WORDS: ABHISHEK MANDE BHOT. IMAGE: GETTY IMAGES (KAPIL DEV), ALAMY (STADIUM, IAN BOTHAM & BOB WILLIS), MCC (LORD'S EXPERIENCES)
T
hey say there are a lot of great walks in
sport, but there’s a case to be made that few
compare to the experience of walking out of
the pavilion at Lord’s Cricket Ground. It’s
where underdogs India beat heavyweights
West Indies to win the 1983 World Cup. It’s where
Sourav Ganguly famously took off his shirt when India
beat England in the Natwest series final in 2002.
And, more sombrely, where Ian Botham returned,
after scoring a pair in the 1981 Ashes, to a roomful of
members refusing to acknowledge his presence, and
walked back in complete silence. Botham counts it as
among the worst feelings of his life. He never captained
England again, but returned to the next game with
such a sense of purpose, the series came to be known as
Botham’s Ashes.
Fact is, when you walk down the two flights of stairs
that lead from the dressing room to the iconic Long
Room, you don’t just follow in the footsteps of greats,
past and present, but also become part of something far
bigger than yourself. It’s what reminds you that cricket
isn’t just a game, and Lord’s isn’t just a cricket ground.
Conveniently, Beyond the Boundary, a new tour
experience launched by Lord’s, takes you down that
very path – one that saw a gangly Kapil Dev emerge
as an icon in a country starving for one and a young
Ganguly set the tone for modern Indian cricket. Many
confess feeling a chill every time they walked down
those steps and through those hallways.
It’s one of the three new exclusive tours launched
by Lord’s to offer cricket fans an insider’s view of
the legendary institution. The tours are hosted bythree former England cricketers, Mike Gatting, John
Emburey and Angus Fraser, who will narrate their
memories of the ground.
Players’ Dining Room Experience offers a three-
course meal in the room where cricketers dine on match
days. Here too, Gatting, Emburey and Fraser take turns
hosting the meal and sharing wartime stories.
But it’s Hat-Trick that’s a cricket fan’s dream come
true. This tour rolls up the other two experiences for a
four-hour marathon: You don’t just get to meet and dine
with a cricket great in the players’ dining room, you
also get to walk along with him onto the turf.
Each of these experiences includes the traditional
tour of the ground, as well as the viewing of the famous
Honours Board – which doesn’t include the name of
one Sachin Tendulkar, who never managed to score a
century or get a five-wicket haul here.
It’s easy to call Lord’s the home of cricket – indeed,
the folks over at Lord’s do that. But think of it, really:
Lord’s is to cricket what Ferrari is to cars, Sinatra to
music, Shakespeare to, well, the English language.
You can’t imagine one without the other. And to have
watched Sinatra live, to have driven a Ferrari, to have
been in the Globe, is to have lived life itself.
So too it is with Lord’s, which stands at the heart of
a game that’s come to represent decency and fair play.
And so, in this greatest summer of cricket – with the
ICC Cricket World Cup, the Ashes, Women’s Ashes and
domestic and county championships all packed into
one glorious season – it seems apt to pay homage to
the mothership.
For more information, visit lords.orgClockwise from left: Kapil Dev hoists the 1983 World Cup trophy at Lord’s; Ian
Botham and Bob Willis at the 1981 Ashes; A Lord’s tour experience includes
interacting with former cricketer John EmbureyEXPERT SPEAK
Lord’s is home to other sports, besides
cricket: The ground also houses a tennis
court, and has hosted a baseball game and
even archery (during the 2012 Olympics).
The most ducks in an ODI (8) ever
happened here in the 1979 World Cup,
between England and West Indies – where
Sir Viv Richards also scored a centuryJULY 2019 — 133