The Lord's Prayer

And so the Test summer begins tomorrow with the first day of England v New Zealand, take 2. Mike Atherton makes his Test debut in the Lord's press box for The Times, flanked by Richard Hobson and Simon Barnes, while your blogger, just a feeble amoeba alongside such titans of journalism, has paid for his ticket and will be in his customary spot in the Tavern stand. Any readers of this blog who are also planning to be there, and who spot me during the lunchtime exodus from stand to bar, are welcome to grab my shoulder and slur "Ere, aintcha wotsisname off the thingummyblog" and I will happily stand you a beer.

The fragrant Clare Skinner at Lord's tells me that there are still 2,000 tickets available for tomorrow's play, priced at £65 and £60 (£20 for juniors), which go on sale from 9am at the North Gate.

The first Test at Lord's is always special and not just because MCC maintain an enlightened policy towards the importation of your own beer and wine. The place just smells and sounds right, from the well-spoken chap who says "Good morning and welcome to Lord's" over the PA at 10.45, to the ding of the pavilion bell at 10.55 and then at 11am the first pop of a champagne cork. Here are six other things I want to happen tomorrow:

1) If New Zealand bat first, I don't want to see Daniel Vettori come out to bat until at least lunchtime and preferably well after tea.

2) That the corporate section of the Grandstand, which always empties on the stroke of lunch, is full again by 3pm, otherwise MCC should ban those businessmen from being allowed to buy tickets for next summer's Ashes Test. What is the point of going to the cricket and not watching?

3) That Brendon McCullum plays a patient, watchful innings (well, until he gets to double figures, then let him go berserk and make a hundred off 50 balls).

4) That no England fast bowlers break down in their pre-match warm-up. Having taken the odd step of announcing that Matthew Hoggard was surplus to requirements two days before the toss, it would be rough on the poor lad, who has probably planned a weekend of DIY and walking the dogs, to ask if he wouldn't mind playing after all.

5) That the reheated Strauss/Cook opening partnership flourishes, making a double hundred together and going on to become the Hobbs and Sutcliffe or Taylor and Slater of their day, culminating in a string of big partnerships together next summer, rather than the scratching, shuffling, edging and missing monster that they were when they last played together.

6) That it doesn't rain.

Comments

[Yorkshire Fan]

Happy to see Virgil go beyond a pretty thirty odd. If only he'd do the same for Yorkshire :-(

Oh, and Hoggy did make it up to Durham. Just in time to have his thumb broken.

[Rusty]

I think, but i"m not sure, but I think Peter McG is jealous of you, Patrick.

[Rob]

Patrick,

All great points. No. 6 is going to be a real struggle. When I get on my train at West Hampstead during a Lords test match, there is usually an army of egg & bacon ties that leaves the train to catch the Jubilee Line to HQ. This morning, I didn't see one!

[Peter McGuinness]

How tremendously generous of you Patrick.

Safe too.

Thanks to your even-handed approach and broad-ranging appeal, a healthy - if not dominant - percentage of your readers are not resident in the British Isles.

Tell you what.

I will be at the Tugun Surf Life Saving Club tomorrow night, before going to Skilled Park to watch the Titans. If you happen to be at either venue, make yourself known. I'll buy you a schooner and throw in a case of '56 Grange Hermitage as a bracer.

Anyway, lucky you.

I'd rather partner Germaine Greer on a road-trip across Russia in a Fiat Bambino, than be couped up in press box with Barnes. I wonder whether Athers will be fluent in Ancient Greek, or expert in humming the 1812 Overture in a pitch only audible to the Ocyphaps lophates by stumps?

Maybe he will simply report on the cricket.

[Yorkshire Fan]

I doubt Hoggy will be doing much DIY the next couple of days. Yorkshire have him down to take part in the second half of their game against Durham.

Oh, and look out for a typical Vaughan innings. Beautiful cover drive, two confident pulls to mid-wicket followed by a nick to third slip and a post play declaration that "a big score is just round the corner".