Overview

Old Trafford, situated south of Manchester city centre, forms a famous sporting double act with the "other" Old Trafford, and is the third home of Lancashire County Cricket Club. They began life at Moss Lane until 1847, then moved to Chester Road before being evicted in 1856. Old Trafford has hosted Tests since 1884 and remains a special venue with a rich history. It guaranteed itself a place in cricket's eternal hall of fame when the permanently understated Jim Laker destroyed Australia, in 1956, on an old-fashioned "sticky wicket", with match figures of 19 for 90. Australia were the victims again in 1981 when Ian Botham lit up a damp Manchester day by hooking Dennis Lillee off his eyebrows into the stands, and in 1995 Dominic Cork ensured anyone having a Sunday morning snooze was rudely woken with one of most dramatic opening overs ever seen, as he took his hat-trick against West Indies. During the 1990s, Old Trafford became Lancashire's fortress of one-day cricket - few teams managed to break down the defences of the Red Rose one-day side. In 1999, over 22,000 watched Pakistan against India in the World Cup and the ground regularly sells out for international cricket. But it is now going through a transitional phase; the pavilion required major renovation work in the 2003 winter and two stands have been demolished. The realisation that a cricket ground spends much of the time idle has prompted Lancashire to introduce other sources of income, the Old Trafford Lodge being one of the most successful. Music concerts (such as the Move festival) have also been a huge success, and even though they are staged during the cricket season, the ground is ready for play a matter of days later.
Andrew McGlashan (March 2005)