Venues
Established in 1814, the ‘Mecca of Cricket’ is home to the MCC, who were the original rule-makers of the game before the inception of the International Cricket Council.
This historic venue has hosted 121 Test matches till date apart from hosting four World Cup finals.
The ground is privately owned by the Marylebone Cricket Club (membership 18,000), and is home to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). The dominant building is the terracotta-coloured pavilion built in 1890, which is still one of the sport's most recognisable structures.
Going round the ground in a clockwise direction, next to the pavilion is the Warner Stand, inaugurated in 1958 and named after the eminent player and administrator Sir Pelham "Plum" Warner.
Built in 1997, the main grandstand 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.
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 Nursery 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 sight of Kapil Dev lifting the 1983 World Cup on the Lord’s balcony is etched in every Indian cricket fan’s memory.
More recently, Saurav Ganguly caused both consternation and delight by taking off his shirt and waving it over his head after India’s Natwest Series final win in 2002.
