Warney and Beyond

Continuing the trend of catching up on what I've been up to - on August 18th I ticked another item off my London checklist by going to Lord's Cricket ground to watch a game. It was an added bonus that this game happened to be the domestic one-day final, between Hampshire and Durham, and that the great Shane Warne was captaining and playing for Hampshire.

While Warney didn't end up taking any wickets, it was still nice to see him bowl one last time, since it's not something I'll be able to do again back in Australia.

Lords itself though made the whole trip worthwhile, even if Warne hadn't been playing. Make no mistake, this is the home of cricket, and it oozes it from every pore. The ground is steeped in tradition and a true sense of occasion, from the moment you walk in through the wrought iron W.G Grace Gates.


It's this building which does the most to create the sense of occasion - the famous Members Stand. This building is populated by the true toffs of cricket - the Lords Taverners, or Members, for short. Basically, you only get in if you know someone. And have a lot of money. And give a lot of it to Taverners. And then only if you really, really grovel. In addition, you have to have impeccable class and standing amongst your peers. Not for these gents the consuming of amber ale and loud cheers. Rather, a glass of vintage wine, and polite applause.

Coming from a cricketing experience that has been mainly at the Gabba, and surrounded by beers, Mexican waves and larrikinism, it certainly marked a considerable change of pace.


The other end of the stadium is slightly more modern, although equally notable - this is the new media centre, which sparked controversy when originally built, but has come to be part of the ground as much as the members stand itself.


A shot of the ground, with Warney caught at the moment of bowling.

For the record, Hampshire lost - quite heavily. Durham batted first and racked up 312, and in reply Hampshire only managed about 160.

What else is there?

Basically, I've now left work, and am about to begin my travels before heading home on October 9th. Tomorrow I'm off to Paris for 3 days, and then immediately afterwards, will be taking off to Eastern Europe for 2 weeks. Beyond that, Egypt, Ireland? Still not sure as yet. I'll have about 3 weeks after I get back from Eastern Europe to do some more travelling, so either way it should be a good time.

Don't expect frequent updates since I won't be near computers that often, but then again, updates have scarcely been anything like frequent for the last few months anyway.