Lord’s brings out the best and worst of Test cricket

The first thought walking through the Grace Gates is Lord’s is special because cricket has lived at its home in London’s St John’s Wood since 1814. Lord’s, steeped in cricket’s culture, burdened and blessed by the weight of history, is embracing change to stay contemporary.

That it must, and signs that cricket has moved on – and keeps moving – are all too visible. In the media box (which resembles a space ship) Test match tiger Kumar Sangakkara strides in carrying a Rajasthan Royals Halla Bol backpack. During the lunch break kids are allowed to have a hit with plastic balls. Lord’s, once stiff and cold, is now less formal, less elitist.

The Lord’s Test is an important social event of the British summer and the stadium experience for fans, players, commercial partners is exceptional. There are large signs announcing that Lord’s is cashless, and unless you carry the right plastic not even the friendliest steward can help you get coffee/Greek/Lebanese/Indian street food, nor can one buy merchandise. Also, Lord’s won’t allow anyone to smoke.

What hasn’t changed, thankfully, is Lord’s celebrates cricket like no other venue. The Father Time Wall of Fame lists major milestones in cricket’s journey: MCC issuing the Code of Laws in 1788, the first Oxford-Cambridge game in 1827 and the Parsees, the first team from India, playing here in 1886.

Over the years India’s best have excelled at Lord’s, their astonishing feats etched in our collective memory. Vinoo Mankad in 1952, Kapil Dev in ‘83, Sourav in 2002 have bossed this place and at different times several others have left their spike marks here. Vengsarkar scored three hundreds; Ajit Agarkar is on the batting honours board, a feat that has eluded greats Tendulkar and King Kohli. Indian bowlers on the honours board include Amar Singh, Nissar, Lala Amarnath, Ramakant Desai. Also, Chetan Sharma/Bhuvneswar/RP Singh/Praveen Kumar/Ishant Sharma.

Yet, besides celebrating the greats of the game, Lord’s is special as it respects cricket, the great game, and the values it stands for. The MCC is a private club that owns Lord’s, it framed cricket’s laws and used to run cricket till that role shifted to ICC.

The MCC now has only moral authority and its prestigious World Cricket Committee (with Sourav Ganguly, Ramiz Raja, Justin Langar, Jhulan Goswami and others as members) is a forum that discusses the state of the game and offers suggestions to the national boards.

One such elaborate conference, the World Cricket Connect, was held last week in the Long Room where players, administrators, commercial partners and broadcasters spoke about the many challenges the game faces. The sessions were lively and insightful, the outcomes realistic and a bit surprising.

The answer to all major challenges (threat to Tests/cricket’s growth/commercial health/club versus country debate) was T20 cricket and professional leagues hold the key, and world cricket must reset keeping that in the centre. This because fans have voted in its favour, and the market has adjusted to the changing reality. Sangakkara summed it best: We have to respect what the fans consume, that’s the only way to grow. Kevin Pietersen, a strong supporter of the shorter format, was equally clear about the way forward.

Everyone agreed Test cricket is on a bad wicket, and there is little that can be done. Most speakers were unemotional about its uncertain future, and it was ironical to hear all this at Lord’s, that too in a packed Long Room.

A few days later, the England-West Indies Test at Lord’s brought out the best of cricket, also its worst aspect. The game was sold out, as all Lord’s Tests are, and the setting was just perfect. The only problem was that the West Indies weren’t good enough and the cricket lacked quality to excite the fans. A non-competitive game – a five-day contest that barely goes into day three – is just bad for cricket.

While the Lord’s game highlighted the problems, it also reminded you of the beauty and charm of Tests. That 20,000 fans turned up for a Test is remarkable in itself. That they came even on day three (with WI 6 down) is a bigger feat. That they came to celebrate the career of Jimmy Anderson (their greatest bowler, perhaps their greatest Test cricketer) demonstrates their respect and affection for cricket and cricketers.

The standout memory from Lord’s is the entire crowd staying for almost one hour after the match ended to bid farewell to a champion player. Tests will survive at Lord’s because of the magic of cricket at this fantastic venue but even on sunny afternoons dark clouds will always be around the corner.