World Famous Cricket Grounds
London Lords
There have been three Lord's Cricket Grounds. The original was founded by Thomas Lord in 1787 on the site of what is now Dorset Square. The first regular cricket fixture at Lord's (one that continues to this day) was the annual Eton v. Harrow cricket match which was first played in 1805.
Lord was obliged to relocate in 1810 to a site called Lisson Grove in the vicinity of Regent's Park but he lost that venue after only three years because the land was requisitioned for a canal cutting. In 1814, the present Lord's ground, formerly a duckpond, was founded.
The current stands at Lord's are as follows (in a clockwise direction):
- The Pavilion
- Warner Stand
- Grandstand
- Media Centre
- Edrich Stand
- Tavern Stand
Much of Lord's Cricket Ground was rebuilt in the late 20th century. In 1987 the new Mound Stand, designed by Sir Michael Hopkins, was opened followed by the Grandstand (by Nicholas Grimshaw) in 1994. Most notably, the Media Centre (by Future Systems) was added in 1998-9 which won The Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize for 1999.
One of the most distinctive and famous features of the Lord's ground is the significant slope across the field. The north-west side of the playing surface is some eight feet higher than the south-east side. This slope causes appreciable deviation in bounce of the ball on the pitch, making it easier to move the ball in to right-handed batsmen when bowling from the Pavilion End, and easier to move it away when bowling from the Nursery End.
Eden Gardens
Along with the MCG, the Eden Gardens remains cricket's answer to the Coliseum. It first hosted a Test back in the days of India's cricketing infancy, with Douglas Jardine's team easing to victory inside four days in 1934. Since then, it has become something of a place of pilgrimage for most international cricketers, a chance to strut their stuff in front of the most passionate and vocal crowd in the game. At times though, the fervour has spilled into excess, with riots disrupting matches against the West Indies (1966-67) and Australia (1969-70), and a shameful exhibition of boorishness causing the World Cup semi-final against Sri Lanka (1996) to be called off with the visitors on the threshold of victory.
- Established 1864
- Capacity 90,000
- Floodlights Yes
- End names High Court End, Pavilion End
- Curator Probir Mukherjee
- Current local time 19:09, Fri Jun 06, 2008 (UTC +0530)
- External links Weather
There have been other, better, times too when the verve and energy of the crowd has made it a twelfth man of sorts and stirred India's finest to great feats, none more so than that hallowed day in March 2001 when VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid set the stage for the greatest come-from-behind victory of modern times, against an Australian team poised for an unprecedented 17th straight Test win. Despite packing in 90,000 on red-letter days, it hasn't been a lucky charm for India until recently, when the spin wiles of Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble inspired famous victories against Australia and Pakistan.
Melbhourn Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Club was first established in November of 1838, and played its first match against a military team at a location that was then on the outskirts of the city of Melbourne. After moving their facilities to many different locations throughout the year, the Melbourne Cricket Club currently holds games at the Melbourne Cricket Grounds, a stadium located in Melbourne near Yarra Park. The stadium holds about 100,000 people, and is no longer home to just cricket games. Australian Rules football, as well as boxing matches and rugby also take place within the impressive stadium. The Melbourne Cricket Ground is often referred to simply as the “G,” and currently holds the world record for the highest light poles in a stadium.
Melbourne Cricket Ground MCG - Cricket Ground Melbourne Night
With its towering lights, the Cricket Ground Melbourne Night makes a great place to catch some after-hours entertainment. Despite the fact that it holds the word cricket in its name, the current stadium is most often used for Australian Rules football, as well as a host of other events. Quite often, football games, also called, “footy” by the locals, are played at night. Cricket Ground Melbourne night time activities make for a fun, relaxing way to enjoy a beer and take in a game after a long day spent sightseeing in Melbourne.
Interestingly, the Melbourne Cricket Ground is located right near the heart of downtown Melbourne. In addition to making transportation convenient and generally hassle free, the location also gives stadium goers a chance to dine downtown. Restaurant options around the cricket grounds are plentiful, offering everything from a quick bite to a sit down meal. Less then fifteen minutes away is Melbourne Central, one of the premier shopping and dining areas in the city of Melbourne.
