Trip to Lord’s Cricket Ground

Thanks to a donor’s generosity, some of our very lucky senior pupils were afforded the opportunity of a trip to Lord’s cricket ground on Monday, courtesy of the MCC Foundation. They enjoyed an hour in the Indoor Cricket Centre, being coached by the club’s Head and Senior coaches, picking up some very useful bowling tips and more than matching all that the bowling machines could throw at them.

An all-access private tour then began, visiting the Shane Warne Sky Cricket commentary box in the innovative and elegant Media Centre building offering what must surely be one of cricket’s best views. We then made our way to the historic Pavilion, where we were given the VIP treatment by very hospitable MCC staff. The pupils were fascinated by the honours boards in the Home Dressing Room, and made themselves very much at home on the players’ balcony. We then moved downstairs to the iconic Long Room, with its commanding views over the Lord’s outfield, and an impressive display of portraits. Keen to see the Ashes Urn, we were taken to the MCC Museum, where we were able to teach our very knowledgeable tour guide, Toby, about a link between Cheam and the Ashes Urn: it was presented to the England Cricket Captain Ivo Bligh, who as a boy had been a pupil at Cheam, before moving on to Eton and then Cambridge.

By now the boys’ stomachs were telling them it was well past lunch time, and no finer Dining Room could we have been treated to than the Committee Room, next to the Members’ Writing Room. The boys tucked in to a feast of fine sandwiches surrounded by large leather-bound books in which the laws of cricket are written, and enjoyed the same view as our late Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh enjoyed during their visits to Lord’s.

Goody bags and grateful farewells to our MCC Foundation hosts were then in order, before we returned to Cheam, after an unforgettable day. Time will tell how many of the group return there as team players one day, however the ICC coaches certainly seemed optimistic!