A day at Lord's

We had hoped to go to the 5th day of the England-Pakistan Test at Lord's.  You know, the one in which Stuart Broad cemented his place as a real Test batsman.  But as it turned out, the Test finished halfway through the 4th day, with the shadows of spot-fixing allegations hanging over the Pakistan team.  So our hopes to see Test cricket at the home of cricket were dashed.

Instead, we opted for a rather less significant match: a Pro40 one-day match between Middlesex and Derbyshire last Saturday.  Last Saturday was a pleasant day, so why not spend it outside?

The match itself was a pretty tame affair: a 7-wicket win for Middlesex, with little sense of any other possible result for most of the afternoon.  So rather than you a rather boring recap of the game action, here's a series of observations about watching a domestic cricket match at Lord's, the home of cricket on a Saturday afternoon in late summer.

But first, evidence that we were there:

Becca with the Media Centre.





Danny with the Pavillion.



- Beer is cheap.  Well, cheap by pub standards.  You're going to pay £4 for a pint of ale, whereas I think the priciest pint in a pub I've had in London is somewhere around £3.60.  But given that you're at a professional sporting event, £4 is dirt cheap.  Those of you who have been to Fenway recently know how much beer at a baseball game will set you back.  And remember, here in England it comes in pints.

- People dress up to watch cricket.  I suspect that this is much more common at Lord's (with its connection to the Marylebone Cricket Club, a sort of old-fashioned gentleman's club with a special interest in cricket), but still, it's rather striking to view to see dozens of men dressed in blazers and ties while drinking beer on a Saturday afternoon.

- Some of the best players in the world play before small crowds in domestic matches.  I can't find any attendance figures for the match we went to, but I'd say that there were no more than 1,000 fans in attendance, most of them clustered together on one side of the pitch.  This, in spite of the fact that England captain Andrew Strauss turned out for Middlesex.  It was a bit of a shock to see him fielding, rather anonymously, at square-leg, just 15 meters away from us.

- Speaking of close contact with England players, we happened to find ourselves just a few steps behind fast bowler Steven Finn as we wandered around the stadium.  At first I thought it was just a fan wearing the Middlesex kit.  But we quickly realized that there aren't many fans that are 6'7".  So there he was, just walking back to the dressing room as we wandered back to our seats.

- Pimm's and Lemonade on tap!

If you happen to be in London this weekend and want to see English cricket at its amateurish best, the final of the Village Cricket Cup is at 11:00 on Saturday morning at Lord's.  Shipton-under-Wychwood versus Sessay for all the marbles.