LONDON: Of the hundreds of tube stations in London, St John’s Wood is a special one. On the way out, it’s hard to miss a board written “Lord’s Cricket Ground is 400 yards away” on it. In a country where sport predominantly means football, this place draws thousands every week.
Once in through the WG Grace gate, it doesn’t seem that overwhelming initially. There are old buildings and new structures. Standing by the ground, this coexistence of new and old becomes most visible. The old pavilion with the famed balcony on one side and the 21st century media centre called the ‘spaceship’ on the other, with modern stands in between.
Once in front of the Grace statue, the sense of history starts taking over. Not because of the bronze figure playing forward, bat angled slightly towards the leg side. Because of a small garden next to it. It’s a small patch of green with old wooden benches all around, each one of them named after former England and Middlesex players. That’s where time stands still in a place trying to embrace modernity with tradition.
Because of the World Cup, things are not following the normal routine. Otherwise, this place is abuzz with visitors. There is a guided tour of the venue including a visit to the museum. Although this is not a huge place, one can see the equipment used by some former greats. Grace’s bat, Don Bradman’s boots, Wally Hammond’s bat. The first World Cup trophy or the Prudential Cup, replica of the Ashes urn are among the exhibits.
On the other side under the stands named after England’s first pin-up boy of a sportsperson Denis Compton, there are pictures of players who put in famous performances at the grand ground, with small write-ups on what they did. Vinoo Mankad finds a place there. “Highest Test score in a Test innings for India --- 184 in 1952,” a board says. Bradman is around too.
Not everything dates back to that old. There are pictures of more contemporary performers such as Makhaya Ntini, Dion Nash, Mohammad Yousuf as well. And that defines Lord’s in a nutshell. They preserve past here, without being unwelcoming to the present. In a place almost 250 years old with a treasury of memories, that’s no mean feat.