Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Home of Cricket

I assume it must be every cricketer`s dream to play for his country and to play at Lord`s Cricket Ground some day. Just for the same reason, it must be every cricket fan`s fantasy to watch his team win at Lord`s. Well I got pretty close, except that noone was playing and tt was open for Public Viewing.
Yes... I went to Lord`s Cricket Ground and..My god.. It was a great feeling to be Up Close and Personal with the Lord`s Lushgreen Outfield where many a great cricketing heroes have stamped their authority. Well this is how my trip goes...

As an ardent cricket fan I had to make a trip to the two of the great cricket grounds in London city, the Lord`s and the Kennington Oval. I couldn`t get a sneakpeak of Oval ground bcos the security wouldn't allow me inside. But I found out that they have a Guided Tour of Lord`s ground in the Off-season. Its an hour and half and it covers almost all the parts of the ground. Off I went and bought a ticket to catch a glimpse of Cricket History and enter my name in the guestbook of the Lord`s.

First we were taken to the Pavilion and into the Visiting team`s Changing room. It is the same room where the visiting team uses when they play any game against England or the Host team(if its a World cup game), however the case maybe. It was just great feeling to be in that room. There were couple of boards which carried the names of Visiting team Batsmen who scored centuries at Lord`s and Bowlers who took 5`s and 10`s. Saw some of the familiar names on that board. The room led us to the Visiting team balcony. It was a Grand view of the ground from there. Its the same balcony where Kapil`s Devils celebrated their 83` World Cup Victory and where Saurav did his Famous Strip tease and thumped his barechest after beating England to clinch the Natwest trophy in 2001. Many a great cricketing moments come to my mind right now related this same balcony.
After taking a couple of snaps, we were taken to the Museum of Lord`s where the Prudential World Cup, Famous Ashes Urn and the Recently won Ashes Crystal cup and also the Diana Memorial Cup are preserved. I also saw framed photographs of some of the great moments of Cricket like Kapil Dev's Famous 4 sixes against England to avoid follow-on, Brian Lara's Wagon Wheel when he scored Record 375, Original Scoresheet of Indian's Victory against West Indies in the World Cup '83 and several others.

Then we were taken to the side stands to get a closer look at the ground.


Later we went to the Media center end and got a closer look at the outfield from there and then we went upto the top of the Media center. There were 2 levels, one for the Journalists and other for the Commentators. It was much like the Media Center at Aggie Football stadium at Texas A&M with many small rooms for different channels(Closest I can think of in Comparison - then again not trying to compare these 2 gounds. That would be a sin). We were breifed about the Design and planning of this Odd Space ship like structure. Infact it is just an inverted Hull of a ship which was actually contsructed by a shipyard company in England. So many times we have seen the view of the ground from this center on TV, but it was a different feeling to be there to see it. Then we came down and we were shown the practise ground where players usually practise before the start of the game. Finally before we left, I signed the Guestbook, the same book where the 'Pigeon'- Glenn Mcgrath had also signed.

For More photos Click HERE

Some Tips: Nearest Undergrounds: St. John's Wood or Baker Street. I suggest Go to baker Street and take a Bus.
Timings for Guided tours: http://www.lords.org/lords-ground/tours/

10 comments:

lenscrafter said...

kabir, good blog da. hope to relive some of your experiences this summer

Summit'sPeak said...

Hey dude, I might be visiting Scotland sometime soon.

lenscrafter said...

kabir, happy birthday da .. wish u a great XXVII

Sriram said...

@Lenscrafter: Thanks mate..although u revealed my age :). I thought I could just pass off in my sweet teens. Well.. now its not possible, aint it?? Yeah about the summer trip keep me posted... lemme see if I could join you unless You have other plans ;) and more interesting people to go with ;-o), in which I wouldnt want to disturb you :)

@Summit: Dudasya... when r u visiting scotland?? I ve heard its really beautiful. Lemme know.. Thats would be a good trip.

NaiKutti said...

kabo... cool trips mann... london and paris in a month... photos of lords just looks cool :-)... did u get a chance to step on the ground?

charmedandbound said...

verry verry happy birthday....btw..how old are u?:)

Sriram said...

@puppydog: illada machi. they didnt allow us to step on the grass. Though we saw some junta in suit and all, guided by some MCC dignitory all the way to the pitch.

@Charmed: Thanks for the wishes. I just turned 21 :-o).

charmedandbound said...

puurrrrfect!...my kid sister just started looking around...

Sriram said...

yeah right.. I did'nt know you had a kid sister and that she is looking around. I am so relieved now :) ... and u r not looking around then? or u just looking forward? :) very bad PJ I know..

Sriram said...

@Charmed: On second thoughts.. Why even drag your kid sister into all this, assuming you actually have one?? Poor thing...