Lords Under Threat?

It was announced last week that Lords will not be hosting a Test Match when the West Indies come to England next year. Apparently, the ground was outbid by Cardiff, who will host one of three Test Matches alongside Edgbaston and Trent Bridge in 2012. I don’t know about you, but I think this is outrageous.

Lords is the ‘home of cricket’. It has a history and aura which no other ground can match. The idea of a visiting side not getting the chance to play on the hallowed turf, to walk through the long room, to get their name on the prestigious honours board, is utterly ridiculous. If I were the West Indies team I would be asking some stern and serious questions. Their position in the ICC World Rankings may have had some impact on the decision, as it seems unlikely that a higher ranked team would be treated in such a manner (can you imagine if India had been denied a Lords test?). Saying that, Bangladesh did get to play a Test at the home of cricket. This leads onto the fact that there have, in the past, been some concerns raised about the dominance of London in hosting games (with, quite often, the Oval also hosting a match). Yet, with regards to the impending West Indies series, not even the Oval was awarded a Test Match. Surely at least one should be in the capital?

More importantly though, is the question as to whether Cardiff will even be able to fill their ground. If recent evidence is to go by, then the answer is no. Hosting the first Test in the current series against Sri Lanka, the Swalec Stadium did poorly on pre-sale tickets and large sections of the ground remained empty throughout. Admittedly, the weather didn’t help and the opposition wasn’t as alluring as Australia, but Lords managed to sell out for the first three days with the remaining two also pretty full. The allure of Lords is a strong crowd puller, whether the other Test Match grounds like it or not. In fact, in my opinion, Lords shouldn’t even have to bid. As a Test Match venue, there is simply no competition.