Lord's Cricket Ground

The Lord's Cricket Ground, often simply referred to as Lord’s, is the world’s oldest cricket ground. It is nicknamed as the “Home of Cricket.” The ground was founded by Thomas Lord. Lord's today is not on its original site; it is 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 Canal. The present Lord's ground is about 250 yards north-west of the site of the Middle Ground. The ground can hold 30,000 spectators. 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 2.5 meters higher than the south-east side. This slope changes the bounce of the ball on the pitch, making it easier to move the ball to right-handed batsmen when bowling from the Pavilion End, and easier to move it away when bowling from the Nursery End.

Lord's is the home to the Marylebone Cricket Club Museum, which is the oldest sports museum in the world, and contains the world's most celebrated collection of cricket memorabilia, including the Ashes Urn. MCC has been collecting memorabilia since 1864 and was established in 1953 by Duke of Edinburgh. The grounds are also home to one of the largest and most comprehensive collection of books and publications dedicated to cricket, the MCC Library. The library includes over 17,000 volumes and is only open by appointment.

Though the Lord's Cricket Ground is exclusively a cricket venue it also houses a full-length tennis court and during World War I, hosted a charity baseball match between the Americans and Canadian team. In 2012 it also hosted the Archery event for the Summer Olympics where the archery competition took place in front of the Pavilion, with the archers positioned in front of the Pavilion and the targets placed in front of the Media Center. The Lord's Pavilion was built in 1889 by Thomas Verity, where it is used by the Marylebone Cricket Club, Middlesex County Cricket Club, and the England national cricket team. The pavilion is primarily for members of MCC, who may use its amenities, which include seats for viewing the cricket, the Long Room and its Bar, the Bowlers Bar, and a members' shop. At 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 honor boards which commemorate all the centuries scored in Test Matches or One Day Internationals at Lord's.

The History of Lord's: Lord's. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.lords.org/lords/our-history/timeline

Staff. (2020, April 12). 10 facts about Lord's Cricket Ground. Retrieved from https://www.sbs.com.au/news/10-facts-about-lord-s-cricket-ground

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2010, May 26). Lord's Cricket Ground. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Lords-Cricket-Ground