JASON GILLESPIE: Playing at Lord's is a truly unique experience
JASON GILLESPIE: Playing at Lord’s brings a sense of tradition and history for Australia’s cricketers… but they must be wary of the famous slope
- England and Australia face off in the second Ashes Test at Lord’s on Wednesday
- For Aussie cricketers, playing at the famous ground is a truly unique experience
- It is a special place to play at but there are lots of things you need to adapt to
For Australian cricketers, playing at Lord’s brings a sense of tradition and history and provides a totally different experience to other grounds.
From coming through the Long Room, walking down through the members out on to the ground, or sitting in the changing rooms, looking at the honours boards and all the wonderful players from around the world that have played Test matches and been successful, to the paintings on the walls, and even the famous lunches — all these things are special.
As I found in 2001, it is a quirky place but it has that richness that really gets you going. It’s a wonderful place to play cricket and it was a thrill to get my name on the board with a five-for in the second innings of my Lord’s Test debut.
Australians have tended to soak up that opportunity to play there rather than be intimidated by it, and I think that’s sometimes because players who have been picked on tours think they may never get another opportunity to play at this iconic ground, so they really want to embrace it.
Even the quirkiness of the scene can be inspiring — people wearing ties and jackets in the stands, sat on little seat cushions with scorebooks and a Thermos of coffee.
England face Australia at Lord’s but the Aussies will have to be wary of the famous slope
The Lord’s slope is iconic in cricket and it often take a little bit of time to get used to it
For Australian players like Scott Boland (left) – who have never played a Test at Lord’s – it is a truly unique experience and there a lot of factors you need to adapt to
Lord’s also has the famous slope for bowlers to contend with, and that takes a little bit to get used to it.
You just need to adjust your line ever so slightly. If you’re aiming to hit off stump, you’re probably starting the ball just a fraction outside off stump from the pavilion whereas from the nursery end, if you want to bowl that off stump, fourth stump line, you’re looking at a middle, middle-and-off line.
But all cricketers need to adjust to the conditions they are presented with and Lord’s is no different. So the likes of Scott Boland and Cameron Green will need to get out and familiarise themselves with the surroundings.
Australia head into the second Test in great spirits after a rare tight win over England. Until Birmingham, any Ashes Test since 1924-25 with a result margin of less than 20 runs or fewer than two wickets had gone against them, so it’s a great sign that this 2023 team has overturned that statistic.
The opening game just showed there is more than one way to win in Test cricket. England’s approach of scoring consistently quicker than Australia across both innings was valid, but we saw two captains in Pat Cummins and Ben Stokes using different field settings and employing their bowlers in different ways.
There were question marks on day one about the defensive field placings Cummins had. But in their strategy meetings, Australia would have conceded that England play a certain attacking way, so they may as well protect an extra boundary.
I feel that as Lord’s offers a little bit more assistance for the ball early in the game, we will see slightly more attacking fields and I don’t expect to see a sweeper out on the off side from the get-go.
There were question marks about Pat Cummins’s captaincy during the first Test last week
Ben Stokes’s tactics were different but it showed there is more than one way to win a Test
If they have one, it will probably be on the leg-side which allows a quick bowler to bowl a bit straighter and gives them the option of bowling a bouncer as well.
Imagine the energy, positivity and confidence the whole Australia dressing room must have got from Cummins, their leader, not only talking the talk but walking the walk.
He certainly led from the front, and at the point when you thought Australia might shut up shop with 52 further runs required and two wickets standing, he went bang-bang with two sixes off Joe Root.
No doubt Australia will take confidence from that but England won’t be despondent about what was obviously a disappointing loss.
It was fascinating to see a Test decided by two wickets but with teams employing completely different strategies.If the first Test is anything to go by, this is going to be an absolute cracker of series that still looks too close to call.
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