My inaugural Lords appearance didn't disappoint. One of the best cricket watching experiences i've had. It started off badly with England losing wickets quickly and once again relying on the tail to post a decent total. But what was to follow was incredible, amazing, outlandish, almost sheer folly... a batting collapse by the Australian team the sort of which is so painfully associated with England.... All in all we got 60 odd overs in and Australia were 158-8 at close.
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| From Prague and London |
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| From Prague and London |
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| From Prague and London |
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| From Prague and London |
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| From Prague and London |
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| From Prague and London |
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| From Prague and London |
The whole Lords experience was something to remember certainly. Although, I quickly identified the correct attire for Lords is one of two options....
a) A pair of light stay pressed strides accompanied by a darker jacket
or
b) A pair of dark chinos accompanied by a lighter blazer (a colour of such that even Lawrence of Arabia would have been proud to wear and safely camouflaged behind)
A 'Tim nice but Dim', no grasp of reality look on your face is optional....
So, sitting amongst the double barrelled surname brigade, I settled into a spot of Cricket viewing...
A gentle buzz went around the ground and it quickly became apparent that Her Majesty the Tax Dodger was in attendance... Wow.... not only a great game of cricket but I get to see the Queen...
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| From Prague and London |
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| From Prague and London |
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| From Prague and London |
One thing I do love about spectating Cricket at the actual ground is some of the conversations you hear... I was sat next to a couple of interesting characters... The sort that you always get at the cricket... Don't actually understand the game but feel they should be there because it's 'the thing to do'. They read a couple of articles in 'The Times' and recite what they've taken in to present the facade of a cricket officionado but most of the time they come unstuck...
Ok, I sound like a cricket snob and I do apologise for that but these two guys were almost embarrassing. The conversation kind of went like this......
"Obviously the Aussies are missing the likes of Warne and McGrath, that's why they find it difficult to bowl out the England tail...." said Edward Hunter-Fox (he's into bloodsports don't you know) to his counterpart Tarquin Lardy-Dah... just as England lost 2 wickets for about 10 runs to some excellent tight bowling lines...
"Yes, and of course England's batting goes down to number 9 now.." oops another wicket falls.... sorry Master Lardy-Dah...
"What I don't understand is why they are flying the Spanish flag all around the ground..." Hunter-Fox comments....
"Hmmm, yes, I didn't realise the Spanish played cricket..." Lardy-Dah replies...
"Quite..." exclaims Hunter-Fox... "Perhaps it's Spanish independence day or something... you know these colonials..."
I couldn't take it any longer. I had to say something.. It was just too painful to listen to them....
"Erm... actually, the colours of the flag are the colours of the MCC... You may have noticed 50 percent of the spectators sporting similar colours in ties, hats, blazers etc... They're the MCC members...." I stated... "The Spanish flag is actually very different..."
"Oh, I see...." said Lardy-Dah sheepishly....
"I think we'll see an upturn in the market over the next 6 months.." continues Hunter-Fox hoping everyone will forget their ignorance and move on....
Overall, a fantastic day and I'm so happy I got the chance to go.
That evening, I caught up with Phil and Larkin (my mates from School) for a few beers and we ended up at this Cuban bar. I knew it was Cuban because the name of the bar was 'Cubana'. Not much gets past me...
We moved from beer to cocktails at this point and when it was my round I went to the bar determined to display my new found grasp of the Spanish vernacular...
"Hola Amiga" I said to the unwitting barmaid.... "Dos Caipirinha y uno Cuba Libre por favor.."
to which she replied....
"I'm sorry, I only speak English and Hungrarian... but it sounded interesting...."
Aah.... teach you for showing off Mr Sommer....
I stayed at Phil's house and caught up with Caroline and baby Harry the next morning when I got up. I spent the rest of the day watching the cricket as England played themselves into a commanding position at the end of day 3....
Today, I go to my Uncles for a BBQ... can't wait...
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