Stuart Broad (169) || vs Pakistan || 2010
|-
|
308|| 3rd ||
Graham Gooch (333) &
Allan Lamb (139) || vs India || 1990
|-
|
291|| 2nd ||
Robert Key (221) &
Andrew Strauss (137) || vs West Indies || 2004
|-
|
287*|| 2nd ||
Gordon Greenidge (214*) &
Larry Gomes (92*) || vs England || 1984
|-
|
286|| 4th ||
Ian Bell (199) &
Kevin Pietersen (152) || vs South Africa || 2008
|-
|}
All records correct as of 28 August 2010.
See also
List of international cricket centuries at Lord's Cricket Ground
References
Bibliography
External links
Lord's Cricket Ground
CricInfo's profile of Lord's
CricInfo's page on the original Lord's
Category:Cricket grounds in London
Category:English cricket in the 19th century
Category:Buildings and structures in Westminster
Category:2012 Summer Olympic venues
Category:Olympic archery venues
Category:Visitor attractions in London
United Kingdom
Category:Cricket in London
Category:Visitor attractions in Westminster
Category:Museums in Westminster
Category:Sports museums in the United Kingdom
Category:Test cricket grounds in England