The Lee Under-11A’s visit to Lord’sBy Jon Swain
On Sunday 11th November, The Lee Cricket Club’s Under-11A team received their prize for winning the Bucks Under-11 Knock-out Cup.
This was a visit to Thomas Lord’s home of cricket in St John’s Wood — well, the home of the Marylebone Cricket Club these days: the MCC. After we all observed a minute’s silence at 11:00, the net session began. The boys were coached for two hours in the renowned Indoor School by two excellent coaches, one a past West Indies fast bowler, the other one of the rising Middlesex stars of the future. Techniques were given a thorough examination, tips were dispensed with great good humour and the boys were given the chance of really improving their game under the knowing watch of top-flight coaches. Every boy had 15 minutes batting and about 1½ hour’s bowling; a real test of stamina and concentration. The parents (who were lucky enough to be drawn out of a hat to attend) watched from the balcony and could re-live their own dreams of glory: thunderous shots, fearsome bouncers and bamboozling spinners. Quite exhausting. The coaching session finished with some fielding drills, which were great fun.
The boys were then fed and watered and at 14:00 we were all led off on a guided tour of the famous old ground. Bob, our expert guide (a retired headmaster), had no difficulty in keeping the rabble in order. The boys were also well behaved. We went into the wonderfully futuristic Media Centre (the ‘Pod’) and the Museum, where we marvelled at the Ashes — probably the most famous sporting ‘trophy’ that there is, even though it is not a trophy, was not designed to be one and stays with the losers (usually England)! A fascinating insight into the mind of a genius was provided by an anecdote from Bob, showing us part of the ‘Brian Lara Exhibition’. One of the maestro’s huge innings was represented by a wheel-like frame (wagon wheel scoresheet) suspended from the ceiling and festooned with dozens of cricket balls hanging from threads; each representing a scoring shot and the place where the runs were scored on the field. Asked what he thought of it, the great batsman approved, but observed that two or three of the balls were out of place. In other words, he could remember each and every scoring shot he had played in an innings of 400 and where, precisely, it had gone! In so many ways, that speaks volumes about the player and the man. Self-absorbed perhaps, but utterly brilliant.
We moved on into the Pavilion, a bastion of Colonial memories and past glories, with a refreshing array of contemporary cricket art; a surprisingly successful mixture. We were allowed into the dressing rooms of each side – England and the visitors. We were shown where our heroes sit (Kevin Peterson and Freddie (hic) Flintoff appearing to be the favourites). Our lads gazed up at the Honours boards and I wondered if any of them might one day feature there. This was the fuel for dreams of derring-do, a century before lunch against those Aussies, a sharp bouncer getting a West Indian batsman hopping about. Our tour ended with a visit to the real tennis courts and a match in progress; on one side of the sagging net, two players with a combined age of almost 150, facing two teenagers. A mis-match? Well, it seemed like the old ones were not going too hard on the whipper-snappers, trying to deflate them gently! A surreal end to a wonderful visit to the old ground and very apposite, being a mixture of old and new. Our thanks to the staff for the tremendous hospitality and who knows, maybe a star of the future was in those nets?