Peerless Lord's
Michael Henderson
THE Lord's Test is not merely an important date in the cricket season. It is part of the fabric of the English summer, and last week's match, when England beat India by 170 runs, represented summer at its height. It was hot and humid — more like India, in fact — and England, who went into the game without four first-choice men, played above themselves. They have now won three consecutive Tests, after claiming two victories against Sri Lanka earlier in the year, so it cannot be said that they are not punching their weight.
Between them Nasser Hussain. the captain. and Duncan Fletcher, the Zimbabweborn coach, have transformed the side's attitude in the past two years. They haven't beaten Australia, it is true, and they may have to wait a little while longer to do so, but they have turned over the West Indies, beaten Pakistan in Pakistan, and thumped Sri Lanka at home and away. Now they have an excellent chance of beating India, a team long on talent but woefully short on temperament.
It was in India last winter, when they were deprived by rain of a chance to win the third Test and so level the series, that an understrength England team attracted savage criticism from Sunil Gavaskar, the former Indian batsman and one of the game's true greats. England, he said, played the most boring cricket anybody had ever seen. Well, not really, Sunny. People can remember you, as captain, directing bowlers to send down no more than nine overs an hour, and doing much else to ruin cricket as a spectacle.
Gavaskar, over here as a media man, found kinder words for England last week, but then he didn't have much choice. They outplayed India with bat and ball, as several players, new and old, supplied notable performances. Hussain, Michael Vaughan and John Crawley made hundreds, and the wickets were shared by all the bowlers, of whom Simon Jones. the Glamorgan fast bowler, was making his debut.
Until recently Lord's was not one of England's favourite grounds. Whereas touring sides looked forward to playing at the home of cricket, stimulated by the history of the place, home-grown players felt diminished. But, since they bowled out the West Indies for 54 in one frantic session two years ago, England have rediscovered the joy of playing at the world's greatest ground. Hussain's innings of 155, allied to his captaincy, confirmed the centrality of his role. He is still capable of impulsive behaviour, as he revealed during the recent one-day game between the sides at Lord's, when he made daft gestures to the press box, but he has served his team well as leader. Mike Brearley is usually (and rightly) held up as an example of the Bright Captain. Hussain, who has now done the job for three years, is not far behind.
There are, of course, other ways of judging an English summer, and Test Match Special continues on its merry way. There were longucurs during the famous programme's coverage of the Test but there were many good things, too. Where else in radio sport would a commentator ask a summariser whether he had read the Iliad, as Christopher Martin-Jenkins inquired of Graeme Fowler? Not on Radio Mate (Five Live), that's for sure. There was also a lively discussion about cricketing vicars.
Homer, cricketing parsons, Henry Blofeld interviewing Bill Deedes, wine taken behind the pavilion (in gentleman's measures), shadows on the green — and, amazingly, an intruder who walked casually out of the pavilion to accompany Sachin Tendulkar when he was out. It was a grand occasion at Lord's. It always is.
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