Lord's

St John's Wood Road,
London, England

Lord's Cricket Ground, St John's Wood, London NW8 8QN. (Phone: 020 7616 8500)

Also or formerly known as Lord's Cricket Ground
Established 1814
Named after Thomas Lord
Capacity 30000
Floodlights Yes, 2009
End names Pavilion End, Nursery End
Home teams Marylebone Cricket Club, Middlesex
Other sports Lacrosse, Hockey, Archery (2012 Olympics)
Curator Mick Hunt
Current local time 03:59, Mon Sep 20, 2021 (UTC +0100)

Profile | Notes | Fixtures | Latest Articles | Latest Photos

Records and statistics

First Test	England v Australia - Jul 21-23, 1884	Scorecard
Last Test	England v India - Aug 12-16, 2021	Scorecard
Test records \| Results \| High totals \| High scores \| Most runs \| Best bowling \| Most wickets \| Partnerships \| Statsguru
First ODI	England v Australia - Aug 26, 1972	Scorecard
Last ODI	England v Pakistan - Jul 10, 2021	Scorecard
ODI records \| Results \| High totals \| High scores \| Most runs \| Best bowling \| Most wickets \| Partnerships \| Statsguru
First T20I	England v Netherlands - Jun 5, 2009	Scorecard
Last T20I	Nepal v Netherlands - Jul 29, 2018	Scorecard
T20I records \| Results \| High totals \| High scores \| Most runs \| Best bowling \| Most wickets \| Partnerships \| Statsguru
Records index

Profile

Despite a major rebuilding programme in recent years, Lord's remains a cricket ground as opposed to the largely impersonal stadiums many other leading venues which have become. Playing in a Test at Lord's, still widely regarded as the home of cricket, remains to many cricketers the pinnacle of a career.

The third of Thomas Lord's grounds was opened in 1814 and soon became the major venue as cricket became the world's leading sport in the 19th century. While cricket has been overtaken by other international events, and the game itself has become overtly commercial, Lord's has retained its place as the spiritual home.

The ground is privately owned by the Marylebone Cricket Club (membership 18,000), is the home to the ECB and, from 1909 to 2005, the ICC.

The dominant building is the terracotta-coloured pavilion, built in 1890 and still one of world sport's most recognisable structures. Going round the ground in a clockwise direction, next to the pavilion is the Warner Stand, opened in 1958 and named after the eminent player and administrator Sir Pelham "Plum" Warner.

The main grandstand was built in 1997 and replaced the architecturally unique structure designed by Sir Herbert Baker which was opened in time for the 1926 Ashes Test. Baker presented MCC with Father Time, the weathervane which topped his creation until it was moved to the other side of the ground in 1996.

The far end - the Nursery - is enclosed by the Compton and Edrich Stands, a pair of low-level two-tier stands built in 1990 which are remarkably similar to those they replaced (which were known as the Free Seats on account of them being available to those who had paid the basic ground admission - entry to other areas required extra payment). Legend has it that Gubby Allen, MCC's long-time self-appointed guardian, steadfastly refused to allow any larger structure as it would have blocked the view of the Nursery and the tree-lined park on the other side of the Wellington Road.

The Nursery itself is named after Henderson's agricultural nursery which was acquired in 1887 (not, as widely believed, because it is home to the MCC Young Cricketers, hence the nursery for the game's next generation). It houses a second pitch which is used for end-of-season Cross Arrows matches as well as the women's Varsity match. The award-winning Mound Stand, was opened in 1987. Its predecessor , constructed in 1898, was on the site of the old tennis courts and at one time contained a bakery with a small underground railway to take produce to various points of sale.

The Tavern (1967) is the least distinguished of the stands and typifies the bland functionality of the 1960s. Until the late 1980s spectators could stand on the concourse in front of the stand and watch proceedings, but increasing rowdyism ended that. The previous Tavern, an ivy-clad building, was much loved by patrons.

The final stand before returning the the pavilion is the Allen Stand (formerly the Q Stand), a rather diminutive in-fill which serves as a pavilion overflow on big-match days and Middlesex's club room at other times.
Martin Williamson

Notes

Lord's - A brief timeline

Travel
Tube St John's Wood Station (Jubilee) is a 500-yard walk - Baker Street (Jubilee/Metropolitan/Bakerloo/Hammersmith & City, Circle) is slightly further but is often less congested on major match days and offers more trains.
Train Paddington is about two miles away.
Car Parking very limited (members only) and on-street and underground parking expensive.
Map & Hotels Click here

Fixtures

2022
Thu Jun 2 - Mon Jun 6	ICC World Test Championship 1st Test - England v New Zealand
Thu Jul 14 (50 ovs)	ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Super League 3rd ODI - England v India
Wed Aug 17 - Sun Aug 21	ICC World Test Championship 1st Test - England v South Africa
- Day and Night - International Matches - Covered by Cricinfo
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