Lord’s Cricket Ground Profile
Lord’s Cricket Ground, also known simply as Lord’s, is based in London and is often referred to as the home of cricket. It was first established in 1814, is named after founder Thomas Lord and owned by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). Lord’s is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club and is also the base of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the European Cricket Council (ECC).
The ground has held more than 100 Test matches in its history. The first took place in 1884 when England beat Australia. Australia picked up their first win at the ground four years later. India’s first Test match at Lord’s took place in 1932 and the ground held the 2,000th Test match when India visited in 2011.
Lord’s currently hosts Test, ODI and T20I cricket, as well as some Middlesex home matches in the County Championship and the T20 Blast. It typically hosts two Test matches and two ODI matches every summer. Lord’s also holds the final of England and Wales’ domestic one-day competition, the Royal London Cup. The oldest surviving fixture still taking place at the ground is the annual match between Eton and Harrow universities which started in 1805.
Lord’s is also famous for its Victorian-era Pavilion and Long Room. The landmark grade II-listed building was build between 1889-90 and contains the players’ dressing rooms and Lord’s Honours Boards to commemorate Test and ODI centuries and bowlers that take five wickets in Test and ODI matches. Graham Gooch has the most career runs at Lord’s with 2,015 in 39 innings. The most career runs at the ground by a non-England player stands with Australian Warren Bardsley 575 in seven innings.
What to look for when betting on matches at Lord’s
The Lord’s pitch is famous for its unique slope running from the north end of the ground to the south with a drop of 2.5 metres. The gradient often benefits bowlers at the ground, with swing bowling from the Nursery End and seam attack from the Pavilion End proving hard to handle for batsmen. Right-handed batsmen tend to struggle more than left-handed batsman due to the slope bring the ball back into the latter.
James Anderson tops the Test wicket-taker table at Lord’s. The best overseas figures come from Australian Glenn McGrath.