The Lord's slope is a geographical gradient at Lord's Cricket Ground in London, England. The slope is in the cricket pitch and runs from the north end of the ground to the south end with a drop of 2.5 metres (8 ft 2 in).[1]
History
editLord's, located in St John's Wood, was opened in 1814 on land which included both a duck pond and a pronounced slope. The ground was built around the slope, and eventually enclosed by stands. The slope runs diagonally across the field from north to south, with a drop of around 8 ft 2 in (2.49 m).[2]
In the 21st century, there were calls for the slope to be levelled as a result of the advent of drop-in pitches.[3] Smaller ridges in the pitch had previously been removed by surveyors.[4] However, the Marylebone Cricket Club rejected these calls stating that removal of the slope would require rebuilding of Lord's and would mean that the ground would be unable to host Test cricket for five years as the new square would need time to mature after the levelling.[1] In 2002, the Lord's outfield was replaced and drainage installed. During this work, several small deviations in the pitches were removed, but the slope remained.[5]
During the 2012 Summer Olympics, when Lord's hosted the Archery tournament, there were suggestions that the slope would affect the archers. However, British archer Alison Williamson rejected this, stating that the slope was barely noticeable.[6]
Cricket
editThe Lord's slope is often used to advantage by bowlers in cricket matches at Lord's. Because of the slope's angles, seam bowlers from the Pavilion End and swing bowlers from the Nursery End gain an advantage as the natural variation of the slope alters the bounce of the ball when bowling.[7] The gradient of the slope is noted to affect right-handed batsmen more than left-handed batsmen as the ball naturally moves towards left-handed batsmen.[8] Despite the advantages the slope gives to bowlers, some batsmen consistently make high scores when playing at Lord's.[9]
References
edit- 1 2 "Father Time and the Lord's slope". MCC. 28 January 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- ↑ Nalwala, Ali Asgar (11 July 2025). "Slope at Lord's Cricket Ground: How an uneven playing field impacts cricket's most iconic venue". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
- ↑ "Slope's future in balance". Telegraph. 19 May 2001. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- ↑ "Cricket: Experts Probe Controversial Lord'S Pitch". ITN. 25 December 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.Whelan, Charlie (16 May 2014). "Flying the flag for MCC members' club". Telegraph. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- ↑ "Mallinsons win BALI Principal Award". Pitchcare Magazine. 27 November 2003. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- ↑ "British archer Alison Williamson not worried by slope". BBC Sport. 28 February 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- ↑ Geoffrey Boycott (22 July 2004). "Harmison's seamers hold key to exploiting Lord's slope". The Telegraph. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- ↑ Henry Blofeld (21 May 2004). "Hoggard and Harmison fall foul of Lord's slippery slope". The Independent. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- ↑ Derek Pringle (16 May 2014). "Joe Root uses some sibling rivalry to complete historic double hundred for England against Sri Lanka at Lord's". The Telegraph. Retrieved 1 January 2015.