The second Test match of Ashes 2023 will begin at Lord’s in less than three hours from now. In what is a rarity for hectic scheduling in contemporary cricket, the second match will begin seven full days after the conclusion of the first one at Edgbaston.
Advertisement
With this iconic stadium last hosting an international match in the form of an England-Ireland Test as recent as earlier this month, this is going to be its second international match of the year. Speaking of Australia, the last of their 61 international matches across formats here was played during the Ashes series in 2019.
Having played 142 out of the 144 Test matches hosted by this venue, England have won 57 and lost on 34 occasions in all these years. Australia, on the other hand, have won 17 and lost seven out of their 39 Tests at this ground. As far as the last five Ashes Tests here are concerned, both the teams have registered victories twice with the latest match ending in a draw.
Lords Stadium Test Records, Most Runs And Wickets
Highest run-scorers in Tests played at the Lord’s are mostly former cricketers. They are Graham Gooch (2,015), Alastair Cook (1,937), Joe Root (1,680), Andrew Strauss (1,562) and Alec Stewart (1,476). Top performers among active cricketers other than Root are:
| Batter | Matches | Runs | Highest | Average | 100 | 50 |
| Joe Root (ENG) | 19 | 1680 | 200* | 52.5 | 6 | 1 |
| Jonny Bairstow (ENG) | 16 | 952 | 167* | 38.08 | 1 | 7 |
| Stuart Broad (ENG) | 27 | 950 | 169 | 27.94 | 1 | 4 |
| Ben Stokes (ENG) | 10 | 667 | 115* | 41.68 | 2 | 5 |
| Moeen Ali (ENG) | 10 | 468 | 87 | 24.63 | 0 | 2 |
With all these accolades resting with English cricketers, Australian cricketers part of the current squad to have had some experience of playing here are Steven Smith (381), David Warner (129) and Usman Khawaja (106).
Much like the batting records, bowling records have also been dominated by English bowlers. Highest Test wicket-takers at Lord’s are James Anderson (117), Stuart Broad (108), Ian Botham (69), Fred Trueman (63) and Bob Wills (47). Best performing active bowlers at this ground are:
| Bowler | Matches | Wickets | Average | SR | 5 |
| James Anderson (ENG) | 27 | 117 | 24.58 | 54.33 | 7 |
| Stuart Broad (ENG) | 27 | 108 | 27.42 | 53.72 | 3 |
| Steven Finn (ENG) | 7 | 32 | 24.56 | 40.31 | 1 |
| Chris Woakes (ENG) | 5 | 27 | 11.33 | 25.96 | 3 |
| Moeen Ali (ENG) | 10 | 27 | 34.11 | 58.74 | 1 |
Josh Hazlewood (8), Smith (7) and Pat Cummins (6) are the best visiting bowlers among players part of the current squad.
Highest Test Innings Totals At Lord’s
| Score | Overs | Team | Opposition | Year |
| 729/6d | 232 | Australia | England | 1930 |
| 682/6d | 177 | South Africa | England | 2003 |
| 653/4d | 162 | England | India | 1990 |
| 652/8d | 168.4 | West Indies | England | 1973 |
| 632/4d | 196 | Australia | England | 1993 |
While the 700-run mark has been crossed only once out of 527 Test innings at Lord’s, the 600-run mark has been crossed six times.
A total of 93 Tests have witnessed a result at this stadium till date. Speaking of teams managing to seal run-chases, it has happened 39 times. Having scored 344/1 in just 66.1 overs to chase down a 342-run target, West Indies hold the record for the highest successful Test run-chase at Lord’s. Readers must note that this is the only successful 300+ run-chase at this ground.
