That Bloke In The Big Smoke

I suppose when a cricket fan decides to make their Test debut as a spectator having followed the game with a religious passion for nearly twenty years, it seems only fitting to pick an occasion that turns out to be the biggest ever crowd for the last day's play of a Test at Lord's, the home of the world's greatest sport. And so it was for me last week Monday. The record books will show that England outplayed India comprehensively but as far as experiences go, few will match the pure joy that was 25 July 2011. It felt special from the moment the ticket prices were announced the evening before and the response online was immediate. I knew it was going to be a big crowd but I never imagined people would be turned away because it was full! It wasn't as bad as Old Trafford in 2005 but for the biggest ground in England, this was something new. At £20, boy was it worth it!

(If you missed the panoramic views of my day out at Lord's that I posted about a week ago, you can view them here).


By the time I arrived at St John's Wood tube station around eight, the queue had already snaked itself in an orderly fashion half a mile from the ground and onto Circus Road (as pictured above). Ticket sales were to begin at half-eight, gates to open at nine and play to start at eleven. And as the rate of people joining the queue behind us increased after my arrival, I'm fairly sure it eventually ended up close to a mile long.


The queues were so long because the MCC wanted to negate the effect of touts buying tickets in bulk. I'm led to believe the MCC normally sells a maximum of four tickets per person on Day Five at Lord's but for today they sold a maximum of one per person. And with free entry for Under-16s who had just embarked on their summer vacation, a lot of young fans could be seen waiting patiently with the rest of us. Stood in front of me was an Indian gentleman who was also attending his first Test at Lord's but he had arrived in London just for the match alone from Dubai. The lucky bugger didn't have any tickets until ten days before the first day's play but his English manager at work (he was employed with Willis Group Holdings) suggested writing to the MCC. He did and they got him tickets for the first four days and then he queued for the fifth!

( 23 More Pics From A Great Day Out ... with Commentary! )

As the first test between England and India at Lord's gets underway tomorrow morning, here are four photostitches taken at the home of cricket on 15 April 2008 during my first-ever visit there, along with pappubahry.


Click image to enlarge. This is my favourite of the four panoramas. It's taken from the Compton Stand, where incidentally I sat during my first-ever Lord's cricket match in June 2009.


Click image to enlarge. This was taken in front of the award-winning media centre which you can see in the first panorama.


Click image to enlarge. This was taken from the Grand Stand and it hasn't turned out as well as I would've hoped. But I did manage to cram in pappubahry on the far right!


Click image to enlarge. Similar to the third panorama but not as wide. You can get a good view of the (Old) Pavilion on the right built in 1890 and the Media Centre on the left built in 1999.

Kevin O'Brien on his way to the fastest century in cricketing World Cup ODI history. [SCORECARD]

This is why I love living in Europe. One of my best mates supports Blackpool FC. They play in the second division of English football but this was their last game of the season and their biggest in decades. The last time The Seasiders played in the top division was 1971. They got relegated immediately and as recent as two seasons ago were languishing in the third division. But since surviving by the skin of their teeth last season, The Tangerines have ripened just in time to qualify for the Premier League play-offs next week. Today's game was crucial because if they drew or lost and Swansea had beaten Doncaster, the Welsh club would've qualified instead. As it were, The Jacks were held to a frustrating goalless draw at home, unleashing a fantastic sea of emotion at the Prince of Wales pub near Victoria Station. Not only is it a Blackpool supporters pub but the pub landlord and his assistants are all lifelong supporters! The game itself was rather boring, even though Blackpool found themselves behind early in the first half. As the second half progressed, the tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. But cometh the hour, cometh the man. Brett Ormerod's full-length diving header secured the long-awaited equaliser and calmed everybody down a bit. But the fans wanted a winner. As the match entered the final few minutes, bitten nails were flying everywhere.

Everybody with iPhones tried to find out what was happening at The Liberty Stadium, but as it happened, we all found out their result by the reactions of the fans on the telly! In the end a victory wasn't necessary and Blackpool now meet a certain Nottingham Forest in the play-offs. I know who I'll be supporting, and it ain't the men in orange ahem, tangerine. I got told off for saying that today! So even if Blackpool get through that, there's still the play-off final at Wembley to deal with in two weeks. Either way from what I saw this afternoon, whoever qualifies is probably going straight back down. I got home to watch the Man Utd-Sunderland game and it was noticeably three notches quicker and of much better quality. Oh and we did our bit to help Chelsea move closer to the Premier League title. But is it the end for Rafa?


Blackpool fans waiting in anticipation for the final whistle, and the result at Swansea.


Job done! Swansea draw, Blackpool through, best day in a long time. Long night of drunken revelry!

In the midst of my exams I failed to notice a road bicycle race that has descended upon the shores of the Sultanate for the first time this year! The Tour of Oman is a part of the UCI Asia Tour, is classified as a 2.1 and is run by the Amaury Sport Organisation. Held between the 14th and 19th of February, the race consisted of six stages, mainly flat ones with some hillier parts. Some chap called Fabian Cancellara won the first event. Not bad Oman, first this and next the Asian Beach Games later this year. For a country almost unheard of in many parts of the world not too long ago, you are slowly but surely making your presence felt on the global stage. Yalla Oman, keep it up!