Questions Cicket

Lords cricket ground was built in 1814 and was named after Thomas Lord, the owner of Marylebone Cricket Club (the body that controls the laws of cricket) at the time.Lord's is widely referred to as the Home of Cricket and is home to the world's oldest sporting museum. Lord's today is not on its original site; it is the third of three grounds that Lord established between 1787 and 1814. His first ground, now referred to as Lord's Old Ground, was where Dorset Square now stands.

Lords cricket ground is called the “Mecca of cricket” or home of cricket because it was the first officially built ground for the game of cricket.

As well as the home of the history of the game, it is the home of the MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) which sees itself as the codifier and protector of the game . The following is from its website: “MCC laid down a Code of Laws, requiring the wickets to be pitched 22 yards apart and detailing how players could be given out. Its Laws were adopted throughout the game – and the Club today remains the custodian and arbiter of Laws relating to cricket around the world”. Exactly what the relationship now is between the MCC and the ICC which lays down the regulations for international competition I’m not sure but it makes Lords more than just another ground and memorabilia collection.

A combination of several factors, none of them on their own decisive:-

1. Cricket was invented in England. That gives England a head start in the running for ‘the home of’. To be more precise, it evolved in medieval Kent. Rowland Bowen’s history of Cricket gives the first known written mention of the game as being in 1300CE at Chevening, which is 3 miles NW of Sevenoaks.

2. The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) are the owners of Lord’s and (a) were the organisation responsible for English cricket from 1894 until 1974; (b) have been the organisation responsible for the Laws of Cricket from 1787 onwards; & (c) are one of the world's oldest and most venerable of cricket clubs, dating back to 1787 i.e. almost to what is now considered the statistical beginning of First Class Cricket (1772).

3. Lord’s is the premier venue for cricket in England in that it is in the capital, London, and therefore attracts the most media attention; it hosts the most prestigious finals of knockout competitions - such as this year’s Royal London Cup (won by Somerset ), every World Cup final that's been held in England, and the 2017 Women's World Cup final; it is the ground in England with the highest seating capacity.

4. Cricketers consider it special. They feel its more special to be on the Honours Board at Lord's for a Test Match achievement of taking 5 wickets in an innings, or for scoring a century, than at any other ground.