Lord's Cricket Ground
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Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket ground in St John's Wood in London. It is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the International Cricket Council (ICC). Lord's is often referred to as the Home of Cricket. The ground was started by Thomas Lord in 1814.
Lord's hosts Test matches, one day internationals and Middlesex home matches and for the first ever time a Twenty 20 Cup match between Middlesex and Sussex in July 2004.
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Much of the ground was rebuilt in the late 20th century. In 1987 the new Mound Stand, designed by Sir Michael Hopkins, was opened. The Grand Stand (by Nicholas Grimshaw) and the Media Centre (by Future Systems) followed in 1998-9. In 2002-3 the entire outfield was relaid and a much-improved drainage system installed. There is also redevelopment continuing on the historic pavilion, particularly the famous Long Room, where every player comes through before entering the field of play.
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The Lord's Taverners, a charitable group comprising cricketers and cricket-lovers take their name from Lord's, and the fact that the Tavern Stand is built on the site of a former tavern.
St. John's Wood tube station is nearby.
The Chiltern railway line runs under the practice ground at the Nursery End. A photograph of the cut-and-cover tunnels under construction circa 1896 is available at The Transport Archive (http://www.transportarchive.org.uk/getobject.php?rnum=L1341&searchitem=Lords&mtv=L3&pnum=1).
The MCC Museum
Lord's is the home of the MCC Museum, which is the oldest sports museum in the world, and contains the world's most celebrated collection of cricket memorabilia, including The Ashes.
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The MCC has been collecting memorabilia since 1864. The items on display include cricket kit used by the likes of Victor Trumper, Jack Hobbs, Don Bradman and Shane Warne, many items related to the career of W.G. Grace; and curiosities such as the stuffed sparrow that was 'bowled out' by Jahangir Khan in 1936, and the copy of Wisden that helped to sustain E.W. Swanton throughout his captivity, in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp, during World War II. The Museum continues to collect historic artifacts and also commissions new paintings, and work from the "MCC Young Photographer". It contains the Brian Johnston Memorial Theatre, a cinema which screens historical cricket footage for visitors.
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A visit to the MCC Museum is included in the guided tours of the ground which take place daily. Alternatively, it can be visited on match-days by ticket-holding spectators for a separate charge
See also
External links
- Lord's cricket ground (http://www.lords.org/)
- MCC Museum (http://www.lords.org/history/museum.asp)
- CricInfo's profile of Lord's (http://plus.cricinfo.com/db/GROUNDS/ENG/LONDON/LORDS_00010/)
- CricInfo's page on the original Lord's (http://plus.cricinfo.com/db/GROUNDS/ENG/LONDON/LORDS_OLD_GROUND_00001/)