The lords who flock to Lord's
So, the smart move was to sell the turf. Some people bought a square foot of soil and turf so that they could be close to cricketing divinity in their backyards. Others had big slabs encased in glass as tabletops in boardrooms. The less wealthy, such as itinerant cricket writers, settled for a small sphere that could sit on a desk as a daily reminder of sporting mystique.
If you grew up a cricket nut, especially in one of the British colonies, it was difficult to have a neutral view of Lord's. You were constantly told it was exclusive, not for everyone. You were reminded that scoring a 100 or picking up five wickets to get your name on the honours board there meant more than achieving exactly the same feat on any other ground. You came to believe, even with no real proof, that Lord's was special.
Naturally, this sparked widespread devotion; but it also set a flame under the more cynical. Here was a place that represented snobbery and elitism, where only some could come to worship. Naturally, this group decried the obsession with bacon-and-eggs and beige suits, the innate highhandedness and all-round sexism and ageism of the staff, and similar slights, real and perceived, that existed around the venue.
As an Indian, it was even more straightforward. After all, our very own Sunil Gavaskar had once been turned away from the ground when he had a valid pass, and felt the cut so deeply that he refused membership of Marylebone Cricket Club—which owns the ground—when it was offered. Such shoddy treatment of Indian cricket royalty simply could not be overlooked.
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